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cjlasky7Wakanda Forever (dir. by Ryan Coogler)
[Spoilers have been cleared by authority of the Dora Milaje]
When Chadwick Boseman died in 2020, the general consensus among fans of the MCU was that Black Panther director Ryan Coogler should just recast the role and get on with the business of moviemaking. But Coogler (and the rest of his cast) could not move on so easily. Their grief over losing a friend was a palpable force that no Marvel five-year plan could mitigate.
So Coogler did the unthinkable: he killed off T'Challa and incorporated his grief into the movie.
The risk was enormous: could the supporting cast compensate for the gigantic hole in the middle of the film? Could the nation of Wakanda hold our interest without its king?
But Coogler's instincts were sound. The movie works. Their collective grief anchors a very personal, emotional journey for the Wakandans, while the geopolitical gamesmanship teased in the first movie takes off in exciting, fascination directions.
(Is the movie too long? At 167 minutes... maybe. But there is so much GREAT STUFF packed into that span that you'd be hard pressed to tell Coogler where to cut.)
Where to begin? Let's start with Shuri (Letitia Wright), because her emotional journey is the spine of the movie. She starts off numb with guilt and pain after failing to save her brother, is reluctantly thrust into the spotlight after another crushing tragedy, then literally comes into her power in her people's great moment of crisis...
And then, the really interesting part begins.
What does she do with that power? Does she give into her pain and hatred and rule like a Killmonger? Or is there another, better path?
Shuri is the center of the story, but the rest of the supporting cast has amazing moments as well. Angela Bassett, slightly underused in the first movie, is in full command here as Queen Ramonda. She has two spectacular set pieces: in the first, she intimidates the shit out of an entire U.N. assembly; and in the second, she gives Okoye such a magnificent, devastating dressing down that I thought poor Danai Gurira was genuinely terrified. (That's the Angela Bassett I've always loved.)
Winston Duke is back as M'Baku, and he's as snarky and badass as ever; but he also slides very easily into the role of advisor, providing wisdom to the royal family when they need it, seemingly content to stay the power behind the throne. (Note the "seemingly.") Nakia (Lupita N'yongo) is surprisingly off the center of the action for the first half of the movie, only brought in when Ramonda needs her War Dog spycraft. But the mid credits revelation brings her plotline into sharp focus.
There's even a darkly funny melodrama starring Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and CIA director Valentina de Fontaine (Julia Louis Dreyfus) that doubles as an argument between ex-spouses and a debate between two approaches to American intelligence. (Was it strictly necessary? Not really. Was it fun? Definitely.)
The straw that stirs these ingredients is the global superpower that no one saw coming: Talokan, the undersea kingdom holding the OTHER depository of sought-after vibranium, and its ruler--Namor, the Sub-Mariner (Tenoch Huerta).
I have been waiting a LONG time for Namor to get his close up. He is a legendary figure in comic book lore, technically older than Marvel comics itself (created by Bill Everett in 1939). Coogler and Huerta nail him perfectly. They changed his back story (to distinguish him from Aquaman on the other side), but he is the Namor I wanted to see--just as regal, arrogant and supremely powerful as he is in the comics. He even has the ankle wings! And they looked great! (I wanted one full-throated cry of "Imperius Rex!" before he led his army into battle... but I guess you can't have everything.)
(If there's one tiny flaw in the movie--and it's not too bothersome--it's that I don't see why Namor was so intent on killing Riri Williams. Yes, she invented a device that could detect vibranium and risked exposing Talokan to the world. But even if Riri were taken out, Namor must have realized that someone else would eventually make the same breakthrough and killing her would only be putting off the inevitable. Pursuing that dead end cost his army a lot of blood and he almost got himself killed. Fortunately, he adopted a much more practical strategy at the finish.)
As I said, a lot of GREAT STUFF. Wakanda, Talokan, Namor, Ironheart (coming soon to Disney+!)--and I haven't even mentioned the action scenes! It might be too much for some viewers, but just go the bathroom before hand, take a pass on the soda, and just sink into it. You'll have a great time.
[Spoilers have been cleared by authority of the Dora Milaje]
When Chadwick Boseman died in 2020, the general consensus among fans of the MCU was that Black Panther director Ryan Coogler should just recast the role and get on with the business of moviemaking. But Coogler (and the rest of his cast) could not move on so easily. Their grief over losing a friend was a palpable force that no Marvel five-year plan could mitigate.
So Coogler did the unthinkable: he killed off T'Challa and incorporated his grief into the movie.
The risk was enormous: could the supporting cast compensate for the gigantic hole in the middle of the film? Could the nation of Wakanda hold our interest without its king?
But Coogler's instincts were sound. The movie works. Their collective grief anchors a very personal, emotional journey for the Wakandans, while the geopolitical gamesmanship teased in the first movie takes off in exciting, fascination directions.
(Is the movie too long? At 167 minutes... maybe. But there is so much GREAT STUFF packed into that span that you'd be hard pressed to tell Coogler where to cut.)
Where to begin? Let's start with Shuri (Letitia Wright), because her emotional journey is the spine of the movie. She starts off numb with guilt and pain after failing to save her brother, is reluctantly thrust into the spotlight after another crushing tragedy, then literally comes into her power in her people's great moment of crisis...
And then, the really interesting part begins.
What does she do with that power? Does she give into her pain and hatred and rule like a Killmonger? Or is there another, better path?
Shuri is the center of the story, but the rest of the supporting cast has amazing moments as well. Angela Bassett, slightly underused in the first movie, is in full command here as Queen Ramonda. She has two spectacular set pieces: in the first, she intimidates the shit out of an entire U.N. assembly; and in the second, she gives Okoye such a magnificent, devastating dressing down that I thought poor Danai Gurira was genuinely terrified. (That's the Angela Bassett I've always loved.)
Winston Duke is back as M'Baku, and he's as snarky and badass as ever; but he also slides very easily into the role of advisor, providing wisdom to the royal family when they need it, seemingly content to stay the power behind the throne. (Note the "seemingly.") Nakia (Lupita N'yongo) is surprisingly off the center of the action for the first half of the movie, only brought in when Ramonda needs her War Dog spycraft. But the mid credits revelation brings her plotline into sharp focus.
There's even a darkly funny melodrama starring Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and CIA director Valentina de Fontaine (Julia Louis Dreyfus) that doubles as an argument between ex-spouses and a debate between two approaches to American intelligence. (Was it strictly necessary? Not really. Was it fun? Definitely.)
The straw that stirs these ingredients is the global superpower that no one saw coming: Talokan, the undersea kingdom holding the OTHER depository of sought-after vibranium, and its ruler--Namor, the Sub-Mariner (Tenoch Huerta).
I have been waiting a LONG time for Namor to get his close up. He is a legendary figure in comic book lore, technically older than Marvel comics itself (created by Bill Everett in 1939). Coogler and Huerta nail him perfectly. They changed his back story (to distinguish him from Aquaman on the other side), but he is the Namor I wanted to see--just as regal, arrogant and supremely powerful as he is in the comics. He even has the ankle wings! And they looked great! (I wanted one full-throated cry of "Imperius Rex!" before he led his army into battle... but I guess you can't have everything.)
(If there's one tiny flaw in the movie--and it's not too bothersome--it's that I don't see why Namor was so intent on killing Riri Williams. Yes, she invented a device that could detect vibranium and risked exposing Talokan to the world. But even if Riri were taken out, Namor must have realized that someone else would eventually make the same breakthrough and killing her would only be putting off the inevitable. Pursuing that dead end cost his army a lot of blood and he almost got himself killed. Fortunately, he adopted a much more practical strategy at the finish.)
As I said, a lot of GREAT STUFF. Wakanda, Talokan, Namor, Ironheart (coming soon to Disney+!)--and I haven't even mentioned the action scenes! It might be too much for some viewers, but just go the bathroom before hand, take a pass on the soda, and just sink into it. You'll have a great time.
