Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the sequel to Marvel’s massively popular Black Panther. It’s an ambitious and emotional journey that explores grief in different ways, all of them fitting with the fantasy universe that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The loss of King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), aka Black Panther, weighs heavily on the people of Wakanda, more so on his sister Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) and his mother Queen Ramonda (Angel Bassett). They try to move forward but are paralyzed with grief, a sorrow so deep it shadows their attempts to keep their nation safe.
Outside forces covet their precious metal vibranium, which absorbs, stores and releases super amounts of kinetic energy. They must remain vigilant.
How do you go on after Boseman’s death in real life? It’s hard to imagine, but writer/director Ryan Coogler and co-writer Joe Robert Cole deliver perfectly. Their attention to detail and quest to honour the legacy of the actor and character is evident in every frame. They start the movie on a spiritual plain and end it the same way.
While other Marvel pictures can multiverse themselves out of questions of mortality should they so wish, Coogler leans into the pain shared by Boseman’s colleagues and fans alike, and crafts an unexpectedly sober picture that explores the grieving process. The emotional core is raw, credible and affecting.
After the death of the beloved king, the kingdom of Wakanda must regroup to protect itself against those who hope to destabilize the country and steal its vibranium. There’s also a new threat in the form of a superhuman, underwater-dwelling people descended from Mesoamericans.
The clash between the forces of Wakanda and Talokan — a mighty African kingdom and its Mesoamerican counterpart — introduces an intriguing new cultural-mythological dynamic and raises all manner of thorny questions about race and allyship among characters of Black, Indigenous and Latin American descent.
Costume designer Ruth E. Carter, production designer Hannah Beachler and composer Ludwig Göransson all expand beautifully on their Oscar-winning contributions to the first Black Panther.
It’s part fantasy, part sci-fi, but at its core, this movie is about indigenous futurism. It’s an imagined nation that was forced into migration and hiding from the horrors of colonization and thriving in solitude. Like the first movie, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever asks us to consider why and when vengeance is futile, and what the difference is between an anti-hero and an anti-villain.
The production design is off the charts, displaying the rich futuristic technology of Wakanda while introducing the underwater kingdom of Talokan. Wow! You’ll say that over and over again as this mind-blowing, superhero epic unfolds. Wow!
Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever, rated PG, plays at the Patricia Theatre from December 9 to 13 and December 16 to 20 at 7 pm, and on Sunday, December 11 and 18, at 1:30 pm. The theatre will be closed on December 14 and 15.
Running time is two hours and 42 minutes.
Gary Shilling is executive director of qathet Film Society (formerly Powell River Film Society).
