Wakanda Forever

[Philomath she/her]

Has anyone else seen this yet? I saw it last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. Is it the best MCU movie? Probably not. But I think it was still fantastic. I thought they did a fantastic job of honoring Chadwick Boseman while still looking toward the future. I think it portrayed grief so well. So many things hit hard in this movie. I was crying several times. Between this movie and Thor: Love and Thunder, I feel like they are exploring existential crisis and faith crisis which is really interesting to me. I enjoyed Namor as an antagonist. The conflict between him and the Wakandans was so hard for me because I didn’t really want either side to lose. I felt like both cultures were developed so well that I couldn’t stand to lose either of them. (Honestly it makes me a little terrified for the end of the Cosmere because I think I will feel similarly. So many different cultures and people I have grown to care about being in massive conflict with each other. I trust Brandon to pull it off well though.) Also, I really appreciate that this movie was filled with powerful female characters who were so well written that none of them felt shoehorned in. It was a feminist movie without it feeling contrived. (Edit: Wow this underlined part really didn’t make sense on a reread. What I mean was I disagree that the movies featuring marginalized people are bad. Despite people complaining. To be fair, I don’t think a lot of complaints about marginalized populations in media are actually bad, despite many people complaining. This movie just did extra well at presenting whole human characters.)

A few more thoughts I’ll spoiler just in case anyone is peeking here without actually seeing it yet.

Spoiler

I actually predicted most of Shuri’s plot line after Chadwick Boseman died. It felt like a compelling arc for her character. I was excited to see it play out similarly to what I thought would make a good story. 

I loved her seeing Killmonger in her Ancestral Plane vision! So great. I was thrilled he was back even if only for a tiny bit.

And I think M’Baku will make a fantastic king. I think Shuri being the Black Panther and him leading the nation works really well for me. 

 

Edited November 20, 2022 by Philomath

[BeckJohn21]

Just watched it today, found the movie to be just average, but sorry because King T'challa is no longer there, it's hard to have a more reasonable way to deploy the content, Shuri is young and has just experienced many lost events. Relatives should also be difficult to buff up immediately, so the combat scenes are a bit boring, the villain's motive is not clear so it's a bit cheesy. Compensating for the good soundtrack, Rihanna's song at the end of the movie is cool. Sonnerie gratuite: https://sonneriestelephone.com/

Edited October 9, 2023 by BeckJohn21

[MGershone]

The way they adapted Namor from the comics (I'm an avid reader of Marvel) was great: it improved on the themes and ideas of an old character that definitely had ....problems, while including lots of the fun, goofy details, like the ankle-wings.  Also simply great overall. There were lots of cool cinematic moments that, in theaters, made me so excited.

[Use the Falchion]

I saw it the night of release and I haven't seen it sense. I was personally hoping that T'Challa would be recast after his unfortunate passing, as I believe that while there may be a best person to play a superhero, they don't own the role. Chadwick brought T'Challa to life, and it was a shame to see the character die with him as well. The movie only reinforced this belief, as I found it to be a great tribute wrapped in a mediocre movie. Namor wasn't the villain Shuri needed, nor was the plot interested in answering all of the questions it asked or themes it brought up. (I.e. Shuri makes a plea to Bast at the beginning of the movie - one we've all sort of made when we're believers or in a crisis - and it isn't answered. She then derides her mother's spiritual experience a little while later. But neither of these are brought up again, as if the question of whether or not their god truly cares or if there are spirits after death can or should be answered...despite Wakanda LITTERALLY HAVING AN ANCESTRAL PLANE FOR THE FORMER LEADERS AND BLACK PANTHERS.) Riri Williams was a nice addition and solidly acted but far too goofy for the somber tone of the movie. Namor was well done, but he couldn't quite needle the thread between understanding antagonist and crazy villain. And don't even get me started on the final fight or the pacing (especially towards the end). 

All of that said, I loved the focus on the women of Wakanda in this movie and the soundtrack was solid. I do hope that when I revisit this movie, I can do so after a few more MCU movies come out so I can see the movie in context and with a greater appreciation - I want this movie to age like Age of Ultron has IMO.