Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

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 Continuing on with catching up on my Marvel movie reviews, it’s time now to talk about one that I think many people were nervous and, of course, saddened about: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. May Chadwick Boseman rest in peace. I have to say that this film was a beautiful dedication to the late superhero, visually stunning and with some truly moving performances.

Wakanda’s relationship with the rest of the world is strenuous. Their technology and resources are great, but their allies are non-existent, as other countries attempt to steal their resources, forcing them to remain in isolation, as they mourn the loss of King T’Challa. So when a group of highly weaponised and outlandishly tech-savvy bandits attack an American ship searching for vibranium, Wakanda is falsely accused. The same bandits attack and kidnap Princess Shuri and, with no allies to call for help, Wakanda is forced to protect their home from an invasion of ancient and powerful beings alone.

This is definitely the more dramatic of Marvel’s cinematic instalments to date. Alongside the central drama of invasion and Wakanda trying to make friends in the world, it’s a film about coping with grief, rising to inherited responsibilities, and growing into the person you need to be. The central character arc is, of course, that of Princess Shuri who struggles with the loss of her brother, the fear of her responsibilities as future queen, and her anxiety that, should she take the Black Panther journey, she would find that she’s more like Killmonger rather than her brother. It’s a very emotionally loaded movie and applause must be given to the central cast, who rose to the challenge and gave absolutely incredible performances.

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We then have the visual aspect to talk about. In every Marvel movie, but more and more in the recent ones, we get to discover a whole new world. Some original and breathtaking feat of imagination, design, and computer magic. In Wakanda Forever, it’s the underwater city of Talokan. The city and its people are a truly stunning display of wizardry with the underwater scenes being some of the most beautiful and mesmerising of the film. Everything from the costume design to the architectural artwork, to the CG execution is absolutely breathtaking and the film is worth seeing for it alone.

While it’s a filler movie keeping us up to date with Wakanda and how its people are coping after the tragedies of Endgame, it still manages to keep audiences intrigued with new villains and potential long-game drama. But absolutely the power of Wakanda Forever is in the performances from the central cast, in memorandum of our king.

Director: Ryan Coogler, 2022

Cast: Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Tenoch Huerta, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Michael B. Jordan, & Martin Freeman