Black Panther Wakanda Forever was a movie I was hesitant to watch because, as many know, Chadwick Boseman has passed away from cancer, and it was hard to know that Kevin Feige was NOT going to recast the character and instead kill off T'Challa. And I have a massive problem with that because we have yet to explore the nature of T'Challa, and the story should have continued what Boseman started. And not kill the character just because the actor died. So Ryan Coogler had a tough job changing the new script and making a new story, and while I respect what he does and all the movies he writes and directs are exceptional; So I can expect to see, a movie with full 100% of heart that he cares. And of course, he does put his heart and soul. However, sadly, I am one of those people who wanted them to recast T'Challa than have him die in the universe. I wish they'd done this story as a show instead of a movie because there were so many elements that just didn't get enough time to be developed. Shuri simply has no agency for most of the film. We don't have time to see if she's mourning the loss of her brother, trying to deny the grief, struggling with the concept of having to someday lead her people or working through expectations put in place by her mother. We get little glimpses of these ideas, but not enough time to explore any of them. As a result, Shuri is just kinda "there" while the plot revolves around her, which sucks since she's the main character. I like how much more mature she is than in the first movie. She was better here and I did enjoy seeing her on a journey to find herself with her religious beliefs. Her questioning religion is a sight to see and needed more to explore. I did love Tenoch Huerta as Namor, he is brilliant as Namor, however, I still wish it was Atlantis and was their version of Atlantis that rivals Aquaman. Angela Bassett, I have nothing to say but she was the best part of this movie, and I did enjoy the performance she gave, but to me, she didn't need to die. I wanted her to continue the story of a struggle Queen. Riri Williams played by Dominique Thorne didn't work for me. I don't know what it is, but to me, I feel like we didn't need her, and she was nothing but a plot device for the movie and the story. And we don't even know why Wakanda wants to protect her if she is a random nobody, with just brains. Again, it's gotten so lazy to see someone with the gift of knowledge, but she is quite a one-dimensional character. Overall the movie is fine to me; I feel like if they kept the original story (Where T'Challa returns from the dead and he had to continue his journey as king and the story with him against Namor would have been miles better.) But again that's just me. 7/10. Still respect Ryan Coogler for what he did with this film.
Review of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
