Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Black Panther Wakanda Forever review says that despite the fact that it falls sort of its predecessor and lacks gravitas, it’s still highly entertaining.

My feelings about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever are complicated—as is the film. There are some great moments, but do they add up to an overall great film? Not quite. The effort is certainly there, however, and it shows.

I admire and celebrate director Ryan Coogler’s efforts to pay tribute to the original cinematic Black Panther, T’Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman, who tragically died of colon cancer in 2020. The mourning scene at the beginning of the film is nothing short of brilliant.

But after that, the weight of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is placed heavily on the narrow shoulders of T’Challa’s brainy little sister Shuri, played by Letitia Wright, who just doesn’t have the gravitas to sustain the entire movie for two-hours and 41 minutes. Yes, it’s that long.

Give me more Angela Bassett as the Black Panther’s mother and Queen of Wakanda (you won’t see her plot twist coming). Give me more Danai Gurira as the fierce General Okoye.

Give me less Riri Williams (the high tech suited “Ironheart” played by Dominique Thorne) whose loose connection with the plot appears to be little more than a promotion for her new Marvel streaming series on Disney+.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Review — The Plot

The major conflict in the film turns out not to be about the Black Panther’s successor, but over control of the world’s most valuable element vibranium.

Wakanda was believed to be the only country on earth where it could be mined, but through a complicated series of events, a new source is discovered—under the sea and guarded by a strange Mayan culture of blue people, lead by god-king Namor, who flies around vertically over land with little fluttery wings on his ankles. 

He doesn’t look menacing, and the performance given by Tenoch Huerta doesn’t feel menacing, but amped up CGI gives him almost invincible power. He wrecks a lot of havoc before the control of vibranium gets sorted out.

So in essence what we have here is another Marvel sequel that, disappointingly, doesn’t meet the standards set by its predecessor. But let’s face it—that bar was set so high it would be almost impossible to reach.

Marvel fans will flock to it regardless, as will those who long to return to the movie theater and see something worth their hard earned cash.

And despite its flaws, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is extremely entertaining, and for most movie goers, worth seeing on as big a screen as possible.

Rated: PG-13

Two Hours 41 Minutes

If this Black Panther: Wakanda Forever review encourages you to stalk on over to the cineplex and see it, get times and tickets at Fandango.com.

Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever review says that despite the fact that it falls sort of its predecessor and lacks gravitas, it’s still highly entertaining.