At 161 minutes, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is one of the longest Super-Hero movies ever. Director Ryan Coogler tries to solve the problem of continuing the Black Panther series after his star, Chadwick Boseman, died unexpectedly. Coogler includes numerous tributes to Boseman in the film which helps to explain the extraordinary length of the movie.
In the first Black Panther movie, the villain was the scary Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger. In Wakanda Forever the villain is the undersea Namor (Tenoch Huerta), king of the ancient underwater world of Talokan. Sure, Namor has super strength, but he also has silly wings on his ankles which allow him–somehow–to fly.
Both Wakanda and Talokan find themselves threatened because the rest of the world wants their precious Vibranium. A meteorite made of vibranium, one of the most powerful metals in the universe, crashed in Wakanda which allowed the hidden African country to develop advance technologies. The same scenario happened in Talokan under the ocean. Another meteorite of vibranium landed in their area and the quasi-Aztecs developed astonishing technology, too.
You would think that two threatened countries would become allies to resist their common enemies. Wakanda Forever shows you would be wrong. Plenty of fighting and destruction result. Martin Freeman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus find themselves thrown into the mix for no particular reason.
Although our showing of Wakanda Forever was packed (and Diane and I were the only ones wearing N95 masks) I suspect attendance will dip sharply after this opening weekend. GRADE: B-
As someone who’s never had any affection for monarchy even as a concept…the films don’t appeal o me.
Todd, I’ll be interested to see how the Box Office numbers reflect the early audiences’s reaction to the film.
As someone who’s never had any affection for monarchy even as a concept…the films don’t appeal to me.
I usually enjoy the Marvel movies but their heavy emphasis on backstory and their frenetic attempts to relate characters with others in the wide MCU begin to wear on me. The original BLACK PANTHER was laughable at its core and took far too long to get to the main storyline. Boseman, however, was very good. Now that he is no longer with us, I am afraid that any attempt to explain him away and to move the franchise forward will be bungled. I’ll wait until the film starts streaming, thank you — and even then, I may wait several months beyond that.
Jerry, WAKANDA FOREVER celebrates Chadwick Boseman…but can never replace him.
Bummer. That’s a shame. I know it was never going to happen that they dropped Wakanda when Boesman died – nor should they have – but I hoped for a little more original storyline.
Jeff, same here. The original plans for the sequel to BLACK PANTHER were scrapped when Boseman died. This new approach might not satisfy audiences. With a cost of $250 million, WAKANDA FOREVER needs plenty of ticket sales to just break even.
Well, the first weekend brought in 180 millions $ (over 300 millions worldwide) – a new record!
Wolf, I suspect you’ll see the Box Office numbers take a nose dive next week.
I’d like to say it’s great that there are finally big budget tentpole movies with people of color but I can’t stand them so I’m at a loss here. This also sounds weirdly navel gazing for a comic book movie but guess we’re at that point now with these things. You seem to have the most tempered and well considered review out there and I’m betting it’s more on the money than the rest.
I still haven’t been to a movie theater since COVID hit. It’s been well over two years now. I’m getting my booster next week so I might try to sneak one in before the holidays provided I can actually find a movie I want to see (that’s always the real struggle).
Byron, my movie attendance at theaters has cratered since the Pandemic. It’s always a struggle to commit to going to an AMC or Regal Theater where I know most people will NOT be wearing masks and temp Covid-19 to strike me down (although I’ve been lucky so far). It’s also disheartening when I take the risk of going to see a movie in a theater and the movie wasn’t worth the risk or the effort. Now that many of these movies end up on streaming services like Disney+ with a month or two, I’m tempted to wait and watch the movie in the comfort and safety of my home.
I loved the original Black Panther, and I’ll probably enjoy it, when it gets to netflix or HBO. I also haven’t been in a theater since covid hit, but a lot of that is pure laziness. I was busy with travel and my high schools 55th reunion. I still am in charge of the HS class lunch bunch, and that’s Thursday.
Maggie, the High School class brunch is in good hands since you’re in charge of it!
Man, almost three hours long? Have mercy. It will probably make money on the coattails of BLACK PANTHER. Martin Freeman is the least memorable actor alive today, but I suppose the HOBBIT movies are his meal ticket. Julia-Louis Dreyfus?? I wasn’t around for Sub-mariner’s Golden Age incarnation, but I bought, fresh off the rack, FANTASTIC FOUR #4 where he returned in the Silver Age, ankle-wings and all.
Fred, the ankle-wings in WAKANDA FOREVER are just silly. Very unconvincing. Throwing Martin Freeman and Julia-Louis Dreyfus into the mix adds nothing to the movie.