It is actually a miracle that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has been able to run in German cinemas since November 9th, 2022. After the death of leading actor Chadwick Boseman, those responsible didn’t just need one Successor to T’Challa’s suit, but also a plan for how the story should continue. The first reviews show that the exceptional situation was resolved satisfactorily.
After I’ve seen Wakanda Forever twice within a few days (and the film lasts 160 minutes!), besides a lot of tears in my eyes, one thing remains with me: This film could one of the most interesting, emotionally challenging projects of the last 10 years be – if it weren’t a Marvel movie.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has to do the impossible as a film – and still doesn’t fail
©Disney
Angela Bassett is a force of nature as Queen Ramonda in Wakanda Forever
As if it weren’t enough of a challenge to tie in with Black Panther, a film that was enjoyed by many a pop culture revolution and was the first Marvel film to be nominated for the most important Oscar, Wakanda Forever has to reconcile several things that actually cannot be reconciled:
Chadwick Boseman AND T’Challa give a farewell that does justice to the impact of the actor and character
That director Ryan Coogler has delivered something that somehow works together under these circumstances is extraordinary. That the film despite frantic jumps between standard Marvel story and real trauma is so stunning (The costumes by Ruth E. Carter! The soundtrack by Ludwig Göransson! The acting, especially by Letitia Wright and Angela Bassett!), is hard to fathom.
I can’t think of an MCU film that’s been so deeply touching on the one hand and so… frustratingly Marvel on the other.
First Moon Knight, then Wakanda Forever: There is no room for real tragedy in the MCU
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Clip Attack on the Laboratory (German) HD
The closest comparison to Wakanda Forever is Moon Knight. In the Disney+ series, Oscar Isaac plays multiple personalities in the same body dealing with repressed trauma. Moon Knight was so refreshingly human – until suddenly the inevitable CGI mud fight had to come. It’s entertaining, of course, but the bottom line is the same: good versus evil, good almost always wins. Which is a pity, especially if the series or the film would have had so much more potential.
Black Panther 2 could have been an emotional masterpiece about dealing with loss and death in a world where alien threats, vengeful deities, and the end of the universe as we know it are part of the agenda. In the the potential extinction of all known life is so commonplacethat it seems almost trivial, and that the loss of a single loved one can still feel like your world is ending forever. Until you finally find a way to move on with the pain and maybe even draw strength from it.
These moments shine through again and again and made for the jam-packed cinema hall loud sobs, a sigh of relief and enthusiastic clapping and hoots. I was close to tears when I left the room – and full of gratitude that this special story was given at least some space. But how much better could this experience have been if one had dared to do without the big villain and the PR campaign for Ironheart, which makes the upcoming series exciting but doesn’t get much to do? Unfortunately, even Black Panther and Ryan Coogler are allowed to don’t blow up the Marvel steel skeleton.
Instead, Wakanda Forever is “just” what one can expect at best, walking the razor-thin line between fully capitalized spectacle and the uncommercial heaviness of being human: a very good marvel movie.
Black Panther discussion on the podcast: A worthy farewell for Chadwick Boseman?
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In the newest edition of the weekly FILMSTARTS podcast on the screen, moderator Sebastian, Yves von Moviepilot and FILMSTARTS editor Pascal talk about it the Marvel blockbuster Black Panther 2. You can find out in the podcast whether Chadwick Boseman is offered a worthy conclusion and whether the film also works.
What did you think of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever?