Spoilers Black Panther Wakanda Forever

[Turtletrekker]

Thanks for the answers. I can sometimes separate the character and the actor in cases of the actor being an asshole, but I legitimately consider Anti-Vax people dangerous, people literally died needlessly because of the bullshit they spout, which to me crosses a line. I'm not going to judge anyone who would still want to pay to see BP2, Quantumania, etc, but I can't in good conscious ever give Disney any direct financial support for this movie.

If she had a reduced role and ended the film being written out or really de-emphasized I could justify supporting the movie, I realize I'd probably have to skip a lot of movies if I just never watched stuff that employed assholes, but in this case Disney doubling down on her is a step too far. I'll watch the film whenever it arrives on Disney+, but I just personally can't justify paying to see the film if thats the way they're going. Its not a statement on the quality of the movie, I'm sure I'll end up enjoying it when I see it, but its just a thing I can't get past.

I feel this. And there's the added issue that a character like Shuri is a role model not just for young women of color but for young people everywhere to get involved with sciences. Having someone who is so blatantly anti-science in that role seems counterintuitive.

 

[TheForge]

I didn't like the first film very much. I won't be making a point to watch this, but no doubt will sometime somewhere.

 

[Booji]

B+

I think I like it more than the first one. This one has a much more interesting story and villain. The beginning was well done. Good cast. I'm looking forward to the Ironheart series now. How the hell did Shuri become such a badass fighter so quickly? I also was expecting Attuma to stab Namor in the back and was very surprised it didn't happen. Best mid-credits for an MCU film yet. I admit that I can't help but think how much better it could have been if Chadwick's character was placed in the movie.

 

[theenglish]

I really enjoyed this film. People have already expressed most of my thoughts about it so I will only add a few points.

I loved the colour of the film. I've often complained about how drab the palette is in super-hero movies, but this film embraced its use of vibrant colours. Having lived in both Africa and Central America, I actually felt like I was looking at colour as I've seen it in real life, both in terms of the landscapes and in the clothing.

The underwater shots were much better done than Aquaman. It really felt like the characters were underwater.

Plot: I thought this was much better than the first film--and I like the Black Panther movies becoming known for having antagonists with understandable motives. Where the first movie fell apart for me was when Killmonger became the Black Panther and then just started ordering his people around as if they were his servants. If he had remained calm and treated his subjects with more respect then I think it would have been a much more powerful film. Here we have Namor having a plan that, although horrendous in nature, is perfectly understandable since he believes the surface world has already made a first strike. And he is smart enough to take Shuri's deal at the end.

Most importantly, this was truly an ensemble film. Sure, Shuri was the actual Black Panther but it wasn't her film alone. All the main Wakanda's had time to shine and all the actors did a fantastic job. Outside of the Avengers movies, this is the first time we've really seen an ensemble movie from the MCU--so great choices all around.

The only weak part for me was that Ironheart seemed to be inserted into the movie because corporate said she had to be there. I enjoyed the character and the moments she had, but it didn't really feel like something organic to the story. I thought her friendship with Shuri was really well written and acted though.

This movie is by far my favourite of the phase 4 movies and it could be a contender for my favourite MCU movie (my favourite now being The Winter Soldier).

 

[Noname Given]

Like a lot of others here, I too like this film more than the first black panther film; and I really did enjoy Chadwick Boseman in the first film, but with this one all the characters and motivations were well done and believable.

Also the new origin and background for the Sub Mariner character worked surprisingly well for me. I actually like the fact that they're not making him a king of Atlantis, and it really humanizes him and makes him more relatable in my opinion. I also thought that they were going to have Attuma betray/depose Namor; and he was going to ally himself with the the Wakandans to retake his kingdom; but no, they struck closer to his original introduction in the Fantastic Four, where he was wary of the surface world because of its past transgressions against his people, and he was more of a villain here than a hero. Still like I said above, for me, all the character motivations worked and he wasn't shown as an evil character; but just someone who was very protective of his own world and his people.

I also enjoyed Angela Bassett's performance, and also really enjoyed the scene where she stripped Okoye of her Generalship. Again, here was another scene where they pulled no punches, and her attitudes were very human, completely understandable; and I really also like when after hearing her speak, Okoye realized just how much she had really screwed up, and yes she wasn't the only one who had sacrificed much for Wakanda.

Also the scene where Shuri takes the Black Panther herb; and they really subvert expectations in a good way as instead of encountering a vision with her mother, she encounters killmonger; and given how she felt and the type of anger she harbored, for me once again that really worked well for the story and the character.

I also found it interesting the way they ended the film with so many story threads up in the air. I should say that I wasn't surprised where they left Namor's storyline; but ending the film with Wakanda still under threat of attack by the rest of the western world because all the other countries still believe wakanda was behind the destruction of the vibranium detection devices, as well as the murder of many of the people who are operating them at the time; and Shuri has saidrhw Wakandans will keep the knowledge of Namor and his people secret from the world, meaning they are going to bear the brunt of the Fallout from Namor's actions.

And like others I also enjoyed the mid credit sequence; but yeah it sure seems like Marvel is getting ready to fast track the Young Avengers on to the screen.

So yeah overall a very enjoyable film, and it gets an A from me.

 

[David cgc]

I'm not sure how to grade this. I felt like it was very strange, structurally. It almost seemed to be two movies on top of each other, the one they'd expected to make with Namor, as well as another one wrestling with T'Challa/Boseman's death, but they didn't seem to integrate very well. Black Panther had a deep bench of wonderful supporting characters, but in this one, that's kind of the problem, everyone has supporting-character energy, and it's strange to go to a pure ensemble cast when originally it orbited so strongly around the central axis of T'Challa's character.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Solid entry in the MCU oeuvre. Even with a runtime well over two hours it kept me engaged the entire time. Don't think there was any part that was a slog. Though at times the seams were showing where they had to patch up the plot and script due to Chadwick Boseman's tragic passing.

Letitia Wright carries most of the film and gives a strong performance of a person overcome by grief. I was moved to tears a couple of times. Though the character's shift from wise cracking comic relief/annoying sibling might be a bit much for some. The banter between T'Challa and Shuri is sadly missed.

I thought Tenoch Huerta was solid as Namor. Giving the right mix of the charm. menace, power and regality that Namor embodies. Glad they embrace the green trunks and ankle wings. The supporting Talokans didn't have much to do, but I enjoyed the visuals. I hope to see more of Namora, Attuma and Talokan in future MCU installments. (I know Namor will show up) Being an old school Marvel fan I kind of hope Namor met Cap and the Torch in the 40s.

Angela Bassett dominated the first act as Ramonda. going toe to toe with the UN, the Elders and eventually Namor himself. Her powerful presence/performance will be missed in future installments.

I not sure how much Riri Williams added to the story. Marvel has plans for Ironheart , so I get why she was inserted but "the scientist" could have been anyone.

Her absence from the first act had me worried that Lupita Nyong'o's Nakia would be absent from the film, so I was glad she showed up to do some badass James Bond stuff. Her undercover disguise made her look like one of my old girlfriends.

I give it an A.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

The underwater shots were much better done than Aquaman. It really felt like the characters were underwater.

YES. I meant to mention this point in my review but I was blown away by the underwater scenes, both in sight and sound, whereas Aquaman merely felt like pretty colors from CGI. Granted there were some moments in Wakanda Forever's third act where the CGI was a bit lacking, but the underwater sequences were always top notch.

Plot: I thought this was much better than the first film--and I like the Black Panther movies becoming known for having antagonists with understandable motives. Where the first movie fell apart for me was when Killmonger became the Black Panther and then just started ordering his people around as if they were his servants. If he had remained calm and treated his subjects with more respect then I think it would have been a much more powerful film. Here we have Namor having a plan that, although horrendous in nature, is perfectly understandable since he believes the surface world has already made a first strike. And he is smart enough to take Shuri's deal at the end.

Agreed 100% regarding both films. Sympathetic antagonists, even those with actions you don't like or agree with, are the best kinds of villains and both Black Panther films used that aspect very well.

Most importantly, this was truly an ensemble film. Sure, Shuri was the actual Black Panther but it wasn't her film alone. All the main Wakanda's had time to shine and all the actors did a fantastic job. Outside of the Avengers movies, this is the first time we've really seen an ensemble movie from the MCU--so great choices all around.

I'd argue Black Panther was also an ensemble film even if the focus was on T'Challa. He was surrounded by such rich characters and story arcs that they almost outshined him.

This movie is by far my favourite of the phase 4 movies and it could be a contender for my favourite MCU movie (my favourite now being The Winter Soldier).

I need to see the films a few times more but I agree it ranks amongst the very best films the MCU has to offer.

Solid entry in the MCU oeuvre.
...
I give it an A.

Don't mind me, I just love this contrast (emphasis mine).

 

[CaptainWacky]

I enjoyed it. Definitely better than MoM and Love And Thunder (by quite a bit in that case.) Namor was done really well, the scenes with his backstory and taking Shuri to Talokan were highlights. Letitia Wright may have some...questionable beliefs but she did a good job leading the movie and really sold the grief for her brother and mother. Angela Bassett had some great hair-raising speech type moments. M'Baku was fun whenever he was on screen but felt a bit under-used (could have done with a bit more Lupita Nyong'o too.)

Riri was decent but still kind of felt like set-up for a spin-off rather than an integral part of the movie. It felt like we didn't get a good look at her first suit and the second was a bit too Power Rangers.

They made the CIA more explicitly evil this time, with Ross getting kicked out for not being evil enough, which should make some people happy. But you could have lost some of the Ross/Val scenes without hurting the movie. I'm guessing he would have interacted with T'Challa a lot in the original version of the story.

Visuals were a mixed bag, sadly. There was some nice looking stuff (Talokan!) but other parts where the picture was unnecessarily dark. Like the first meeting between Shuri/Ramonda and Namor would have been much better if we could see their faces clearly? The big battle at the end was eeeeeeeh with too much unconvincing green-screening and quick cutting away. They should have definitely stayed wholly on Shuri/Namor's fight once it began instead of cutting back to a Wakandan kicking a random blue person.

Music was very good; Ludwig Goransson is a very good music person. The Rihanna song was nice.

So yeah it was good.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Don't mind me, I just love this contrast (emphasis mine).

(slang) Excellent, of high quality, or reliable

 

[The Nth Doctor]

(slang) Excellent, of high quality, or reliable

Fair. I'm just use to the connotation for "solid" in the context of reviews as "above average and/or as expected."

 

[Nerys Myk]

Fair. I'm just use to the connotation for "solid" in the context of reviews as "above average and/or as expected."

I connect it with Linc Hayes.

 

[thribs]

Wakandans should have asked for help from the remaining Avemgers. They owe them one after all.

 

[theenglish]

Which ones could get themselves involved in an international conflict?

 

[thribs]

I don’t think it would be seen as that. I don’t think the Avengers are associated with one country.
Thor would have been fun but I Don’t know how you would contact him.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I liked the film. Good but not great. I like the way Wakanda moved forward from T’Chala and that side of things. I just found the villains profoundly uninteresting. And made me think of the ocean guy from Rick and Morty.

 

[Awesome Possum]

And made me think of the ocean guy from Rick and Morty.

He's a parody of Namor and his rivalry with Reed Richards.

 

[Anwar]

I will admit, when Namor was telling Shuri his origins and how Talocan came to be, I honestly thought he was going to propose an alliance between them by asking her to marry him.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

I connect it with Linc Hayes.

Wow. A Mod Squad reference in here...

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I connect it with Linc Hayes.

Wow. A Mod Squad reference in here...

Ah, that flew right over my head (and I don't have Drax's reflexes).