Movie Review - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

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Dave Gray:
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Premise: A discovery of new vibranium triggers an international crisis between the Western world, Wakanda, and a mysterious ocean-faring society, but the death of the Black Panther has left a hole in Wakanda's defenses.

Rating: A decent movie, but just too much going on.

This was kind of a frustrating movie for me.  It does some things really, really well, but it is too bloated to tell its own story.  It owes screen time and subplots to other shows and movies, which makes it overlong and thematically muddy.

However, you kinda have to grade this movie on a curve.  The star died, so they have to use screen time to deal with that, both in-universe and emotionally.  And that's a home run.  It's done super respectfully and powerfully.  You feel both the death of Black Panther and Chadwick Boseman.  You can feel that vibe in the trailer and the movie carries that same energy.

Like Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness used a young Ms. Marvel as the film's maguffin, Black Panther 2 does the same with a young Ironheart.  This is to the film's detriment.  With this film already having so much to do, I'm not sure a new character introduction is the best way to kick off the plot.  This character is in the movie, but doesn't really have an interesting story or growth.  She's there as an exposition drop, but also feels like the roots of a TV series.  The movie itself isn't interested in paying off her character.

However, the introduction of Namor is just the opposite.  He's a rock-star.  He's super cool, and in the tradition of the first film, the character is nuanced and, while a bad guy, had some pretty good opinions and you can understand why he is the way he is.  He's an asshole, but he's not wrong.  The actor is exciting on screen, the backstory is well done, and the character looks cool.  The CG of him flying around is wonky at times, but some of the action beats with the Atlanteans are interesting and those characters, menacing and even scary, particularly in the film's first act.

There is an unneeded and unworthy "who will be the new  Black Panther?" mystery.  It's not all that mysterious and it's not all that interesting.  And in my opinion, the person who takes the mantle isn't super charismatic.  The film seems to want to have a Joseph-Campbell-style "turn down the call" type of hero, but doesn't really have the time to flesh that idea out and it just seems to delay the inevitable.

In an effort, I assume, to throw a lot of potential characters into the mix as possible Black Panther replacements, there are many subplots of warrior-types.  None of the pay off particularly well, in my opinion.  It's fine that the characters are there, but again -- it's just too much happening, resulting in an end sequence where several people are getting 3rd-act super-suits in a rushed climax.

While I'm piling on the "too many subplots" pile, Martin Freeman and Julia Louis Dreyfus are back with an unnecessary subplot that has very little to do with this movie and feels like an advertisement for the next Marvel property.

The acting standout is Angela Bassett, who plays the OG Black Panther's mother -- it's possible that she's in the awards conversation.

I didn't dislike this movie -- I like many of the ideas that are there.  It's just too much.  The movie is a bloated 2:41 and it still feels rushed.  It could have easily excised 2 or 3 subplots and make a tighter, more direct, and more thematically cohesive story.



Edit: I have been corrected that America Chavez, who I reference as "Ms. Marvel" in Doctor Strange 2 is, in fact, not Ms. Marvel.

Spider-Dan:
Agreed.

It feels like the Ironheart and Louis-Dreyfus plot points were pre-baked in as connecting points for planning future projects, and after Boseman's death they needed to add a bunch of plot for the Queen, Shuri, and Okoye.  It all feels messy, but it's totally understandable.

Loved Namor and the MCU decision to change his backstory from "dollar store Aquaman" to an offshoot of Mesoamerican Mayan/Aztec mythos.  The actor was a good pick and it just fits.  It's super unfortunate that we did not get to see him with Chadwick Boseman, because I think the original version of this movie would have been amazing.

Didn't like Ironheart, and I still don't understand what they are doing with Louis-Dreyfus.  So that plot better have been super necessary, because it was purely a drag on the movie.

Dave Gray:
I've done some reading and listening after having written my review, and I'm actually pretty proud of myself.  My original thoughts above are being almost point-by-point echoed by the professionals.  Often, I'll have a feel for a movie but not be able to verbalize what works or doesn't until I reflect and have someone break it down.  It's not that I change my opinions, but sometimes, hearing a professional discuss a property allows me to understand why I'm feeling what I'm feeling.  But in this case, I pretty much knew the root issues of this movie by the car-ride home.

To my understanding Julia Louis-Dreyfus is going to be a Nick Fury type of character to an anti-hero squad called the Thunderbolts.  I don't know exactly who the members are, but they're the MCU versions of the "bad guys with good intentions", gray-morality types: The Captain America ripoff guy, Black Widow's sister, that Russian dude from Stranger Things, Bucky, etc.

As much as I seemed to dump on BP2, I still do think it's a remarkable achievement, considering the situation with Boseman.  From what I understand, this was the basic plot prior to his death.  But I do feel that since they had to add all of the plot elements surrounding his death and a new Black Panther, not to mention that tonally, this film couldn't be your normal Marvel quip-fest, that they really should've cut back the plotlines to make up for it.

Also, I didn't know this at the time, but apparently this movie is a redefinition of Namor's character.  He isn't normally a Mayan relic of Imperialism.  Those changes were great and he's rad.

SlothVomit:
This movie had it's issues but I actually liked it far more than the first. A bit too long but it never weighed on me. Maybe I've just become accustomed to over long movies?

The new choice of BP was the wrong one but I understand why. However the credit scene brought it full circle for me and corrected it for the future. I won't explain further as I don't want to spoil anything. Chadwick Boseman is BP to me and anybody else just doesn't feel the same. They handled the death really well. I didn't feel it though, until the post credit scene. It got me.

Though I agree the MF and JD subplot line was just there to connect this to another project, I liked it there. I know all these films, tv shows and whatnot connect, I love seeing it.

Iron heart was a huge win for me. I had absolutely ZERO interest in her before this movie. Now, I'm not waiting on the edge of the couch, but I'll for sure be watching the show.

Namor. Beast. I want more of this character. They have teased him since Iron Man 2 and it's about damn time. The changes to his backstory where well done and needed. The cultures shown in this movie were something else. It has to be nominated for costume design.

Angela Bassett was incredible. I agree with Dave she should be in the run for a nomination.

Sunstroke:

Watched BP2 this weekend and totally enjoyed it. I liked the Ironhead plot point quite a bit. I'll also echo Dave and Spidey's comment about the Namor reinvention. I thought that made it more "real world" to me.

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