Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Non-spoiler Review

Director: Ryan Coogler

Run time: 2 hour 41 minutes

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the MCU’s much-anticipated conclusion to the acclaimed Phase 4 which also brought the Infinity Saga to a satisfying end. There’s a lot to take away from the film and although it’s predictable at times, it is an incredible tribute to Chadwick Boseman.

Wakanda Forever starts off with an attempt to save T’Challa from a fatal illness whilst world leaders question Wakanda’s decision not to share its most valuable metal, vibranium, with the outside world, and at the same time protecting the metal from others who attempt to steal it for themselves.

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The actors in this film gave their all to see that not only does the studio say a proper goodbye to Boseman, but also properly introduce Namor (Tenoch Huerta), an ancient mutant and king of Talokan, an underwater empire. Some fans, upon gazing at Talokan warriors for the first time in Wakanda Forever, will think only of Mortal Kombat’s Kotal Khan.

MK11 Kotal Khan (left) – Talokan Warriors (right)

The similarities are too obvious and one would wonder why Marvel didn’t attempt to switch things up a bit, even the name – Kukulkan (Namor) and Kotal Khan. Namor has the ability to fly, breathe underwater, and above the surface. He is a fascinating character whose abilities we hopefully haven’t seen the last of.

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Angela Bassett gives an excellent performance as Ramonda, Queen of Wakanda, who is firm on defending Wakanda from the outside world and protecting Shuri (Letitia Wright), the last surviving member of her family, from unforeseen dangers.

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Shuri is also remarkable in Wakanda Forever as she proves to be more than a brilliant princess willing to give her life to protect Wakanda. In fact, Black Panther 2 spends a lot of time on the Wakandan princess.

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We are also introduced to Riri, aka Ironheart, played by Dominique Thorne. Thorne did a fine job with her first appearance as Ironheart, a character with similar features to Iron Man. She brought comedic humour to the film, despite not playing much of an integral role.

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As usual, Danai Gurira gave nothing less than a commendable performance as Okoye, as well as Lupita Nyong’o (Nakia) and Winston Duke (M’Baku) who put up an impressive performance to give us the most laughs with his humour and unflinching bravery.

Mbaku

Wakanda Forever has many beautiful scenes, most of which revolved around the death of its former king. And although the film took a while to find its balance, Black Panther 2 spends the majority of time striving to be the perfect tribute to Boseman and less time paving the way for the MCU’s next phase.

The storyline is fantastic and although the trailers ruined some scenes, there are still a couple of unexpected surprises in Wakanda Forever that most fans will not see coming.

Ultimately, Wakanda Forever is a satisfying conclusion to the MCU’s Phase Four and while Namor’s true intentions remain unknown, making him neither a hero nor villain, it’s exciting to see the introduction of a new Black Panther who will lead Wakanda.

Black Panther Wakanda Forever – 7.5/10

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