Luke McWilliams gives his review of the 2022 Marvel film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (M), starring Letitia Wright and Lupita Nyong’o.

A year after T’Challa, king of Wakanda (Chadwick Boseman), dies of a mysterious disease, Wakanda faces pressure from the United Nations to uphold its promise to share its rich vibration resources. Soon, however, the CIA uses a deep sea vibranium-detecting machine, which attracts unwelcome guests from the deep.

Black Panther (2018) was a cultural juggernaut made by a majority of black talent in front of and behind the camera. The movie broke $1 billion, in turn making a breakout star of the late Chadwick Boseman. With Chadwick’s passing, the sequel faced many challenges, with the story eventually landing on honouring the actor’s memory and that of the Black Panther.

Most of the creative team and cast return, with side characters stepping up and into the void left in T’Challa’s wake. Letitia Wright gives weight to Shuri, T’Challa’s grieving sister, an intellectual introvert who is forced to leave the confines of her lab to fight for her people and to confront her shattered heart. Angela Bassett’s Queen Ramonda is a powerhouse matriarch who must face her own mourning while leading her people into an uncertain future and ensuring her remaining child processes her grief constructively.

Antagonist Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía) shares Wakanda’s fears of the outside world but differs in his approach by bringing the fight to them instead.   

Verdict: A sequel with great potential, hindered by Marvel/Disney’s penchant for artificially shoehorning characters and storylines for the growth of the franchise rather than for the good of the present project. 2.5 stars.

Luke McWilliams, www.themovieclub.net.

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