Movie Review: ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’

Honoring Chadwick Boseman's legacy, the film is a good sequel that introduces exciting new characters to the MCU, but never overcomes the late actors' absence.

Letitia Wright as Shuri in Marvel Studios' 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.'

The long-awaited sequel to 2018’s Oscar-nominated Marvel movie, ‘Black Panther,’ which is entitled ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,’ finally opens in theaters on November 11th.

The film was put in jeopardy in 2020 when the franchise’s lead actor, Chadwick Boseman tragically died of cancer. Returning director Ryan Coogler and co-writer Joe Robert Cole were forced to rewrite the script, and choosing not to recast the character, find a way to explain his absence. Their choice was to kill off the character, which would be the second and ultimately last time T’Challa died in the Marvel Universe, after disintegrating when Thanos snapped his fingers in ‘Avengers: Infinity War.'

The sequel begins shortly after King T’Challa‘s death, but I’ll let the film itself explain exactly what he died from. The Kingdom of Wakanda is mourning their fallen king, as Shuri (Letitia Wright), Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o), Okoye (Danai Gurira), and M’Baku (Winston Duke) rally around their Queen, Ramonda (Angela Bassett), while a new threat emerges from the hidden undersea nation of Talokan ruled by Namor (Tenoch Huerta).

Angela Bassett as Ramonda in Marvel Studios' 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.'

With war brewing between the two powerful nations, the CIA dispatches Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman) to keep an eye on the situation, and while Wakanda’s royal family decides what to do with the Black Panther mantel, they seek the aid of MIT student and genius inventor Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), who in the comics is known as the hero Ironheart and soon will have her own Disney+ series.

The result is a solid and entertaining sequel that truly explores the concept of grief and loss, and introduces some great new characters to the MCU, however, unfortunately never overcomes the unmeasurable absence of Boseman and his character.

The film does have a few issues, and one of the problems with the movie is it is just too long for the story it is telling. At 2 hours and 41 minutes, it’s longer than ‘Infinity War’ and the story just does not warrant it. Also, without giving anything away, the character of Black Panther does not show up until after the two-hour mark, and that is a problem for a movie with the words ‘Black Panther’ in the title.

Ultimately, the film suffers from the loss of Boseman, and in turn T’Challa, but obviously there is nothing that could be done about that. But now that we’ve mentioned all of that, let’s talk about what does work. Director Ryan Coogler has crafted an epic film, huge in scope, that basically deals with the simple idea of grief and how we as people deal with loss.

Danai Gurira as Okoye in Marvel Studios' 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.'

The returning cast is excellent, and every actor has a chance to step-up their roles in the wake of Boseman’s absence. Leading the charge is Oscar-nominated actress Angela Bassett, who gives a passionate performance as the Queen of Wakanda, and a mother who has lost her son. Her performance is the heart of the film.

Danai Gurira is also a standout, with Okoye questioning her place in the world after the death of T’Challa. Her character comes in conflict with Ramonda and has some terrific scenes with Bassett. Winston Duke’s M’Baku also has a larger role this time around, now as an advisor to the royal family.

Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia is also a welcomed return to the franchise, and while she plays a pivotal role in the story, her character does not have as much screen time as I had hoped.

But Letitia Wright’s Shuri is clearly the focal point of the film, and while the actress gave a strong performance in the original as a supporting character, she stumbles a little leading the movie on her own but is ultimately helped by the rest of the cast’s strong supporting performances.

Tenoch Huerta as Namor in Marvel Studios' 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.'

But it’s the movie’s new characters that really shine including the MCU introduction of Dominque Thorne as Riri Williams/Ironheart and Tenoch Huerta as Namor.

Thorne, who actually auditioned to play Shuri in the first ‘Black Panther,’ is excellent as the MIT student that will eventually become the MCU’s new Iron Man. Williams and Shuri hit it off right away, and the two actresses have great chemistry together. The character is a great addition to the MCU, and while the movie acts as a backdoor pilot to her upcoming Disney+ series, I can’t wait to see what they do with the show.

But the standout of the film is truly the introduction of Namor and the career-making performance by Tenoch Huerta. Namor first appeared in Marvel comics in 1939, but due to the film rights being tied-up at another studio, Marvel was not able to bring the character to the big screen until now.

It’s a shame that DC was able to launch an ‘Aquaman’ franchise first, because there will unenviably be comparisons. The Talokan people will also undoubtedly be compared to the characters in Disney’s other big sequel opening this year, ‘Avatar: The Way of Water,’ as they are blue and have a passing resemblance to the Na'vi.

Lupita Nyong'O as Nakia in Marvel Studios' 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.'

But the character looks very comic book accurate on screen, and the effects used for his ankle wings is fantastic. Huerta brings a lot of passion and gravitas to his role and is extremely commanding as Namor. While the character is basically a hero in the comics, he has had arcs where he is an anti-hero, so using him as the antagonist for this movie makes sense, but there is still room in the future of the MCU for the character to play a more heroic role.

There are a few surprise cameos that I won’t give away, one connected to the original ‘Black Panther,’ and another connecting to presumably the upcoming ‘Thunderbolts.’ And while there is no end-credit scene, there is a mid-credit scene that adds a heart-warming element to the franchise for future installments.

In the end, director Ryan Coogler has crafted a strong sequel and a truly beautiful film about loss and dealing with grief, that unfortunately can never surpass the original due to the seismic loss of Chadwick Boseman. Coogler and the cast have created a loving tribute to the late actor, but we’ll always have to wonder what this sequel could have been if Boseman had survived.

‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ receives 4 out of 5 stars.

Dorothy Steel as Merchant Tribe Elder, Florence Kasumba as Ayo, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Danai Gurira as Okoye in Marvel Studios' 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.'

(L-R): Dorothy Steel as Merchant Tribe Elder, Florence Kasumba as Ayo, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Danai Gurira as Okoye in Marvel Studios' 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.' Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 Marvel.