I miss T’Challa and so does the whole Marvel Universe. I know, like so many of you, I wondered how the MCU would deal with the untimely death of the amazing Chadwick Boseman. Now, we have our answer.

I was provided early passes to a screening of Wakanda Forever.
All opinions are mine (and my son’s). It’s our Universe, after all.

Saying goodbye and fighting the future battles

I was unable to attend the screening but it was the perfect time to send my 19yo son with whom I have started working on film reviews, went in my stead. He was incredibly moved by the how they dealt with the real life loss and T’Challa’s loss in the film.

Author: Ian Porcelle

To start, this movie carries a heavy beat from the get-go. This is due to the precedent set in the intro before the big Marvel reel demonstrating how the world has changed by the death of T’Challa. Throughout the movie, we see the grief that our characters are feeling. With this the characters show amazing performances from start to end. It’s a story that had a lot of heart and humor while displaying sad moment that didn’t feel forced or minor.

Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) and sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) ground this grief with power and a raw sense of imbalance. The film is about more than that, however. It wouldn’t be a MCU without unique foes and incredible action. Wakanda Forever does not disappoint there, either.

All that said, there is a self-contained story that can be enjoyed by anyone whether you have seen the first Black Panther or not. I found the way they explored the mythos of Wakanda while simultaneously developing an entire new part of the world in Talokan to be really well done and interesting. The film introduces the King Namor (Tenoch Huerta) from under the sea. I also found that the way they expressed T’Challa’s influence to be really well done without feeling out of place or, again, forced.

This new story-line provided a deep and interesting character arc as all Marvel worlds do, Not only it is reflective of an Atlantis-like culture but as per usual, there is a look at minority cultures and colonialism ad the rage that can come from it. Stan Lee never created characters just for action. They always had a greater societal purpose. “Wakanda Forever” does not forget this legacy.

******

Being a full-on gamer and otherwise visual guy, he couldn’t help but comment on a few things he noted on the CGI front.

There were very few moments where some things looked a bit odd, but for the most part the effects and CGI work were great. For the most part it was just a moment with Namor’s ear looking disconnected from the scene.

To finish, Ian truly recommended the film and suggests you see it. He closes with this.

To end this off, I’ll give one last positive that being M’Baku, that’s all… just M’Baku being excellent.
Hope I was able to convey this review in a way that displays my enjoyment and possibly yours, of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”.

So are you heading to Wakanda? Let me know if you enjoy it as much as my budding film reviewer.

Wakanda Forever Review

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