Written by Andreas Babiolakis

Throughout the awards season, we’ll get around to some much-discussed films that we didn’t previously review.

A follow-up to Black Panther was never going to be easy after the unfortunate passing of star Chadwick Boseman. His turn as T’Challa — king of Wakanda, known as the Black Panther — was one for the ages and a highlight of all things Marvel. Ryan Coogler was originally going to have a father-son tale involving T’Challa, so the notion of legacy that the Black Panther character lends to Marvel’s lore was always on his mind. However, once Boseman died, there was a whole new perspective that the Black Panther film was going to muster: honouring those we have lost. Right away, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever begins with the illness and death of T’Challa, and sister Shuri cannot come up with the life saving herb in time. We cut ahead to a Wakanda that is being tested by the world, particularly for its vibranium. Wakanda is now targeted as a hub of resources once its guard was let down. Everything that was feared in the first film is true.

What transpires is a retrospective look at the many faces we saw in Black Panther, a where-are-they-now, if you will. It is an insinuation that life goes on and things and people change; it’s quite a breath of fresh air for Marvel which is almost always more concerned with things remaining the same. It’s the first indication of such, and Wakanda Forever feels a little different throughout its entire duration. Of course, there are still Marvel action sequences, jokes, villains and such, but Wakanda Forever doesn’t quite feel like the same old story for the billionth time. Still, it does suffer at least a little bit from what every other phase 4 Marvel film has: being reliant enough on countless other works in order to make complete sense. Luckily, the bulk of Wakanda Forever rests on Black Panther, so only watching one previous film for homework isn’t the worst (but it still relies on it heavily enough to the point of feeling a little incomplete).

I could go into plot particulates, but I feel like a few threads don’t really head anywhere, particularly that of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and Everett Ross (the latter was the CIA agent ally from the first film, and the former is his ex-wife who is the director of the CIA). The majority of the plot focus is on those that have been directly affected by T’Challa’s death, including his sister Shuri, partner Nakia, and mother Ramonda. There are new characters as well, like Aneka, who also step in and help hold down the fort here. It feels like a celebration of strong women throughout Wakanda Forever, amidst all of the celebrations of life and perseverance (and the breathtaking costumes and sets that made their way from the first film over to this sequel).

T’Challa’s death is not the only one that shapes Wakanda Forever (I’ll not say any more about that), and Coogler handles the theme quite well. It’s too bad that the film does feel a little over long and confused while it works its way towards its third act (what story is it trying to tell?), and that may be because of the usual Marvel structuring that weaves this film with the umpteen others adjacent to it in the studio’s canon. Once Wakanda Forever reaches its finish line, it is a powerful, beautiful film. It doesn’t feel like a complete picture at times, but it is at least consistently sound and touching. Despite feeling muddled at times, Wakanda Forever does have focus in the sense that it had one major directive: to reflect on the impact of those around us. Even if not everything lines up, feels necessary, or makes sense, everything in Wakanda Forever points towards this directive. It’s clear that Coogler had his hands tied with making a worthwhile picture after having to change so much, and I feel like he and his cast and crew did a commendable job making a coherent-enough film and a tribute to their fallen star. Even against so many odds, Coogler delivers the strongest Marvel release of 2022, and I’m not quite sure if that’s a testament to how good of a filmmaker he is or how bad the other Marvel films and series last year were.

Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.