With the passing of Chadwick Boseman in 2020 & the decision to not recast T'Challa, continuing on with a sequel just didn't seem right. But somehow director Ryan Coogler managed to overcome the Impossible by crafting a solid follow-up thanks in part to it's stellar cast.
Right from the get-go we watch as the nation of wakanda is mourning the loss of its king. Grief plays a strong role in the story and we see how T'Challa's death impacts everyone he knew closely. From a mother, to a sister, to a lover, and even a rival turned friend. T'Challa's spirit no doubt hovers over this film & makes for some emotional and heartfelt moments. I cant imagine the difficult task going from supporting to main focus that Letitia Wright had to go up against. But she wonderfully plays Shuri again this time as not just a funny sidekick but now a righteous fighter struggling to carry her family's Legacy forward. It may be hard to see her as the new forefront of the franchise right now but only time will tell if it sticks. The standout performance was no doubt Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda. You really believe this woman lost her son where it's hard to tell if she's grieving for T'Challa, or Boseman, or even both. All the Supporting Cast do excellent jobs growing as their characters and the addition of Dominique Thorne's Riri Williams/Ironheart makes for a very appealing new face to the MCU. Among this great tragedy is the coming of an underwater tribe called the Talokan led by the dominating Namor. Although he may not be as compelling as Eric killmonger from the last film he makes for a solid antagonist that's both ruthless and sympathetic.
The movie has its hiccups. For the first 2 acts the movie feels like it really struggles to find its main character. Shuri seems to be made out as the lead but she goes in and out through the story and doesn't become much of the focus until the third act. Also while most the supporting cast worked for me the subplot with Martin Freeman's Agent Ross didn't seem to serve much purpose and couldve easily saved the movie's bloated runtime an extra 20 minutes.
Black Panther Wakanda Forever was never gonna be as impactful as its first outing. But thanks to a strong cast, beautifully crafted visuals, fun action sequences, and of course the emotional weight of our lost hero, it makes for a worthy follow up that worked better than It had any right to.
Right from the get-go we watch as the nation of wakanda is mourning the loss of its king. Grief plays a strong role in the story and we see how T'Challa's death impacts everyone he knew closely. From a mother, to a sister, to a lover, and even a rival turned friend. T'Challa's spirit no doubt hovers over this film & makes for some emotional and heartfelt moments. I cant imagine the difficult task going from supporting to main focus that Letitia Wright had to go up against. But she wonderfully plays Shuri again this time as not just a funny sidekick but now a righteous fighter struggling to carry her family's Legacy forward. It may be hard to see her as the new forefront of the franchise right now but only time will tell if it sticks. The standout performance was no doubt Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda. You really believe this woman lost her son where it's hard to tell if she's grieving for T'Challa, or Boseman, or even both. All the Supporting Cast do excellent jobs growing as their characters and the addition of Dominique Thorne's Riri Williams/Ironheart makes for a very appealing new face to the MCU. Among this great tragedy is the coming of an underwater tribe called the Talokan led by the dominating Namor. Although he may not be as compelling as Eric killmonger from the last film he makes for a solid antagonist that's both ruthless and sympathetic.
The movie has its hiccups. For the first 2 acts the movie feels like it really struggles to find its main character. Shuri seems to be made out as the lead but she goes in and out through the story and doesn't become much of the focus until the third act. Also while most the supporting cast worked for me the subplot with Martin Freeman's Agent Ross didn't seem to serve much purpose and couldve easily saved the movie's bloated runtime an extra 20 minutes.
Black Panther Wakanda Forever was never gonna be as impactful as its first outing. But thanks to a strong cast, beautifully crafted visuals, fun action sequences, and of course the emotional weight of our lost hero, it makes for a worthy follow up that worked better than It had any right to.