‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Review: Critics Shower Praise On Story, Performances

Manas Sen Gupta
·4-min read

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premiered in theatres on November 11 2022, and has already received glowing reviews from movie critics and Twitter users.

It was one of the most-anticipated films of 2022, especially because it pays a heartfelt tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, who played the titular hero to critical acclaim in 2018.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the final film of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and leads to films of Phase 5 and Phase 6 of the franchise which were announced at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) in July 2022.

No T’Challa in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Black Panther Wakanda Forever
A still from the film showing Letitia Wright as Shuri. (Image: Courtesy of Marvel Studios/Marvel Studios – © 2022 MARVEL./IMDb)

Marvel Studios had already announced that Boseman’s character of T’Challa, who becomes the Black Panther in the 2018 film, will not be recast and that the sequel will show a new character assuming the identity of the Wakandan superhero.

Thus, T’Challa is already shown as having passed away in the story of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Now, without their king, the people of Wakanda are forced to defend their world from forces wanting to tap into the kingdom’s vibranium resources and its technology.

Above all, they must also face the might of Namor — the king of the underwater world of Talokan.

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Who plays whom in the film

Black Panther Wakanda Forever
Members of the cast and crew of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever at the film’s screening in Mexico City. (Image: Courtesy of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/@theblackpanther/Twitter)

The film stars Letitia Wright as Shuri, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, Tenoch Huerta Mejía as Namor and Angela Bassett as Ramonda, among others.

Directed by Ryan Coogler, the film is the second-longest title in the MCU behind Avengers: Endgame (2019) with a runtime of two hours and 41 minutes.

Before its wide theatrical release, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had its world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre and the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on October 26.

What international critics said about the movie

Several top critics praised the film for the direction of the story, the performances, the tribute to Boseman and the cinematic experience.

Dana Stevens for Slate said that the film is a “gajillion-dollar comic-book blockbuster about something as complex and interior as the act of female mourning.”

The New York Times’ A.O. Scott writes that being a Ryan Coogler film, it has the “director’s signature interplay of genre touchstones, vivid emotions, and allegorical implications.”

But some critics gave the film an average review.

Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post said that the film feels “hopelessly stalled” and has an “uninvolving, occasionally incoherent story.”

Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com said that despite having its heart in the right place, the film “is in the wrong mindset and in the worst space.”

Here is what Twitter users are saying about the film

(Main image: Marvel Studios/Courtesy of Marvel Studios – © 2022 MARVEL./IMDb; Featured image: Eli Adé/Eli Adé – © 2022 MARVEL./IMDb)

This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia India