| Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: November 11, 2022 | CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
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Positive:
42
Mixed:
18
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews
Nov 8, 2022
There’s so much that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever does right that it’s frustrating to blame it for the one flaw it can’t help. But you watch it wondering about the movie that never got made, the story that never got finished, the life cut short too soon. Maybe, in a few years, this franchise can make a truly fresh start; this movie efficiently and skillfully lays the groundwork for that. It takes time, as wise Wakandans remind us, to move on.
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Nov 8, 2022IndieWireNov 8, 2022
For all of the film’s janky pacing, thoroughly mediocre action setpieces, and the clumsiness with which it’s forced to double as backdoor pilot for Disney Plus’ “Ironheart” series, Coogler’s subthread of the MCU continues to operate at a significantly higher strata of thought, artistry, and feeling than the rest of Marvel’s assembly line.
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Nov 8, 2022
Thankfully, it shines for much of its 161-minute runtime, making for a rare marriage of heart and spectacle that lands perfectly. It also makes room for us to experience grief in all of its complexity, a rare thing in movies, let alone blockbuster superhero franchises. That catharsis alone is worth celebrating in the wake of so much loss.
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PolygonNov 8, 2022
There are moments in Wakanda Forever where it feels as though the film itself might buckle under the weight of not only the expectations heaped onto it, but of the loss that animates its core premise. When it manages not only to meet the verve and creativity of 2018’s Black Panther, but ultimately to tell its own successful story, it feels no less astonishing than a man with wings on his ankles soaring through the air.
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Nov 8, 2022
In the parlance of Olympic diving – a good analogy for blockbuster movie-making – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever faced an inordinate degree of difficulty, addressing the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman. That the movie manages to strike that somber chord and still deliver as Marvel-style entertainment represents a major accomplishment, though the tension created by those two forces grinding in different directions can’t entirely be ignored.
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Nov 8, 2022
I do think “Wakanda Forever” has plenty of what the enormous “Black Panther” fan base wants in a “Black Panther” sequel. There’s real emotion in the best material here. The loss of Boseman was enormous. So is the skill level of the actors, returning and new, who make the most of a pretty good sequel.
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Nov 8, 2022
Is this massively ambitious, unfairly burdened sequel as good as Black Panther? Definitely not—and it probably could never have been. But in a mythology where death is more often used as a narrative device than a true measure of loss, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever magnifies the truth that the title character’s world will endure, even if he doesn’t—and there are at least as many lessons to extract from his absence.
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Nov 8, 2022
It doesn’t break any new ground and I’m not convinced it required a 2 hour and 41 minute running time, but despite a few overlong interludes midway through the story and a couple of battle sequences that pretty much look like the fight scenes in a dozen or two previous MCU movies, this is a rousing adventure and a most welcome return to one of the most visually arresting and culturally rich settings in the superhero universe: the kingdom of Wakanda.
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Nov 8, 2022
One can easily imagine a version of this film that is a two-hour eulogy, not just for Chadwick Boseman but for the film that Ryan Coogler had intended to make with him. Instead, it’s both an affirmation of his legacy and an assurance that, though it might be difficult, life will go on without him.
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Nov 10, 2022
Coogler admirably takes a big swing with Wakanda Forever and it produces a feature that is fluently in conversation with its predecessor, but less so with its position inside the wider franchise universe. There are some noticeable misses, but the value of such intricate and elevated storytelling cannot be discounted.
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Nov 10, 2022
Nov 8, 2022
Although the sequel’s running time is more sprawling and its narrative goals more diffuse than its predecessor’s, it shares the same strengths. Wakanda Forever is fueled by intricate world-building, stunningly designed sets and costumes, and an interest in the geopolitical implications of superheroism that’s far more nuanced than most Marvel movies allow.
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Nov 8, 2022
Wright, Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, and others are commanding presences, standing proud and formidable in Ruth Carter’s glorious costumery. The film’s lush visuals—its rendering of bustling old-town Wakanda, of a mysterious city under the sea, of gleaming tech and natural landscapes—are sumptuous and considered. There is much to be admired here, a care for craft and detail on a higher plane than other Marvel fare.
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Nov 8, 2022
And underneath it all is a beating heart; a tribute to both Boseman's loss and legacy. The emotional punch is more impactful than the physical one here, and whatever the flaws of "Wakanda Forever," its emotional heft is strong — and honest. There's no sense of manipulation here, only a sense of grief coupled with acceptance. What else can there be?
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Nov 8, 2022
The interpersonal storylines, the tackling of the connections between grief and rage and flight, are some of the deepest and most nuanced in the franchise's history, as is the underlying narrative of two powerful nations heading to a needless conflict in the fog of war. When Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is at its best when it looks at confusion rather than adds to it.
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Nov 8, 2022
More than any other MCU outing over the past three years, though, there is more to appreciate here than not. The performances are all filled with sorrow and spirit, a true melding of real-life emotion and whatever heightened reactions are typically required for an expensive play session in a superpowered sandbox.
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