Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (PG13)
161 minutes, opens on Thursday
4 stars
The story: Some years after the events of Avengers: Endgame (2019), the African kingdom of Wakanda is in mourning following the death of King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman). Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) and Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) receive a visit from Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejia), king of Talokan, an undersea empire, warning them of a coming conflict between their two realms. Wakandan spy Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) informs them that, out in the larger world, a certain group’s activities will also cause them to make enemies of Wakanda.
Typically, when productions are troubled as this sequel to Black Panther (2018) has been, the end product should not be this good.
This movie hits the marks of grief, uplift and action, while doing that most mundane of Marvel duties: introducing new comic-book characters with spin-off potential.
There are a lot of balls to keep in the air, but director and co-writer Ryan Coogler keeps it all under control.
Coogler had to tear up his screenplay and begin afresh after the 2020 death of his star Chadwick Boseman, an actor who granted his King T’Challa/Black Panther character steeliness and power without losing humour or grace.
Marvel movies usually close with the death of a main character, but this one opens with it. What the characters mean when they say “the King is dead” is clear – this is a troupe of artistes breaking the fourth wall to talk about a beloved friend. The poignancy cuts deeply.
Coogler shows his brilliance in the way the language of dance, parades and African-inspired rituals are used to express collective mourning. The experience is visually stirring but also moving – it is a grief montage the likes of which has never before been seen not just in a superhero movie, but also in any blockbuster. It is participatory and cathartic. Tissues must be held at ready.
Some film-makers have a knack for creating worlds that feel deep and lived-in. George Miller (action-thriller Mad Max: Fury Road, 2015; the fantasy Three Thousand Years Of Longing, 2022) is one, and Coogler is another.
The nation of Wakanda, despite its flying cars and force-field dome, has felt grounded in reality to a degree that few fantasy or science-fiction films have achieved. That ability to make fantasy come alive is called into action when the underwater realm of Talokan is introduced. It is a spooky, sombre place, built on an otherworldly aesthetic that is a far cry from the theme parks that are home to aquatic heroes from other franchises.
The grief and the world-building are all in the service of the plot, and soon enough, an antagonist in the form of Talokan ruler Namor appears. He stands at one apex of a three-cornered fight taking place between his kingdom, Wakanda and a destructive human organisation.
As conflicts go, it is a weakly constructed and forgettable one and the dullest part of an otherwise solid piece of entertainment.
New women characters, such as warriors Ayo and Aneka (Florence Kasumba and Michaela Coel respectively), are under-used. They feel shoehorned in to complicate guessing the identity of the new Black Panther.
Hot take: The expression of loss over the passing of King T’Challa and Chadwick Boseman is deep and heartfelt, and perhaps the most moving expression of mourning in cinema in recent memory.
