[‘BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER’ Review] Goofy, messy sequel’s winged feet finds its footing with its emotional dives

Preston Barta // Features Editor

BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER

Rated PG-13, 161 minutes.
Now playing in theaters nationwide.

While difficult to take seriously at times, ‘WAKANDA FOREVER’ remains a fine addition to the MCU, offering the most food for thought than any other Phase 4 movie.

The thunderous original Black Panther has chills that hit all throughout. As the title character, Chadwick Boseman, who died in 2020 following a private four-year battle with cancer, was a radiant force who clawed his way into our hearts and minds. Writer-director Ryan Coogler had to pull off the impossible by rebuilding a sequel without its lead. (Coogler had a first draft written before Boseman’s passing.)

Does Coogler pull off the impossible?

Well, not entirely, but it’s a fun and super emotional ride.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever takes some big swings that shoot past the tone established in the original Black Panther. This sequel gets downright Guardians of the Galaxy silly at times with its visual storytelling. We’re going from Michael B. Jordan’s compelling Killmonger, a character from the real world who feels like he’s from the real world. Here, the antagonist, Namor (Tenoch Huerta), skates across the sky with his tiny ankle wings like he’s Sonic after chugging a few Red Bull energy drinks. Not to mention Namor’s underwater civilization looks like they’re somewhere between Avatar and Aquaman. Admittedly, it’s challenging to take all the themes seriously when all that imagery is happening on screen.

Coogler does his best to get you to dismiss the goofiness by making the culture of this underwater nation feel rich and real – and he somewhat does. Namor’s origin story is actually quite good. Like the first film, Coogler incorporates pages from our world’s history to make us better understand every character’s agenda. And as Namor, Huerta is quite good in the role. But you can’t help but giggle when a scene so rooted in the ground is disrupted by a giant humpback whale jumping out of the water with blue people on its back. It’s a bit of a tonal abandonment that’s disappointing.

Additionally, it’s also hard to ignore how the times of COVID have impacted the way this film was shot. Of course, Marvel is no stranger to using computer-generated images to achieve looks beyond our natural world. But you’ll too often notice how a scene set in a relatively ordinary setting appears unrealistic. For example, two characters could be sitting somewhere, and you’ll notice the background is more blurred than it probably should be and the lighting isn’t always in sync. The heavy CGI look removes some of the stakes and creates more distance between the viewer and the characters. 

Scenes with action also slow down compared to the film’s predecessor. There’s an exciting chase sequence about a quarter way in, but then the action goes dark for a while in favor of talking. At a whopping 161 minutes, you will feel the length. A significant chunk could have been omitted to keep the experience tighter. Long scenes featuring discussions could have been communicated through quick reflections and visual moments. 

All that said, because expectations were high and audiences are craving another truly great Marvel movie in its fourth phase (after Spider-Man: No Way Home), there’s a lot of beauty and fun to be soaked up. How Coogler opens the film is really heartbreaking and beautiful. It kicks off in a fashion that has you locked in and emotional, especially when the Marvel logo comes in. It’s completely dedicated to Boseman. Wakanda Forever knows how to have meaningful conversations about grief. Each character we fell in love with in the first film has their experience. One scene toward the end with Shuri (Letitia Wright, a.k.a. the franchise’s MVP) is incredibly powerful. The love for Boseman can be felt from beginning to end. The cast and crew’s dedication to him is the strongest current in this sequel. 

So, in all, Wakanda Forever is unfortunately a bit messy. Still, it remains a fine addition to the MCU that offers the most food for thought than any other Phase 4 movie. There seem to be many exciting projects coming down the pike in Marvel’s future, but now we’re just coasting on “OK.”

Grade: B-