While Wakanda mourns the sudden death of King T'Challa, they must also prepare for war with an underwater civilization led by a vengeful mutant.
ACTION/SCI-FI
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Black Panther:
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Few films in history have had the sort of weight on its shoulders that this one had. It had to end Marvel's Phase 4, at least partially set up Phase 5, follow-up one of the biggest movies of all time, introduce Namor and his people into the MCU, and above all, it had to be a proper send-off for Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther. We continue to mourn the loss of such a phenomenal actor, ever since he was taken from us back in 2020 after a long, secret battle with cancer. The MCU hasn't felt the same since, and all eyes were on the inevitable Black Panther 2 to see how the franchise would handle not only losing a pivotal character, but a beloved and respected actor who knew that T'Challa would be the role he'd be remembered for forever. The film has its problems, sure, such as its mammoth runtime and overstuffed plot. But where it does not fall flat is its tribute to Boseman and his incredible contribution to the MCU. I can't imagine how hard it was to make this film without him. My heart goes out to the cast and crew who pulled it off, especially director Ryan Coogler.
The film begins with the offscreen death of King T'Challa, the Black Panther. It's done with such dignity and grace. There won't be a dry eye in the house. From there, we learn that vibranium has been discovered outside of Wakanda, which should be impossible. This vibranium belongs to a race of underwater humanoids led by Namor (Huerta, who steals the show), a vengeful mutant who despises the surface world and wants a reason to start a war. He immediately starts some shit with Wakanda, leading Queen Ramonda (Bassett) and Princess Shuri (Wright) to make a difficult decision. All the stuff with Namor is done very well, though I wish he'd gotten his own movie instead. He's a strong enough character to warrant it. Same goes with Riri Williams (Thorne), the brilliant young scientist who will become Ironheart in the upcoming Disney Plus series. She feels like a character from a different movie, and is no doubt a leftover from the original draft before Boseman's death. Wakanda Forever had so much to live up to, most of which it pulls off. It allows the Marvel fans an opportunity to mourn together and say goodbye to Chadwick Boseman as we knew him. It finalizes a turbulent phase of the MCU and lets us now look forward to Ant-Man 3 and the arrival of Kang the Conqueror. It brings Marvel's first mutant into the MCU and opens the door for so much more. Overall, it's a great sequel and one of the best in this phase. |