Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
When I watch “The Dark Knight,” I honestly do not think of Heath Ledger’s death. Part of that is because, he finished his role in the film, and it was just a posthumous release. I do think of Terry Gilliam’s “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” which was the film he was making when he died, and which had to be reworked after his death. For many, it was an afterthought, but it’s arguably the most interesting of the two films, because you are always wondering what might have been had he lived.
Chadwick Boseman’s death from cancer in 2020 hangs over “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” the same way Brandon Lee’s does for “The Crow,” Carrie Fisher’s does in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” and Paul Walker’s does in the post-“Furious 7” films in that series. In reimagining this sequel to the 2018 cultural landmark film from Marvel, Ryan Coogler had to consider what part of the real-world loss would be considered, and worked into the film. This isn’t the same as when Tony Stark died in “Avengers: Endgame,” or what Vision dying means for Wanda Maximoff’s character. Once the decision was made not to recast T’Challa, it was up to everyone to figure out the best path forward for a world without the character, and what that meant for Marvel’s world building moving forward.
For anyone who valued Boseman, and what he brought to T’Challa, the opening of this film is going to bring you to tears. For the narrative, it sets up where the nation of Wakanda, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) and Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) will be for much of the film. Coogler keeps us centered on Shuri as she is trying to do something for her brother, and when he passes, that sense of guilt and rage will drive the character as Wakanda is drawn into a war with an underwater nation led by Namor (Tenoch Huerta), who sees Wakanda as a potential ally at first, but- when Wakanda intervenes with the life of a brilliant young woman (Dominique Thorne) whose work with Vibranium is a threat to Namor’s people- becomes a battle of wills against two immovable forces, driven by many of the same things.
One of the things I appreciate about Coogler- as a co-writer and director- when it comes to his “Black Panther” films is how he has used the stories to explore the distrust Black society has for the white world. In the first film, one can see how Wakanda’s isolation, and lack of interest in sharing its resources with the world, is its way of looking out for its own after seeing how the rest of the world treats those who look like them. When presented with Killmonger, one of those whom the rest of the world has mistreated, T’Challa comes to realize that isolation is not the way, but neither is Killmonger’s desire to exact revenge on the larger society. Here, Wakanda is still on the outside looking in- despite T’Challa’s aspirations at the end of the first film; without him, and the Black Panther, they are vulnerable, and the white world sees an opening to exert its own force to get what it wants from the nation. Were T’Challa’s aspirations for unity a pipedream? Was Killmonger right, that force was the only way forward? That struggle is at the heart of this film for both Shuri and Namor and his nation; ultimately, Wakanda and Talokan- Namor’s civilization under the sea- are very similar. Another thing that Coogler has excelled at- creating antagonists with righteous purpose we can empathize with. These films are about a nation used to having its freedom, and how they are challenged when they are faced with oppression, and that underlying idea drives both films in a compelling way.
There are plenty of things in Wright’s personal views that make it hard to want to have her as the face of this franchise moving forward, but her Shuri was as fundamental a part of why the first film was great as T’Challa was. From the opening sequence, she comes to play in this film, and it is a terrific performance that expands the character from the first movie, and gives us someone who is being tested by the circumstances around her to expand her thinking. I love moments Wright has with Bassett (who is a force of nature in this film), who challenges her scientifically-minded daughter to embrace a spiritual look at death, and Winston Duke’s M’Baku, a warrior who has sound advice and words for Shuri at key moments. In Namor, she is faced with someone who sees the world in a way not unlike she has since the death of her brother. In a way, they are kindred spirits, and I like the dynamic between Wright and Huerta in this film. It opens up some interesting ideas moving forward.
One of the strongest elements of “Black Panther” was the ensemble of characters it introduced around T’Challa. Without him, there are still plenty of characters for this film to give the spotlight, and they all deliver. Danai Gurira’s Okoye is a fierce warrior who always has what is best for Wakanda is mind, even if that sometimes results in conflicts with people whom she has to earn the trust of; ever the soldier, she is someone whose actions matter to the larger trajectory of the story, and who will always have her focus on one thing- Wakanda’s future. I love how M’Baku is an imposing presence, but Duke’s performance illuminates how this person- who reflects Wakanda’s isolationism beautifully- has to be accepting of some diplomatic truths if Wakanda is going to survive. And then, there is Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia. Wakanda’s spy, who works undercover to look after women of the world, Nakia has been MIA since the original film. When we find out where she’s been, it shows that there is sometimes more than meets the eye to someone’s action, and Nyong’o continues to be brilliant in whatever she does.
Coogler’s storytelling is pushed to the brink at 161 minutes, and there are times when you feel that length, but the purpose of where the story goes carries us through. The images (by cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw) and set pieces are terrific, and the music- once again by Ludwig Göransson- is a highlight of the film. By virtue of its need to pay tribute to Boseman, and T’Challa, there is less of the overt MCU tie-ins than other films have had in Phase 4, and that only benefits the film, as it is not beholden to what we’ve come to expect of late from Marvel. The result is a beautiful goodbye to a great collaborator, and a story that looks at loss and grief from several different perspectives, and finding the way forward afterwards. Wakanda Forever, indeed.
