Ryan Coogler (co-writer and director) has created a movie that deals with grief and pays tribute to T'Challa, portrayed by the late Chadwick Boseman.
It also hints at where the franchise is heading, and did I mention that it's a great celebration of black girl magic on steroids?
Let's dig in...
Some folks were hoping that the Black Panther character would be recast after Chadwick Boseman's death and that the story would continue as usual but with a different actor.
Yet Coogler and Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige had other ideas. In honour of Chadwick's portrayal and his contribution to the role, Coogler speaks fondly of Boseman on the official
Wakanda Forever Podcast and Marvel decided not to recast the role.
In the podcast Coogler remarks on how most of the creative choices for the Black Panther movie were built on choices that Chadwick fought for in Civil War, e.g. T'Challa speaking with an "African Accent" instead of British, the use of isiXhosa, his personal support, just to mention a few. He felt it would be weird to have another actor just step into those shoes.
Which I respect, and I think the passion and grief for Chadwick is sublimated well in Wakanda Forever, especially in how it drives Shuri's journey.
Her arc moves from the sidekick comedic character (in the first movie) to one who needs to define what sort of protector the new Black Panther will become.
Will her Black Panther be one based on vengeance and driven by grief, or one that is driven by noble values of what a hero is?
This is a call back to a similar arc for T'Challa in Captain America: Civil War, where her own brother went through a similar arc after losing their father.
Shuri is not the only one suffering from the loss of T'Challa - Queen Ramonda, Okoye and Nakia are too. This loss influences their performances, from Queen Ramonda's righteous anger, to Nakia's femininity to Okoye's overcompensation. These three ladies and Shuri hold the movie together as each navigates the world without T'Challa.
Yet T'Challa did not just have an impact on the people of Wakanda alone, his revelation about Wakanda in the previous movie brings the people of Talokan into the overeaching conflict.
The established lore was that Wakanda was the only place with vibranuim and now Coogler reimagines Atlantis and Namor as the antithesis of Wakanda, the Black Panther and vibranuim.
Like Killmonger in the first movie, Namor becomes Shuri's shadow and his issues and challenges mirror those of Shuri's.
From issues with colonisers, being king of a secret kingdom, to being motivated by grief and pain, Namor shares these qualities with Shuri. The difference being in how the two finally resolve them.
Tenoch Huerta is brilliant as Namor - he's regal but not arrogant like his comic book inspiration. He is menacing when needs be and emphatic when the moment requires. He comes across as a true antagonist instead of a villain and I'm hoping to see more of him and his kingdom Talokan in the future.
What Coogler does for Mesoamerican culture is brilliant - from the costumes to popularising their deities, to tapping into the America's colonial histories - he updates Namor and his world, making them relevant to today's audiences.
Ruth Carter outdoes herself again with the costumes, Ludwig Göransson creates another great score that takes from the Americas, Africa and urban music.
If there's any criticism of Wakanda Forever, it's that the overarching conflict with the colonisers is not paid off in this movie, and it's left over for either Phase 5 or the next Wakanda movie. This conflict has been simmering since the first Black Panther movie.
My other small criticism is that I wish we could have spent more time in Wakanda and Talokan, seen more of the countries outside of the capitals.
But other than that, Wakanda Forever is an almost perfect movie with a lot of heart. It may be light on action but it has great character journeys, emotional weight, smart political commentary and humour that does not make it feel like it's made for five-year-olds.
Probably the best movie of Phase 4, depending on what you're looking for in your movies. The film speaks to real world issues whilst completely embracing its comic book source material - we have antagonist who can fly.
It felt like: a meditation on grief through comic book characters.
Rating :
****1/2
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* Horrible ** You are on your own ***It tries ****Almost Perfect *****Instant Classic