Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever (2022)

In the midst of my marvel fatigue, I really enjoyed this film. I thought namor was great and the film was very respectful of Chadwick Boseman. Given the circumstances, the film carries a ton of emotional weight, and from that aspect it is executed perfectly. But they don’t tiptoe around it and sacrifice good story telling. The protagonist is put into a complex moral dilemma that mirrors that of the first film and I enjoyed the continued exploration of that idea.

Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia and Everett Ross and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. Felt more Avatar 2 than Star Wars, a lot less Marvel-like, more Ben-Hur-ish epic than a sequel. And none of that is a bad thing in itself. Put altogether, though? A lot to take in after just one viewing. The story flowed along at such a pace I didn’t even go to the toilet throughout the two hours and forty minutes of the silver screen spectacle!

New characters, new gadgets, new villians and/or antiheroes, new locations and a different beat to tell the obligatory dark Part Two of the trilogy playbook. There’s a lot to unpack. And emotions need to stabilize before delving any deeper. A more emotional film than an action one. Bigger action without the fear of losing a favourite character, as this film introduces different sides of previously seen characters, and brand new ones, without the depth and scope previous origin movies gave certain heroes. An altogether enjoyable experience, if only we left expectation at the door!

This movie had so many slow parts. I kept falling asleep. This is very unusual for me. Unfortunately, it just could not keep my attention. It was nowhere near as good as the first Black Panther movie. I appreciate that they were trying to be respectful toward Chadwick Boseman, but I think they overdid it. Also, Martin Freeman’s role in this movie was… odd. It felt shoehorned in as a touchstone to the previous Black Panther movie. Finally, I’m not sure how they are going to redeem Namor. He came off as a true villain and wasn’t redeemed at all. Is the plan to have him continue to be a villain going forward?

In that it’s similar to Eternals, but even more drawn out. The theme is one of a nation (and people) mourning but it never really hit home. It was so slow and drawn out by the time the action bits happened they too seemed forced.

Without spoiling it, if you’re a comic book fan you’re almost guaranteed to lose it if you’re going in blind as once things were unveiled, all I could think was: “Oh wow, we’re doing this?” It was definitely an experimental way to handle things. For non-readers, this will not matter. As movie-goers may walk in thinking, losing Chadwick Boseman might indeed be fatal to this particular franchise.

The latest in the MCU & probably the most well realized yarn this year from Marvel currently playing in theaters. Unfortunately since the passing of Chadwick Boseman, the cinematic elephant in the room before the film’s release was how’re they going to handle his passing since a recasting of the role was going to be considered an affront to Boseman’s memory so dealing w/his character’s passing, a sudden ailment which his sister Letitia Wright’s brilliant scientist can’t solve proves an ample subplot for her to deal w/his death since Wakanda needs a Panther & the flowers which create the hero were destroyed by Killmonger, Michael B. Jordan, in the last entry putting us in a place where scientific might may not trump tradition. Adding to the drama is the world’s attempts to usurp Wakanda’s hold on vibranium, the appearance of the mutant Namor (masterfully now rooted in Aztec mythology) who fears land dwellers will come to his kingdom seeking the powerful ore & also ReRe Williams, Dominque Thorne, a young genius following in the footsteps of Tony Stark, who’s constructed a vibranium detector which has been co-opted by the American government which puts her on a death list penned by Namor. All of this climaxes on a troop barge where the seemingly insurmountable ocean dwellers are spurred back from the remaining Wakandan forces (after a flooding decimates the nation) where a Black Panther stands tall once again to not only right some wrongs but keep the world in their respective corners. Ryan Coogler again proves himself to be the biggest kid on the cinematic block by weaving a nearly 3 hour narrative into something thoughtful, inspiring & ultimately soul searching as viewers grapple w/the multitude of emotions being explored here.

Overall, I was looking for something fresh coming off of years of subpar marvel projects too concerned with building the universe rather than making a great film, and this exceeded my expectations. Although it is long and drags a little at certain points, I felt very good walking out of the theater.