Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Matthew Patrick Sharkey

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever may be the best MCU film screened to cinemas in the past few years Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the sequel to the 2018 hit film Black Panther which saw the late Chadwick Boseman portraying the titular Black Panther (T’challa) for the first time ever on the big screen. The film is an amazing look at how grief can affect families or, in the case of this film, an entire country.

The cast is incredible; Every actor gives an absolutely incredible performance, but the ones that stood out to me were Tenoch Huerta and Angela Bassett. It’s not a surprise that these actors stood out the most, as they have an impressive portfolio of work, and both are celebrated actors; Huerta has almost 70 film credits to his name, and Bassett is a household name and currently stars in the series 911.

The elephant in the room is that after Chadwick Boseman’s death, most of the script had to be rewritten, but I believe the screenwriting is so good that you wouldn’t guess this wasn’t the original idea for the film. All of the characters feel real, and you can relate to all of them on different levels. You can feel their wonder, grief, happiness, anger, and everything in between through the screen.

The plot revolves around the outside world attempting to obtain the metal Vibranium and what happens when the world’s two most powerful nations disagree. It also gives insight into what happens when a country’s King dies. It is never said in the film what killed T’Challa. All that is said is that it was an illness that he hid until it was too late. This is nearly the exact thing that happened when Chadwick passed, as the public did not know he had been struggling with cancer for years.

The music in the film is perfect; it features songs in multiple languages and from award-winning artists like Rihanna. The only negative thing I can say about this film is that the CGI looked weird at times and, at some moments, fell into the uncanny valley. Some of the fight scenes looked amazing, but certain underwater scenes just frankly looked wrong, and the faces slightly creeped me out. studios that work with Marvel Studios are usually underpaid and underworked with a strict deadline which, in the end, affects the overall film.

Even with the problems listed above, I still believe that this is one of the best Marvel projects in Phase 4. Hopefully, we see more of Wakanda in the future of the MCU. Overall this film is incredible, and it is a massive step for the representation of African and Hispanic cultures in the MCU. I personally loved this film and will definitely be going to see it again.