{"id":159876,"date":"2022-11-14T01:01:51","date_gmt":"2022-11-14T08:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/?p=159876"},"modified":"2022-11-14T01:01:51","modified_gmt":"2022-11-14T08:01:51","slug":"movie-review-black-panther-wakanda-forever-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2022\/11\/14\/movie-review-black-panther-wakanda-forever-2022.html","title":{"rendered":"Movie Review: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (2022)"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the untimely death of Chadwick Boseman in 2020, MCU fans were unsure what would happen next. Would Boseman be replaced by another actor playing T’Challa? If not, would we just get some sort of mawkish memorial at the beginning — or, worse, mawkish, weepy memorials all the way through, “That’s what T’Challa would have wanted …” — or maybe, without Boseman, we’d get something that was just vapidly action-oriented without the depths he would have\u00a0wanted.<\/p>\n

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is none of those\u00a0things.<\/p>\n

\"Black<\/a><\/p>\n

It is a movie suffused with grief, with people dealing with the untimely loss of a loved one, a leader, a geopolitical figure. A lot of that “dealing with” leads to errors in judgment that lead to further complications, but the dominoes that tumble by all of that that feel logical and realistic. As much as the viewer wants to yell at the people making bad decisions, much is because we understand where those people are coming from and sympathize, even as we want to grab them by the shoulders and shake\u00a0them.<\/p>\n

There are a ton of features to admire about the movie. Wakanda remains a remarkable society, with a complex polity and a realm as complex as their highly advanced technology, and the internal politics of Wakanda are themselves a significant factor in the action. But it’s brilliantly done that Wakanda is also a vulnerable society — not through simple brute force (as in “Avengers: Infinity War”) but through applied tactics against the strengths of the opponent (this is true both for the Atlanteans attacking Wakanda as well as Wakanda’s\u00a0counter-attack).<\/p>\n

Namor’s people and their profound grounding in Meso-American heritage is a delightful expansion of their pulp fantasy origins in the comics. While one can pick nits at their tech \/ lack of tech, they (and Namor) are delightfully\u00a0rich.<\/p>\n

\"flying<\/a>(And I give a thousand points of credit for the film’s leaning into Namor’s ankle wings, calling them out explicitly and<\/em>\u00a0making them part of the plot. The most ridiculous thing about Namor’s character, and they went with it. Bravo.)<\/p>\n

The movie actually makes sense (in terms of cascading bad judgments) in creating the conflict between Atlantis (okay, Talokan) and Wakanda, and uses the relative powers of both nations in imaginative and believable ways.<\/p>\n

And there is a mid-movie cameo that was both unexpected and completely believable — and which drove forward Shuri’s evolution as a\u00a0character.<\/p>\n

\"black-panther-riri-williams-black-panther-wakanda-forever\"<\/a>The weakest parts of the movie relate to events outside of the Wakanda-Talokan conflict. The shenanigans related to Everett Ross and Val de Fontaine were all amusing, but felt like an add-on. And, sadly, Riri\/Ironheart never quite fit into the emotional heart of the movie, despite being a significant part of the physical action. She’s a prop, more than a character here, and as a character she deserves much\u00a0more.<\/p>\n

But, again, that’s because this movie is really about grief, fear, dealing with T’Chala’s death — and the mistakes and misjudgments that stem from that. That grief is palpable, in both the drama and the meta (the Chadwick Boseman-focused Marvel intro sequence), and that is infused beautifully into the entire narrative, and into, ultimately, Shuri’s character\u00a0arc.<\/p>\n

\"BPWF<\/a>This is a much more sophisticated tale than most MCU entries, because it is more about internal conflict than external, about finding one’s place in the world vs. blowing up the bad guys, and because so many characters are proceeding along parallel arcs that lead to conflict, and so many plausible ways that conflict can play out. And, at the end, we have no true resolutions, but anticipations, potentials, and possibilities.<\/p>\n

Very much like real life. Which makes this a particular gem in the\u00a0MCU.<\/p>\n

ProTip: There is only one mid-credits scene. But it’s excellent. But when it’s done, you can head for the exit.<\/em><\/p>\n

[This review was initially posted at Letterboxd<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A movie that allayed fears and more than fulfilled expectations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159878,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[525],"tags":[1409,1234,2306],"class_list":["post-159876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marvel-cinematic-universe","tag-blackpanther","tag-mcu","tag-wakandaforever"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Black-Panther-Wakanda-Forever-poster.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":135907,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2018\/02\/17\/movie-review-black-panther-2018.html","url_meta":{"origin":159876,"position":0},"title":"Movie Review: “Black Panther” (2018)","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 17-Feb-18 10:46pm","format":false,"excerpt":"NO SPOILERS (but I can't control the comments). Short Version: I enjoyed Black Panther. I think it is definitely worth going to see. Longer Version: Black Panther is a very interesting movie, dealing faithfully with the source material, satisfying the sci-fi \/ super-heroics and beats that one expects from a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/black-panther-poster.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":135801,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2018\/01\/11\/black-panther-already-hit-based-advance-ticket-sales.html","url_meta":{"origin":159876,"position":1},"title":"“Black Panther” is already a hit — based on advance ticket sales","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 11-Jan-18 11:49am","format":false,"excerpt":"Which was a good reminder for me to buy our tickets for opening weekend. Black Panther set records this morning, selling more advance tickets in its first 24 hours than any previous Marvel Studios movie, edging out Captain America: Civil War for the crown. As the article notes, advance sales\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/black-panther-movie.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9782,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2006\/11\/04\/ultimate_avengers_ii.html","url_meta":{"origin":159876,"position":2},"title":"Ultimate Avengers II","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 4-Nov-06 4:16pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Catching up on DVR stuff yesterday afternoon, I finally watched the recent Marvel\/Lionsgate animation, Ultimate Avengers 2. I missed the original, alas -- well, maybe not so alas, but...","rel":"","context":"In "Animation \/ Cartoons"","block_context":{"text":"Animation \/ Cartoons","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/media-cartoons"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":135918,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2018\/02\/19\/im-glad-see-black-panther-really-well-theaters.html","url_meta":{"origin":159876,"position":3},"title":"I’m very glad to see “Black Panther” doing really well in theaters","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 19-Feb-18 11:32am","format":false,"excerpt":"In part because I'm a comics geek and enjoy seeing the success of the MCU as a way to get more fun (and diversely fun) movies based on Marvel characters. In part because I think it's very cool that African-Americans get to see characters that look like them, that have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/black-panther.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":155817,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2022\/01\/04\/my-movie-watching-year-in-review-2021-edition.html","url_meta":{"origin":159876,"position":4},"title":"My Movie-Watching Year in Review (2021 Edition)","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 4-Jan-22 3:37pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Not a lot of theater-going, but an MCU rewatch helped the numbers","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)"","block_context":{"text":"Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/franchises\/marvel-cinematic-universe"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/movie-theater-interior-1-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/movie-theater-interior-1-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/movie-theater-interior-1-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/movie-theater-interior-1-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/movie-theater-interior-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/movie-theater-interior-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33658,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/05\/08\/marvel-movie-madness.html","url_meta":{"origin":159876,"position":5},"title":"Marvel Movie Madness!","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 8-May-13 12:50pm","format":false,"excerpt":"That Marvel hasn't made a Runaways movie yet is clearly a mistake they should be working on. And, it seems, they are.Reshared post from +The Mary SueWait, Marvel actually IS working on Black Panther, Ms. Marvel, The Runaways, and Blade movies? Really? For real? Well. Cool. All Sides Suit Up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159876"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159883,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159876\/revisions\/159883"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}