Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) Review
Hitting all the marks its predecessor had, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is one of the better Marvel projects put out in its phase 4 of releases. Carried by its storyline with strong themes and a villain with proper motivations, it sets itself out to be a standout in quality alongside the other Marvel movies put out in recent times.
It starts off by addressing the most difficult aspect to address: the passing of Chadwick Boseman (he/him) who had played the title character in all previous Marvel properties. Not trying to describe the entire thing, I will say it was a proper send off.
This was not just for his character of T’Challa but of the actor himself, as after the opening we’re given the usual Marvel logo sequence but this time around showing only Chadwick’s moments in the MCU in silence. With this opening, it leads into the film’s major theme of grief.
Grief is held by all our characters in this film, with Shuri, played by Letitia Wright (she/her), being the one who takes it the hardest. Much of the film is her learning to overcome her grief and to also take up the mantle that had been left behind. It’s an excellent arc we follow her in throughout the film’s 2 hour and 41 minute runtime. Each minute here holds meaning, which is complemented by the formidable villain.
There’s many Marvel products that leave us with improper or downright basic villains. However, this one is certainly different, with one who holds proper motivation for their cause.
Namor, played by Tenoch Huerta (he/him), is king of a nation much like Wakanda, deep in hiding and avoiding the world so as to not become a target for imperialism. Shuri even holds empathy for Namor and understands his reasoning for the most part, however it does reach a point where he becomes destructive and then has to be stopped.
Besides motivations, his power is immense in the film, being quite the threat to the kingdom of Wakanda, so we aren’t given a lame villain.
By the numbers, I’d rate it a 4.5/5 and recommend giving it a watch!
One of my earlies memories was watching stories unfold on a small TV in my room. Ever since then, I've always wanted to become a filmmaker to put stories of my own onto all manner of screens. Being a fan of writing alongside this has also led to my love of writing analysis/reviews on the things I view. It's a joy to share to others my thoughts and insights on media.
