YNOT at the Movies

We are still dismayed by the premature death of Chadwick Boseman who played King T'Challa in the culturally phenomenal "Black Panther" (2018). The actor's death poses a great challenge in making a sequel. The write-director Ryan Coogler understands that challenge extremely well, and brilliantly crafts a heartfelt tribute to the fallen hero at the very beginning of that film's sequel: "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" (USA 2022 | 161 min.). By presenting the grief in the film, he immediately unites the viewers with the film's characters, sharing that sentiment. With splendid visuals and captivating storytelling, this newest Marvel Comics adaptation is a solid superhero film that would make Chadwick Boseman proud.

Wakanda is the most powerful nation in the world. After its leader, King T'Challa, dies, the entire nation mourns the loss with the King's mother, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), and the King's sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright). They withdraw from the rest of the world grieving.

Technologically advanced, Wakanda is powered by vibranium, an energy source that other nations such as the United States try to gain access to. When one of the US vibranium mining ships gets attacked, the CIA blames Wakanda for the attack. It's actually the work of a whale riding army from an undersea kingdom called Talokan, which is also powered by vibranium and unknown to the rest of the world.

Uninvited and undetected, Namor (Tenoch Huerta), the head of Talokan, shows up at Wakanda and proposes to Queen Ramonda for an alliance to defend against the rest of the world. To protect Talokan's resources, he wants to capture and kill Riri (Dominique Thorne), a 19-year-old MIT student who invented a device to detect vibranium.

Still grieving the loss of her son, Queen Ramonda refuses to form such an alliance. That does not sit well with Namor. A war breaks out between Wakanda and Talokan, despite a brief friendship between Namor and Shuri. Interestingly, the survival of the two most powerful nations lies in their own hands, instead of the external threat that Namor has been worried about.

Being a superhero Marvel movie, this film is no exception to being stuffed with subplots and characters. For example, the MIT student subplot should have been eliminated to make the story leaner and more focused. However, the director Ryan Coogler manages to tell a coherent story despite the distractions of some of the subplots. What is even more remarkable is that it's often the emotional gravity of these characters and the sumptuous visuals that captivate us. The politics at play in the film strikingly resemble reality in our world.

The outlandishly beautiful costumes really stand out throughout the film. It reflects the pride of Wakanda as a nation with rich culture and heritage. It almost makes you believe Wakanda is a real nation instead of a fictional one. Some of the set design returns from the previous film, but the new underwater world is mesmerizing.

When Rihanna's soundtrack "Lift Me Up" starts to play, you'll feel enchanted by the film, which is a moving eulogy to the late Chadwick Boseman.

"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" opens on Friday, November 11, 2022.