Movies For Breakfast BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER Review

Grief and Revenge are the name of the game in Ryan Coogler’s entertaining-but-overblown follow up to 2018’s “Black Panther”, anchored by a talented Letitia Wright.

Synopsis

Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with Nakia and Everett Ross to forge a new path for their beloved kingdom.

Review
A lot has happened since the release of 2018’s “Black Panther.” A pandemic, an election, a simmering World War…and the death of lead actor Chadwick Boseman. The latter is a loss that is felt throughout the bulk of Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” However, that doesn’t mean the whole film is a total somberfest, there aren’t a lot of jokey-jokes here but the adventure is still intact as well as the emotional hero journey that made us fall in love with its predecessor. The film begins with Shuri (Letitia Wright) and her fellow Wakandans fighting against time to save the failing health of T’Challa as he lays on an operating room table (presumably off screen). They try and try again to revive him, then, with the grieving face of Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett, terrific supporting work here), it is made clear. The King is gone. We then see a beautiful, somber funeral sequence for the King, and after he is lifted off by a ship in the sky, the Marvel logo finally appears.

A tough but necessary way to begin the story of grief, loss and doomed destiny that exists within “Wakanda Forever.” A year later, Shuri keeps her head buried in her work, leaving no time to grieve and process the anniversary of her brother’s death (“I want to burn the world and everything in it”, she tells a concerned Ramonda in a quietly powerful scene). Ramonda deals with her own issues as she joins an impatient United Nations meeting (nicely paired with an action-packed sequence of hired mercenaries and their failed seizure of Wakanda’s Vibranium, getting their behinds handed to them by Okeye and crew), explaining to them with a commanding stance that there’s more substantial risk of Vibranium being in the hands of THEM than in the hands of Wakanda. Beneath the sea, a new adversary appears, Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía, terrific), the king of a powerful underwater dwelling of people powered by Vibranium. After a nicely directed sequence of besting CIA officers and US Seals after they discover his homeland using a Vibranium-detecting machine, Namor gives Ramonda and Shuri a fierce ultimatum: deliver to him the scientist that created the dire machine or prepare the nation of Wakanda for a war like no other (as he coldly puts it, they have as many soldiers underwater as Wakanda has grass – yikes). Not taking the threat lightly nor agreeing to send an innocent person to slaughter, Shuri and Okeye (Danai Gurira, always great) track down the genius in question. An MIT student named Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne, funny) who is so smart and talented that she even has her own bootleg-Iron Man suit. Things take an interesting turn when Shuri and Okeye, after discovering they’ve been tailed by authorities, have to split up.

What works for “Wakanda Forever” in spades are Ryan Coogler’s assured direction and Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s beautiful cinematography. The action scenes are as intense and enthralling as anything this side of “Creed” and other Greatest Hits of Marvel and the world of Wakanda (in tandem with the world under the sea) are lush with dazzling visuals. The detail put to the underworld of the sea takes this universe to new heights (and technically, new lows) and provides a new layer to the World of Wakanda. The acting here is also top notch. Letitia Wright steps up to the challenge of helming this film as Boseman did with its predecessor. Her portrayal of grief (as it can travel, manifest and potentially destroy) and her talent of carrying multiple emotions behind a shielded face of worry masked by courage is palpable and a delight to see. She also has great chemistry with Dominique Thorne as they trade witty remarks and commentary on the occurring action. Winston Duke and Lupita Nyong’o are a familiar breath of fresh air, reprising their roles of M’Baku and Nakia. Duke provides humor and charisma to the commanding role of M’Baku and Nyong’o’s performance adds another well-crafted performance of grief to the roster as Nakia grieves the loss of her love. Martin Freeman reprises his “good boy” role of Everett K. Ross, sharing the screen this time with Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Freeman is good (and relatable) but the chemistry with Louis-Dreyfuss proves to be nonexistent and forced. Frankly, all of their scenes, which are no doubt a springboard for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, are distracting and unnecessary, adding fluff to the film’s overblown runtime.

To say Namor is the best villain to bless the MCU post-Kilmonger and Thanos is far from an overstatement. Mejía handles the role with entrancing charisma and brimming fury. The villain itself also has one of the best origin sequences of any villain in the universe. Similar to Kilmonger, there is justified anger and reason behind this character and why he does what he does. You may not agree with his actions but you understand where he comes from and his motivations. His seemingly unstoppable reign is elevated by the film’s score, helmed by Ludwig Göransson who handled the score for the original. Göransson’s score beams with fresh vitality and energy during the action sequences and lends powerful gravitas to the film’s more emotional moments.

While there is so much to love in “Wakanda Forever”, there is a huge void missing throughout all this literal doom and gloom. The world of Wakanda just isn’t the same without Mr. Boseman. Letitia Wright gives it her all and succeeds, Coogler directs this sequel with gusto and almost everyone in the cast are on their A-Game. But in the end, it just isn’t the same without T’Challa. In addition to the runtime needing some extra trimming (some sequences involving Everett Ross should’ve stayed on the cutting room floor and could have been better served in the company of a Marvel one-off), there is a lot of gloom in this film. Its exploration of grief is well-crafted but the fresh, vibrant energy of the original is sorely missed this time around. Revenge, grief, trauma and doomed destiny are on the menu and while this may be a tasty dish for some, it just seems a tad out for place and excessive for 161 minutes and counting. Wakanda will never be the same with the loss of Boseman and frankly, with the passioned intention of Coogler and company, that might be the film’s point.

Closing Thoughts
“Wakanda Forever” is a long-awaited return to the magical world of Wakanda. While most of the film’s runtime may deal in spades of gloom and grief, there are new characters as well as new relationships that keep the momentum going. A new villain, an expansion of the Wakandan world as we know it and a proper sendoff to a cinematic legend gone-too-soon give this film a weight of emotional power and help morph it into a therapeutic process of loss.

Trailer