By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
The void left by the late Chadwick Boseman is profoundly felt in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which honored him with a touching, heartfelt tribute that leaves its audience in tears at the very beginning of the film. As the old adage goes, the show must go on, and that it does. While the emotion is raw and genuine, a flawed storyline and execution prevent this movie from being the reinvigoration Marvel/Disney desperately needed.
It starts with Shuri (Letitia Wright) working frantically to generate a miracle cure for her brother dying of an unknown disease. As the audience is already aware, a cure won’t stop the inevitable passing of the Black Panther. In the aftermath of his death, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) leads her empire of Wakanda through the grieving process, navigating the ensuing political pressure of other nations thinking Wakanda is in a weakened state without their protector.
Countries are clamoring for the chance to get their hands on Wakanda’s most precious resource, Vibranium, a very rare metal with unique properties that has given the reclusive African nation a decided technological advantage over the rest of the world. A young American scientist, Riri (Dominique Thorne) develops a machine that can detect sources of Vibranium in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, leading to another previously unknown empire.
Namor (Tenoch Huerta), aka Sub-Mariner, leader of Talocan, an underwater city with their own substantial source of Vibranium, leads his army to the surface to prevent the discovery of his nation at all costs. When he learns that Wakanda is protecting the scientist he wishes to kill, Namor declares war, throwing an already distraught nation into turmoil. As Shuri scrambles to unite her people to defend against this equally advanced opponent, tragedy strikes Wakanda again, and Shuri must wrestle with her own conscience while vengeance threatens to consume her.
Writer/director Ryan Coogler does a superb job of harnessing the gut-wrenching emotion everyone feels over the untimely death of Chadwick Boseman to pay homage to his amazing talent that brought the Black Panther character to life. Coogler has demonstrated a talent for creating emotional dramas as evidenced by his first two outstanding films, “Fruitvale Station” and “Creed.” What he doesn’t do as well is action, and without Boseman covering up those missteps, the flaws from “Black Panther” are exposed in this sequel.
Coogler uses advanced weaponry in action sequences where there isn’t precedence nor is its development well explained. The results are poorly choreographed fight scenes that are outlandish and cartoonish with water balloons that the audience is supposed to believe provide devasting concussive blasts. To make matters worse, he makes the outcomes from these action scenes extremely obvious, eliminating any kind of suspense. Then factor in the hastily developed Ironheart character introduction and the inexplicable pivot of the Shuri character, the film quickly gets sloppy. However, Coogler does a solid job of developing the Namor villain with a complete backstory and giving Marvel fans something to cheer about by having the character reveal himself as a mutant, thus paving the way for the X-Men to be introduced into the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe).
Letitia Wright has done an admirable job in a supporting role as the smart, scientific younger sister to Black Panther, providing him with the iconic suit and advanced gadgets to give him an edge in battle. She’s basically the equivalent of Q in the James Bond movies, which makes her overnight transformation from nerdy scientist to action superstar not believable. She’s a good actress but doesn’t have the chops or “X” factor to pull off that transition and headline a franchise.
Making her Marvel debut is Dominique Thorne, a young actress who made a name for herself in her first two critically acclaimed films, “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “Judas and the Black Messiah.” Her performance, while serviceable, does not really showcase her range. Hopefully, Thorne will be given a chance to shine with better character development in the upcoming Disney+ series, “Ironheart.”
Mexican born actor Tenoch Huerta, renowned for his work in multiple movies in Latin America and Spain, is the bright spot of an otherwise unremarkable cast. He adds rich depth to an almost 500-year-old character, creating a super villain that isn’t simply crazy or deranged, but with ideals that are almost relatable. Huerta does a great job of balancing the believable presence as a powerful leader with the promise of brutal violence that shows his character as one to be revered and feared at the same time.
Ultimately, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is touching with spectacular visuals yet overrated. This is a film that was supposed to provide a glimmer of hope to an ailing franchise, but instead is a sad memory of what Marvel films used to be. This is the 30th film in the MCU. Fans will have to wait until February to see if Marvel/Disney can turn things around with “Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.”
This movie earns:
