Marvel’s Phase Four comes to a close with the 30th movie within the Marvel franchise, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Despite losing its leading actor Chadwick Boseman (T’Challa) to cancer in 2020, this movie is an unexpected gem in what is considered an underwhelming batch of recent Marvel content.
The film is directed by Ryan Coogler, who directed the first Black Panther (2018) and the original Creed (2015). The movie also lists a cast of returnees, including Letitia Wright (Shuri), Angela Bassett (Romanda), Danai Gurira (Okoye), and Winston Duke (M’Baku); the movie also includes new cast members Tenoch Huerta (Namor) and Dominique Thorne (Riri/Ironheart).
Like the last review, we’ll talk spoilers, so before that, I want to talk about the non-spoiler things. First off, the acting and dialogue of this movie hit hard; the many monologues of the film, especially those said by Romanda, are excellent. The cinematography, CGI, and music are also spectacular, with the CGI being an improvement from many other recent Marvel movies and the previous Black Panther.
Finally, when compared to other Marvel films, Wakanda Forever just generally has a better feeling to it, because unlike many other movies in the Marvel franchise, this one didn’t have to get made. Despite the many hardships that faced the creation of the movie, including the rewriting of the entire script after the loss of Boseman, it feels like everyone in the creative process had the determination to get it done, and done well at that.
SPOILER WARNING FROM HERE ON
First off, the antagonist and his army are terrifying. The first scene introducing Namor and the Talokanils at the ocean miner was scary. The two divers being taken in an instant, the workers mindlessly jumping into the water, and the helicopter being thrown down all had me on the edge of my seat. This wasn’t the only time I felt that suspension, with the bridge scene and battle between Okoye and one of the Talokanils giving off the same impression. The lack of music and dialogue, with the only sound being from the clashing spears, really added to that fear factor.
Speaking of Namor and the Talokanils, I love how that changed this version of Marvel's Atlantis to have a more Native tribal aspect with influences from Mayan culture. It made the characters feel more unique, gave the antagonist more character, and added a great backstory to Namor’s beliefs and morals. While he has very similar ideals to Black Panther’s villain Killmonger, Namor still has a good on-screen personality and is able to remain unique and different.
While I loved the antagonists, I had some problems with the other characters. First, while I like that both Black Panther movies have a consistent lesson within them, this is the third time a Wakandan main character has gone through the “vengeance” dilemma in a film. First was T’Challa in Civil War and again in Black Panther, and now Shuri in this movie. While it makes sense within context for Shuri, certainly more than it did for T’Challa the second time, the lesson still feels rehashed and lazy to an extent.
Along with that, the deus-ex-machina they introduce to allow Shuri to obtain the Black Panther powers feels random and uninspired. Other than maybe two to three mentions of Shuri trying to replicate the ancestral fruit, her ascent into becoming the Black Panther is rushed and comes seemingly out of nowhere. The film then immediately goes into the climax, with no time for Shuri or the viewer to really sit and take in the moment. While I don’t find the deus-ex-machina annoying to have in general, considering writers ended up screwing themselves over by destroying the plants in the first movie, it still wasn’t integrated properly.
Despite the fact that the deus-ex-machina gives me my favorite scene from the movie, the ancestral plane scene with Killmonger, the lead-up just wasn't right. The Killmonger scene however was executed perfectly and added the needed depth to Shuri’s character to establish her as the next Black Panther and the main character of this film.
Wakanda Forever was a great movie, and in my personal opinion, the best Phase 4 Marvel film (yes, just slightly better than Spiderman: No Way Home). It has something that many Marvel movies have lacked, which is character and the unique motif of feeling wanted, not needed. A must-watch film, and one I’d probably rewatch, this gets a solid 8/10. Now go buy your tickets and watch the movie!