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Black Panther: Wakanda Forevercarries a series of burdens no one film could ever bear.
Coogler must craft an entertaining sequel to a billion-dollar blockbuster while working within the constricting Marvel Cinematic Universe.
To say the film is overtaxed is an understatement.
I have complicated feelings around the originalBlack Panther,which was released to great acclaim in 2018.
(In a surprising moment of self-awareness for the franchise, a cameo inWakanda Foreversays as much.)
Without him, the sequel struggles to hit the graceful emotional frequencies of its predecessor.
It lacks a linear quality.
It isnt something you’re free to overcome with a magic spell or godlike abilities.
It breaks against the form and function of a Marvel property.
Wakanda Foreverbegins with the funeral of TChalla a sight tinged with joy andsorrow.
Here, the film is at its most vivid and visually intriguing.
But the scene is all too brief.
(How many isolationist societies of magical, powerful people of color can one cinematic universe have?)
Lupita Nyongo fares much better.
Ive missed the sight of her onscreen.
Her brightness as Nakia infuses a few beautiful moments in the film.
Theres a lot of wasted talent onscreen.
Michaela Coels character, Aneka, is missing the tricksy magnetism the writer-actor displays everywhere else.
It constructs a rushed origin story never focused enough on building out Talokan.
Who are its people beyond their isolationism?
What do they worship and delight in?
What powers their beliefs in a world where a godlike being like Namor exists?
Within this part of the films tapestry, no character possesses a hint of interiority.
When Huerta is called to deliver lines with the wordmutant, they land with a thud.
The action scenes provide little of the decadent thrills that can power even the emptiest of superhero narratives.
Here, the muscular kineticism has been replaced with an ostentatious grandiosity.
The dexterous bliss that comes with the sudden explosion of superheroic energy is crowded out.
It is neither developed enough narratively nor complex enough politically.
It is a film not about Blackness or Indigenous identity, though it hides behind the sheen of both.
Who does Coogler want to be as an artist?
What does he have to say about humanity?Black Panther: Wakanda Foreverdoesnt have the answers.
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