Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a hard film to review and I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been to make.

The loss of Chadwick Boseman is still so keenly felt and his presence within, and absence from, this film overshadows everything else.

Choosing to close Phase Four with this sequel feels right and things are left over to Ant-Man: Quantumania to kickstart Phase Five in 2023.

Like a lot of the criticism surrounding this Phase though, Wakanda Forever doesn’t quite contain enough wider repercussions for the rest of the MCU and only gently nudges events forward feeling very much like a ‘Story from the MCU’ piece.

Each character’s screentime is enhanced as the passing of T’Challa affects the citizens of Wakanda in different ways. The character arcs of Okoye, Nakia, Queen Ramonda and newcomer Riri (Ironheart) are brilliantly drawn but it is Shuri who, much like the first film, steps up as MVP. Letitia Wright puts in an incredible performance and her story here is set for a fascinating future within the MCU.

New villain Namor is another really interesting addition. He leads the Talokan, an underwater civilization who also have access to Vibranium. The Talokan themselves are a little thinly-drawn, and the Avatar-alike design and Aquaman-like use of sea creatures feels a little distracting, but Namor himself is threatening, multi-faceted and [SPOILER] is kept in play for the future which does feel fresh.

Overall though, it’s hard to justify the film’s lengthy runtime. Whilst it has heart, a great soundtrack, a solid story and brilliant acting, it feels a little slow in parts and some of the action sequences a tad muddled. There are some standout moments and shocks but Boseman’s presence is sorely missed.

Marvel and their cast deserve great credit for what stands as a poignant and beautiful tribute to one of the MCU’s great characters but, taken on purely filmic terms, Wakanda Forever quite understandably doesn’t hit the heights we’re used to from the MCU.

3 stars ***