Very few films have experienced a production as tragedy-stricken as that of Disney's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The much anticipated sequel to 2018's breakthrough cultural phenomenon Black Panther experienced a significant setback in August 2020 when original star Chadwick Boseman died from colon cancer. Rather than recasting the role of T'Challa, Marvel chose to embrace the off-screen tragedy by incorporating it into the story in a way which allows audiences to mourn the loss while paying tribute to the late star. It's a hugely daunting feat which thankfully, director Ryan Coogler and Wakanda Forever's impressive creative team manage to pull off delivering a poignant sequel that's as emotionally absorbing as it is powerful.
Wakanda Forever's plot has Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M'Baku, Okoye, and the Dora Milaje fighting to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T'Challa's death, while forging a new path for their beloved kingdom. In doing so, they battle a powerful underwater superhuman nemesis named Namor, who prepares to do battle against mankind. Given that Forever's original plot was altered due to Boseman's death, the new storyline finds a strong balance in embracing the past while looking to the future. With a sequel that easily could've been scrapped, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever triumphs against the odds while remaining as equally vibrant, colorful, and culturally impactful as it's predecessor.
In terms of acting, Wakanda Forever's cast puts their fullest efforts into making this story as powerful and affecting as possible, particularly with the performances of Letitia Wright and Angela Bassett. Both actresses deliver powerful work with Wright filling the void as T'Challa's younger sister Shuri, and later queen of Wakanda who designs new technology for the nation. Wright's role is expanded here with her essentially taking on the mantle of Black Panther while grieving T'Challa. Bassett stuns in a scene-stealing performance as Ramonda, the Sovereign Queen Mother of Wakanda. Basset masterfully conveys her character's struggle in trying to lead her people, being a mother to Shuri, and grieving the death of T'Challa. Lupita Nyong'o impresses as War dog, Nakia, with her character being shown to have matured since the events of the previous film. Danai Gurira also shines as Okoye, general of Wakanda's all female special forces, the Dora Milaje. The rest of Forever's cast deliver fantastic work with Tenoch Huerta largely impressing as the films main antagonist Namor, and king of Talokan, an ancient civilization of underwater dwelling people. Huerta plays his character as being an intensely powerful individual with supernatural abilities. Other noteworthy performances include Winston Duke reprising his role as powerful warrior M'Baku, Florence Kasumba as Ayo, Dominique Thorne as MIT student and genius inventer from Chicago, Riri Williams, who later creates a suit of armor, Michaela Cole as Wakandan warrior and member of the Dora Milaje, Aneka, whose romantically involved with Ayo. Both Martin Freeman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus return as CIA agent Everett K. Ross, who has previous ties to Wakanda, and Dreyfus as new CIA director and former wife of Ross, Valentina.
With directing, Coogler once again delivers the visual enchantment of Wakanda to audiences. He approaches the sequel with a tremendous amount of respect and admiration towards honoring Chadwick Boseman, while restructuring the film to work as a tribute. The story is once again accompanied with outstanding costume design by Oscar winner Ruth Carter, who keeps the Wakandan world stunning while adding Mayan-inspired costumes and a striking underwater world ruled by Namor. The soundtrack by composer Ludwig Goransson does a fantastic job of incorporating Mayan-inspired music to the proceedings, as well as Rihanna's powerful song, "Lift Me Up." Coogler presents the story as being emotionally driven and action-packed with key sequences including hand-to-hand combat, and chilling sequences involving people throwing themselves into the ocean while being hypnotized. As strong as Coogler's directing appears to be here, the films CGI work often finds itself on uneven ground with certain shots appearing as blurry or the effects being too noticeable like Riri's suit. Despite these minor issues, Coogler handles the story with a steady hand once again, although it's 161 minute running time doesn't always feel justified with certain moments that could've been omitted in order to shorten its length (The entire subplot between Martin Freeman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus's characters in particular).
When it comes to Wakanda's story, the script places a much heavier emphasis on loss and grief than the previous film. This is especially evident with both Shuri and Queen Ramonda grieving over the loss of T'Challa while struggling to rule Wakanda and defend it from Namor. Whereas the first Black Panther focused on T'Challa and Kilmonger, the sequel crafts the story to be heavily female-dominated with Shuri and Queen Ramonda serving as its heart along with Okoye and M'Baku being strong supporting characters this time around. With the villain, Coogler doesn't miss which is evident with both Kilmonger and Namor. The latter motivations are made clear for the audience to understand, such as his suggesting of an alliance between Black and Brown nations against the threat of greedy, colonizing forces. One moment in particular has Namor telling Ramonda to make friends, not foes despite literally blackmailing her with an ultimatum. His characters unique features are on full display, including his ankle wings and pointy ears. Riri's character appears as being likable with her new suit being a clever addition to the story. Where Wakanda thrives in terms of writing is showing the sisterhood between the women of Wakanda, while showing them to be the latters future.
Considering that the sequel was never going to outshine the original given the loss of Boseman, Coogler does a fine job of working around that loss while forging a new path forward for the series.
As a film that came with various needs for Marvel fans as well as the universe itself, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever fulfills its tasks exceptionally well while showing that there's still story left to tell within the mystifying world of Wakanda.
Final Verdict: A Must See For Marvel Fans.
Images Courtesy Of Disney
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