Review: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
By Angel T.
How should we express grief? This is what the newest movie part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe explores. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is the last film in Marvel’s phase 4 lineup of movies. The opening scene of the film shows Shuri trying to recreate a synthetic version of the heart-shaped herb after they were all burned and destroyed by Killmonger in the first film. The heart-shaped herb grants enhanced stamina, strength, speed, durability, reflexes, agility, and the ability to briefly enter the ancestral plane, which is the afterlife for the people of Wakanda. Shuri makes numerous attempts at recreating the herb for her brother, who is in a critical condition of an unknown disease. With the little hope she has, she takes the herb that is not yet perfected and rushes to her brother’s side but halfway through, her mother stops her and tells her that T’challa has passed away. The film follows Shuir on how she deals with the grief of her dead brother but also the responsibilities of being the daughter’s Queen of Wakanda.
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” introduces us to many new characters into the Marvel universe like 15-year-old Riri Williams, played by Dominique Thorne. Riri Williams in the Marvel Comic Books is the superhero Ironheart. Inspired by Tony Stark, she creates her own super suit and begins fighting crime. In the film they keep the same story: A 15-year-old female who attends MIT and has created her own suit all by herself, inspired by the suits of Ironman. They also introduce Namor, played by Tenoch Huerta. Namor is the king of Talocan and calls himself a mutant. Talocan is located somewhere deep in the Atlantic sea, which is not well known by the outside world. Namor wishes to keep it that way. The people of Talocan are blue-skinned and can breathe underwater. In the film, they explain that vibranium, the strongest metal on earth, is the reason for their blue skin and their ability to breathe underwater. The people of Talocan worship Namor and they call him KuKulcan, the feathered serpent god from Mayan mythology.
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” truly is a beautiful film that captures amazing shots of Wakanda and also of the underwater city Talocan. The incredible fight scenes incredible had me on the edge of my seat knowing there’s a nation out there as powerful as Wakanda. The film also had a splendid array of culturally appropriate music, making me feel immersed in each of the scenes. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is a magnificent film, especially knowing that there was a whole script rewrite because of the unfortunate passing of actor Chadwick Boseman. Although with the setbacks, Marvel still gave us an extraordinary film. I recommend it to everyone even if you’re not a true big Marvel fan and are just looking for a good action film.
