Everyone and their grandmothers has probably seen Black Panther: Wakanda Forever by now, but I figured I’d write about it anyway. Obviously, Wakanda Forever lacks the epic feel and the newness of the first Black Panther movie, but I don’t think it’s a worse film.
It’s a good set-up for future films. Taking into consideration the suddenness of Chadwick Boseman’s death, they had to improvise and find a script that works with Shuri taking the lead. And I think they did that. It’s sad to have T’Challa gone, but seeing Shuri get to grow into a more three dimensional character is worth it. She does such a good job moving between being a genius and comic relief character to one with real depth of feeling and a sense of being lost without her family.
I think Wakanda Forever is more than just about her grief, too. She’s feeling overwhelmed by taking the reigns to an entire empire and she just wants to do the right thing by her family. Shuri is never sure what that is, as she’s told she hides in her work and doesn’t feel her emotions. Yet, she works so hard out of love, to create things to help her nation and her family.
She also shows who she really is when she’s invited to play with novelty. I think of her visiting Kula and showing absolute wonder, curiosity and adventure. That’s exactly who Shuri really is.
The character of Namor is well written in some ways, but I find he flips from “aren’t we both beautiful and wondrous beings?” to “So anyway, we have to kill everyone” with a snap of his fingers. There isn’t enough time to get to know him and why he couldn’t come up with an alternative. Yes, he definitely is a character born of trauma and acting out of it, but I feel like he’s too impulsive for a people that have literally been hidden away for hundreds of years. Perhaps that’s a decision they already made a long time ago.
I do like how by the end of this narrative arc there is a change from rivals to one of allies, whether or not Wakandans know that. I think Namor has some ability to bring Wakandans to rage about actions against them, and perhaps that’s what will happen if we ever get a third Black Panther film.
Overall, I enjoyed it and I’m glad to see it was nominated for so many Oscars!
