Marvel fans were eager to see where director Ryan Coogler and star Chadwick Boseman would lead the franchise in the sequel since the runaway success of 2018’s Black Panther. 

However, after Marvel Studios’ promise not to recast King T’Challa, since Boseman’s tragic passing Black Panther 2 ( Black Panther Wakanda Forever ) became a whole other movie altogether. With everyone praising the director for not avoiding Boseman’s death and instead  incorporating it into the film, the sequel was a story about grieving for loved ones, accepting a human being’s legacy, and letting go of pain, so life can go on. 

Black Panther Wakanda Forever 2022: Brief Movie Review (Beloved Director In Demand) 

Black Panther Wakanda Forever’s Plot:

The Black Panther has been Wakanda’s protector for many centuries, so even with T’Challa’s passing in the MCU, someone has to step in and become the hero.

It’s no real surprise that Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) becomes the new Black Panther in Wakanda forever. After all, the hero’s mantle has been kept in the royal line for generations. 

With T’Challa dead from a mysterious illness, it makes sense that his younger sister would feel responsible for protecting Wakanda. However, while the answer is simple, Wakanda Forever does a spectacular job of showing Shuri’s journey from grieving her brother to accepting her legacy. And Shuri also solves a huge problem that Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) left behind in the first Black Panther by becoming the next Black Panther. 

Shuri, Namor, and the other characters face grief in “Wakanda Forever”: 

Shuri was still a stunning presence as one of T’Challa’s close confidants, acting as the Q to his James Bond. 

Driven by the grief she feels for her lost brother, refusing to dedicate herself to his job, and taking her birthright as Black Panther. 

She faces even greater grief when her mother, Ramonda (Angela Bassett) becomes a victim of the war against Namor, and in her desire for revenge, she eventually finds peace and is able to correctly remember the family she lost. Speaking of Bassett, her performance as the bereaved queen is nothing short of Oscar-worthy, with returning supporting actors Winston Duke and Danai Gurira also showing their pain of loss in more subtle performances.

Although Namor and the Talokans never knew T’Challa, they are the product of grief, albeit generational. The origin of their underwater kingdom is directly linked to the abuses the Maya suffered from the Conquistadors, both through their willful conquest and the unwitting spread of smallpox. 

Years later, when Namor has seen the horrors of the slave trade, he will do anything to ensure that his people never face this cruelty again. That’s really what makes the conflict between Wakanda and Talokan so compelling. It is not a simple fight between good and evil. It’s about a war between two nations who are afraid of each other and what the rest of the world would like to do with it,

Did fans like “Wakanda Forever” more than Black Panther 1?

Perhaps not as culturally relevant as the themes of prejudice seen in the first film, but still a great commentary on the efforts people are willing to make for peace, justice, and revenge.

The second film is technically better because it is a much more polished and complex product, both in terms of visuals and audio. 

Wakanda’s stunning tech landscape looks better than ever thanks to stunning cinematography from Autumn Durald Arkapaw (Loki), and the same can be said for the undersea kingdom of Talokan and even something as mundane as Boston (not to hit the Celtic city). 

Fewer action scenes also provide a noticeable increase in quality over quantity, taking advantage of the long takes that Coogler likes to do and adding a little more visceral brutality to them as well. 

The final fight between Shuri and Namor is a real climax making not only the film great but making the sound design amplify in stupendous glory.

Throughout the movie, there are also times when the film decides to keep things quiet. First, there is the musical component, where Ryan Coogler and composer Ludwig Goransson chose to use the themes associated with T’Challa very sparingly, essentially only using them in their entirety during the opening funeral sequence and parts of them when Shuri becomes the Panther. 

The new score that Göransson offers is fantastic, but he also shows restraint for many sequences where music wouldn’t be needed, such as the main homages to Chadwick Boseman and much of the action scenes, giving the audience the opportunity to really think about what they see in silence, the only sound being the occasional crash of blades.

When we think of Black Panther Wakanda Forever, the movie happens to not only showcase both a phenomenal tribute to a beloved artist who passed too soon but also is a production that shows the MCU still has a few tricks up its sleeve as long as it has some of the best filmmakers working today behind the wheel today – such as Ryan Coogler.

Other Important Questions about Black Panther 2:

How does Shuri become the new Black Panther?

At the start of Wakanda Forever, we learn that Shuri is trying to make a synthetic substitute for the heart-shaped weed – Killmonger burned the entire crop of the plant after taking the throne in the previous film. The plant connects Wakanda’s Protector to the Panther Goddess Bast, giving its user increased strength, agility, and stamina. Through the heart-shaped grass, each Black Panther also visits the Ancestral Plane, where the spirits of dead warriors still live. Shuri doesn’t believe in the ancestral plan and Black Panther mythology, but she hopes to use the plant’s healing properties to save her brother from his illness. However, Shuri is unable to recreate the plant in time, and T’Challa’s death only pushes her further away from Wakanda lore.

A year after T’Challa passed away, Shuri still doesn’t know what it means to be the Black Panther. But when Namor (Tenoch Orchard) threatens to destroy Wakanda, the princess decides it’s time for the nation’s protector to return. And the key to Shuri becoming the new Black Panther is a bracelet donated by Namor. The bracelet was made with the branches of the mystical plant that the Mesoamericans used to grow into underwater creatures, a plant that grew near a heart-shaped grass-like vibranium deposit. So, by analyzing the composition of this new plant, Shuri finds the molecular clues she needs to replicate Wakanda grass.

Shuri uses her heart-shaped synthetic grass and is taken to the Ancestral Plane. There she meets Killmonger, who forces her to admit that she is only becoming the new Black Panther to kill Namor. As Killmonger tells her, Shuri is not as noble as her brother, and the rage that burns within her makes her look more like her genocidal cousin. At first, Shuri refuses to acknowledge how her drive to burn the world to ashes mirrors Killmonger’s goals. Still, she is determined to kill the ruler of Talokan.

What happens after Shuri becomes the new Black Panther?

In the final duel against Namor, Shuri must decide whether to kill her enemy or spare his life. When Shuri presses her spear against Namor’s neck, she has a vision of her deceased mother, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett). 

She ponders what kind of protector she wants to be, and just like her brother before her, Shuri decides to let go of her anger and work for the good of the people of Wakanda. After lending a truce to Namor, Shuri somehow manages to achieve an unstable peace with Talokan.

In conclusion, Marvel Studios better get Coogler on board for Black Panther 3 because we can’t wait to see what happens next.