Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

You can really feel the tribute to Chadwick Boseman in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and that's truly touching. However, the storyline itself feels weaker, almost unnecessary when you consider where it ultimately leads. It's also the second-longest Marvel film, which doesn’t help, especially with moments that drag and nearly put me to sleep. There are some beautiful scenes, showcasing how far Marvel has come in recent years, but it's not quite enough by today's standards. The film lacks a central hero and a compelling reason to invest in the conflict between two nations driven by inflated egos. (02/07/2023)

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is spectacular and colourful – the characters, the production design, the costumes and the excellent arrangements by soundtrack composer Göransson. But it’s also inordinately long, with repetitive dialogue rehashing the same things, a mighty villain with a weak personality, an underwater world that’s not nearly as sophisticated as the one in Aquaman, and the borrowing of ideas from other Marvel movies that don’t fit here (e.g. Iron-Man costumes and flying in them). The first Black Panther was surprising with its distinctive soul and the compelling African mystique of the ethnic roots of a new, superbly functioning superhero movement. This is still a respectable Marvel formula, but altered only for effect. (03/06/2023)

Black Panther died from COVID and his mum and sister have to look after Wakanda. Coogler presents a sprawling project with many supporting themes in a very terse way. He jumps from scene to scene and the plot rushes instead of flowing. T'Challa's absence is especially noticeable in the moments when the film needs to breathe. The lighthearted jokes and would-be catchphrases of the girls during Iron Heart's introduction, in the context of Bossman's death, feel like a caress against the grain. Everything of course is saved by Namor and his Atlan... Mayas. Tying the new empire to Central America and their rich culture was a very cool idea. Huerta is awesome and I'm really looking forward to his next stint at Marvel. The final scene, where Kukalkan explains that those dickheads will eventually antagonize Wakanda, and then the fun will begin, is very impressive. The sister's scene from beyond the grave is chilling, and the action and the one-to-one fight works quite well. So it's a shame about the inconsistent introduction. The music is a chapter unto itself. Goransonn outdoes himself, the theme of the new Panther is unexpectedly brutal. (11/15/2022)

A more sweeping and darker sequel. It was similar with Captain America: Winter Soldier, but the more expansive story and the varied motivations of the main characters worked better there, it was tighter and more dynamic as a whole. The second Black Panther has a massive runtime. It wants to say a lot, give lots of emotions and show different worlds and the characters that inhabit them. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t. Most of the time it felt like a mix of Avatar, Aquaman and any random adventure movie set in Africa. It is bearable, but not worth a second visit to the cinema. (11/19/2022)

I've always considered Black Panther to the most boring Avenger, and thus was skeptical of this film. The trailer was boring, the running time of 160 minutes put me off and I wasn't entirely sure what it would be like. But I have to say that the result is more than good, and just as Eternals was compared to a regular Marvel movie, that goes double for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. There's a noticeable drop in cringe humour and CGI action for the visual gratification of teenagers, and the addition of dense emotions, a thorough look into the system of Wakanda and an adult style that fits perfectly. I also liked the music, which literally beats on the ears and adds noticeably to the whole experience. The first act is second to none (the Queen's speech at the UN and the attack of the new underwater world on the American ship were tense scenes that had me glued to my seat), and is mightily complemented by the excellent musical score and inventive ideas – sirens beckoning enemies into the sea, the background of the underwater race from Talokan, the suits from Wakanda. The second act stepped off the gas a bit, but it skillfully portrayed the motivation of the villain and the whole underwater system, and in the last act we got to see the final battle. I'm surprisingly very excited about the end result, and even though it has its flaws and isn't perfect, the whole film worked unexpectedly well and consistently, and brings in some fun characters that will show us quite a bit in future Marvel movies (enjoy the post-credit scene) (11/13/2022)