Ryan Coogler’s “Wakanda Forever” is not the sequel we expected, it’s not the sequel anyone expected, especially with the untimely death of Chadwick Boseman. His loss left a gaping hole in film, and left sadly a budding franchise without its lead. “Wakanda Forever” takes the chance to not only act as a sequel to “Black Panther” but also act as a meditation on the ideas of grief, mourning, and the cost of losing those that we dearly loved in our lives who were important to many.
After the untimely death of King T’Challa, the former Black Panther, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (Florence Kasumba) fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter a year later, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda against a new enemy from the sea.
Most of “Wakanda Forever” is exactly the kind of comic book movie you’d want from this series, but it also is deep down a story about a family trying to figure out how to move forward. When T’Challa dies as a result from his fight in the first film, it’s up to his sister Shuri and mother Ramonda to run the kingdom in his absence. This is unfortunately leading to two confrontations that could destroy Rwanda. In the midst of his death, other countries have begun trying to find a way in to Wakanda and mine their precious vibranium. Meanwhile, as they look for other ways to acquire the metal, they’ve aroused the ire of an ancient underwater race as led by their king Namor.
Namor has thrown on to them an uneasy ultimatum where they must help to wage war against the world, or else suffer defeat at the hands of his army. This puts Ramonda and Shuri in to a corner, as they seek out allies including Everett Ross, and young prodigy Riri Williams, who is being sought after for her ability to build complex machinery. The greater emphases is placed on the women of T’Challa’s family, all of whom barely have time to mourn the great loss before they’re pushed back in to a growing war. Coogler thankfully keeps “Wakanda Forever” a classy film that pays tribute to Chadwick Boseman’s charisma and talent, while also forging a path for a new direction in the series. The combo of Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett and Danai Gurira allow the film to be emotionally tumultuous, especially as the welfare of Wakanda hangs in the balance.
Wright plays beautifully off of Gurira, whose role is increased as the powerful warrior Okoye, all the while Tenoch Huerta is fantastic as the iconic Marvel anti-hero King Namor. Huerta brings to life an interesting variation on the comic character that aims more for realism, however much of his persona remains in tact right down to his ankle wings. “Wakanda Forever” is a tough movie to get around as you can sense the writers and Coogler trying to steer the series down an uneasy path. It’s dripping with grief and sadness, even during moments of triumph, and amounts to a compelling, beautiful story about family and carrying on a loved one’s legacy. I look forward to seeing where they take this series next.
Chadwick Boseman is very sorely missed.
Will be available to stream on Disney+ starting February 1st.