King T’Challa is dead. In the wake of his death, Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye, and the Dora Milaje fight for the future of Wakanda from world powers who all have their own agendas for what could be done with Vibranium. As the Wakandans move into this new era, they must work together with the help of Nakia and Everette Ross to not only protect their future but also the future of the world.
Story
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s story is a beautiful tribute to King T’Challa actor Chadwick Boseman. It deals with how a nation deals with the loss of its leader and how family members deal with the loss of loved ones. As the story move forward there is growth for some of the characters and the nation of Wakanda. The antagonist is interesting and is both interesting and consistent with his motivations. Overall, the story is a good story that has some beautiful emotional moments and punches. My big critique with this story is that it does take awhile to get to its destination. I think the story could have been tightened up a bit more and it would have had an even bigger emotional impact.
Quality
As one would expect from any movie from Marvel Studios, this is a movie that is beautiful to look at it. For the amount of digital effects that are in it, it thankfully isn’t distracting. This movie is wonderful to look at. The sound effects are also enjoyable enough, but not necessarily stellar throughout the full film. There are moments were the sound effects really shine but for the most part they weren’t super memorable. The visuals were also solid but in hindsight, they didn’t blow me out of the water either. They did do the job they needed to do.
Characters
The characters in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever really are the strongest part of the movie. Each of the main characters had a solid purpose, motivation, and a journey that they went on throughout the movie. I was pleased to see they all stayed true to themselves. I would have liked to have seen a bit more out of Everett Ross. I felt like this character wasn’t utilized to the full potential. Overall, however, I thought the characters and their development through this film were the best part of it and that’s how it should be.
Music
The music for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was a mixed back. There are some absolutely beautiful and incredible songs included in the soundtrack. Where these are definitely highlights, the orchestral score wasn’t as memorable as the first film. If I were to choose to listen to the soundtrack or the score, this is a rare case where I would choose the soundtrack over the score… which is a bit surprising as I’m definitely a score guy. Overall, there weren’t any missteps here but the score just wasn’t super memorable. It did have some pretty moments, I think I just wanted more. The powerful musical moments really were given to song
Final Thoughts
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is definitely a movie with a lot of heart and emotional punch. As the characters go through the greiving process of losing King T’Challa, they take the audience on that journey with them. This is a beautiful thing that I really appreciated about this film. I did feel that it was longer than it needed to be and it did not pass my watch test. Yes, I did find myself looking down at it a few times. While I did enjoy this film a lot, I thought it could be tightened up a bit. I love the character journeys, I thought the resolution was solid, and I like the doors it opens for future stories. I definitely give this movie a hat tip. I am looking forward to seeing where the Marvel Cinematic Universe goes from here!
Mr. DAPs Hat Rating Scale
- No Hat – Didn’t meet expectations
- Hat Nod – It was ok
- Hat Tip – It was good
- Hat’s Off – Loved it!
