Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: Bop or Flop?

Emelah the Blogger
Nov 13, 2022
7 min read

The highly-anticipated sequel is a story of grief, vengeance and triumph. Have your tissues and your dashikis ready.

Action/Adventure, 2 hr 41 min, PG-13

Released: November 11, 2022

Starring: Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong'o

Director: Ryan Coogler

What’s it about? 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.

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86% | IMDb Score: 7.4/10 | Metacritic Score: 68%

SPOILERS AHEAD

Bop or Flop? Not even a real question. Of course it's a bop (that opened with $330 million worldwide)! In fact, some are saying this is Marvel's most poignant film, and might be the best in the superhero franchise. I can't say I disagree.

While there is a lot of loss, there is a lot of growth in nearly all of the character arcs. We have all lost a lot in the last two years, including our beloved Chadwick Boseman. The cast and crew of Black Panther lost him too, and I appreciate that they don't shy away from that in this film.

It opens right with Shuri attempting to save T'Challa from an undisclosed illness, praying to Bast (who she doesn't fully believe in) to save him. Unfortunately, Shuri and all her scientific brilliance is unable to save T'Challa. The nation lays him to rest in all white garments, and tears are shed as T'Challa's casket ascends to the aircraft.

The ascension, rather than a burial, was an important distinction. Immediately follows is a marvel opening that is entirely an ode to Chadwick. It was breathtaking and intentional. And if you weren't already crying, the tears had no choice but to fall. The entire theater was silent. It was a powerful moment.

I cried on and off the rest of the movie.

With T'Challa's passing, Queen Ramonda holds down the nation gracefully. She balances protecting her country, the constant threat of colonizers (the United States and France trying to thief vibranium), and the unfamiliar threat of Namor and his empire of Talokan, the only other kingdom with vibranium, and all while being a mother to Shuri and dealing with her own grief.

Queen Ramonda had to remind the United Nations that while Wakanda is grieving, it is not weak. She attempts to keep Shuri in touch with her spirituality and Wakandan tradition. She held her ground even against Okoye, when she painfully reminds everyone that she has lost her entire family. Maybe this is the scene that will finally give Angela Bassett the Oscar (or at least Oscar buzz/acclaim) that she deserves!

Shuri undoubtedly evolves throughout the film, and has now experienced loss in similar fashion to Wanda, Peter Parker and Thor. She went from fun and smart little sister to a grown and mature leader, who is not only intelligent but a fierce protector now that she has recreated the heart-shaped herb and is the new Black Panther.

Initially, I questioned if Queen Ramonda's death was necessary for the plot. Upon reflection, I do think her momentous loss, coming a year after losing T'Challa, played a big part in Shuri's evolution. She definitely would not have went to war with Namor, or even became the Black Panther and restored the herb, or believed in the ancestral realm if not. I guess Namor had a point when he said, "Only the most broken people can be great leaders."

In Wakanda Forever we also see a vulnerable Okoye, who is even stripped of her title for losing the princess (and the fight) against Talokan soldiers. Every time the Talokans are on the screen, we see just how powerful they are. M'Baku also has a softer presence in this film, serving as counsel for Shuri.

In addition to a new side of our favorite characters from the first film, we get a few new characters - one named Riri Williams. I love that a Black MIT student from Chicago got to shine in this film along with Shuri. Black girls in STEM!!! And... Black girls in love?

We are also introduced to Aneka, a rebellious Dora Milaje soldier and Midnight Angel, who is also General Ayo's lover. I hope to see more of Aneka, as the Midnight Angels deserve more screen time and so does LGBTQ Marvel characters.

Another character I want to see more of is Namor. Not only was it beautiful to see indigenous people and Mesoamerican culture on the big screen, but Tenoch Huerta Mejía is a force to be reckoned with. While Namor's backstory is a bit different from the comics, I like Ryan Coogler's spin on it. It's more culturally and historically grounded, and allows for a more intentional plotline. I love that Coogler doesn't stray from themes of colonizations and the harsh realities of war and grief.

Fun fact: Coogler learned how to swim to direct this movie! As he stated in an interview, Black people have been taught a fear of water, and he wanted to get over that. I must say, directing a live action set in water seems like quite the challenge, but Coogler pulls it off. I love the water and its themes and scenes in this movie. Water is powerful.

In fact, there is a quote from one of my favorite movies of all time about its capability:

“I can see you have a great deal of water in your personality. Water never waits. It changes shape and flows around things, and finds the secret paths no one else has thought about -- the tiny hole through the roof or the bottom of the box. There's no doubt it's the most versatile of the five elements. It can wash away earth; it can put out fire; it can wear a piece of metal down and sweep it away. Even wood, which is its natural complement, can't survive without being nurtured by water. And yet, you haven't drawn on those strengths in living your life, have you?"

- Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha

Namor is easily one of the best villains/antiheroes I've seen. And he's sexy. When he snuck into Wakanda and ruined Ramonda and Shuri's moment to warn them, he said, "My people call me K'uk'ultan. But my enemies called me Namor." I was gagged. Also when Ramonda was skeptical about his claims to vibranium and Shuri said, "Mother, he's covered in it."

Namor is ruler to the underwater people of Talokan, but more so the father to his people, a protector, a provider. He is their "feathered serpent God". His winged feet allow him to jump through the air above surface, though he can also breath underwater. He is someone I would not wage war with. Honestly, I would want him on my side! And after learning his motive, I couldn’t blame him for wanting to protect his people and their assets. Personally, I would have never told the white world about vibranium.

You see what they've been historically capable of without it? Colonization. You see what they did once they found out about it? They tried to steal it. Early on in the film, the French fail to seize vibranium from a Wakandan outreach center. In addition, the CIA and U.S. Navy Seals are using Riri Williams invention (without her knowing) to try and find vibranium in the Atlantic Ocean.

Instead, they are in taken down by Namor and his army. The U.S. government wrongly assumes Wakandans are at fault and are ready to retaliate. First of all - What were you doing over there trying to thief in the first place?!

While one could argue Namor is less violent than Killmonger, he is definitely equally extreme and full of rage (understandably so). Namor has a lot to protect. He has an entire empire and tons of vibranium that has been undetected for centuries. The continuous critique of colonization in this franchise is an important one. Colonization has ruined many countries and generations of people - and that pain is still present today.

For Namor, peace was not an option for majority of the film, which reflects the ugliness and cyclical nature of colonization and war. There's always a need to protect. There's always a need to avenge a wrongful death.

That is why the intimate moments between Namor and Shuri shared are so important, especially their eventual truce. Though the spirit of Killmonger was upon her (literally), Shuri became the bigger person, not allowing rage and vengeance to take over her.

Shuri and Namor, like Wakanda and Talokan, are undeniably powerful alone and I can't imagine what they'll accomplish together.

Overall, I believe Coogler made Lemonade (not just the juice, but the Beyoncé album) out of the lemons he was given. He had an incredible challenge grieving Chadwick's death and rewriting a film that would still honor Chadwick's legacy and still be on par with the first film, let alone the other Marvel projects it has to be in cohesion with.

Despite her departure from the throne, Shuri was the right choice for the Black Panther in this moment, as Coogler explained in an interview how important the relationship between T'Challa and Shuri was, and how Chadwick loved working with Letitia.

Shuri's departure was set up well, as she was anti tradition and needed time to truly grieve T'Challa and all the loss. Now, M'Baku can officially lead the nation and Shuri is free to act as the Black Panther and scientist as she pleases.

Plus. a new heir to the throne was confirmed in the mid-credit scene. Nakia, who has been hiding out in Haiti, reveals that she and T'Challa have a son, who is also named T'Challa. They decided to raise him in Haiti so he could grow up without the pressure of the throne. So perhaps he will reclaim the title of the Black Panther and King of Wakanda in a few years.

After seeing this film, Coogler remains one of my favorite directors. He is an amazing human and his work reflects that. Coogler's deep care for the story and the cast is touching. It's truly amazing to see a cast of beautiful Black and brown people shine on and off of the screen. And the return of Rihanna in the studio.

The first Black Panther broke barriers for Black people across the Diaspora, and the sequel is making strides for Latinx and Indigenous representation as well (only 5.4% of Hollywood lead roles and 5.7% of all roles on screen are held by Latinx actors).

Coogler was able to accomplish a lot with this film, and ensured that Chadwick's legacy will live on, and his essence remained present on set, and in the themes of the film.