There are a few rare moments when a character becomes an actor’s legacy and in this case, Chadwick Boseman will always be remembered for his role as King T’Challa and the Black Panther, the duo of roles he fitted in perfectly. A big question loomed over the sequel how Ryan Coogler/ Marvel would address him but how they continued his legacy and mourned his loss whilst also moving forward with the storyline was something they did a great job at.
(Here’s my official synopsis: Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death.)
Right from the introduction of the film to Marvel’s opening credits, it was quite tearful to watch. Speaking of the cast, Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, and Winston Duke all performed magnificently. Another beautiful aspect of the film was the songs and the background score that was really good to listen to and synced quite well with the depth of those particular scenes.
In the grand scheme of things, Black Panther Wakanda Forever is a great watch, moving forward the storyline well, keeping a balance of emotions and action throughout the film, whilst also honouring King T’Challa’s legacy. Nothing too forceful when looked at from a macro lens.
Now, when the film is broken down in the micro, is when you can see a few cracks that are the real issues here. The film has quite an uneven pace, where sometimes it feels too slow and sometimes it jumps so quickly, what feels like the important bits of the story and other times, feels forceful/ just for the sake of the storyline.
Not just that, but while the macro emotional essence is aptly expressed, it’s the micro important scenes which lack an emotional element and doesn’t quite connect with the audience. Speaking of which, the third act of the film seemed quite unsatisfactory and forced upon and the topic of uneven pace gets attached to as well.
Could the film be better than this? Yes. Did they honour their central character’s legacy and not butcher the story? Yes. Over the years, would you feel it’s a good watch? Maybe. But, when it’s Black Panther how can you not watch it in the theatres and also continue with the flow of watching each and everything that Marvel releases… Meanwhile, Wakanda Forever!
RTH24 