Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) – Movie Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

“Yibambae!”

Wakanda Forever handled the death of Chadwick Boseman, and subsequently the death of T’Challa, better than expected. The film honored the legacy of Boseman and provided a well-needed send-off for the tragic loss to not only the characters within the film but audiences around the world as well.

After T’Challa’s funeral, the film resumes a year later with Wakanda being called out for not sharing their vibranium-infused technology with the world as T’Challa promised at the end of Black Panther (2018). The loss of T’Challa has left a void in the heart of Wakanda, and neither his mother, Regent Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) nor his sister, Shuri (Letitia White), have fully healed from his death. While Wakanda Forever did an admirable job continuing the Black Panther series, it presented itself as a movie about side characters. In the first Black Panther, Boseman and Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger elevated the film. Here, that leading performance was missed and led to a drop in quality. The biggest issue with Wakanda Forever, however, was its pacing. Some scenes dragged on too long and some plot points escalated far too quickly. 

As always with MCU movies, Wakanda Forever’s action was stellar with crisp sequences that packed a punch. Apparently, Namor is far more powerful than I had originally thought he was and was a spectacle to watch. I did enjoy the idea of Namor’s hidden underwater kingdom being more Mayan-inspired, and the unique origin of how Namor got his name.

Even without a strong lead, Bassett, and White, as well as Okoye (Danai Gurira) and Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), each did their characters justice and brought something unique to the film. Having just rewatched the first movie, it was impressive to see the subtle changes each actor brought a sense of grief to their characters with the loss of T’Challa. Newly introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe were Namor (Tenoch Huerta) and Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne). Unfortunately, neither of these characters stood out or made a great impression. They were just OK but didn’t bring the charisma to their performance to distinguish themselves (consider Tom Holland’s introduction as Spider-Man or Chadwick Boseman’s introduction as Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War (2016)) amongst the ever-expanding roster of the MCU. 

Even with my issues, Wakanda Forever was successful in passing on the Black Panther torch while respecting Boseman’s legacy. Overall, I’d rate Wakanda Forever 3 ½ / 5 stars. While the film did a decent job with a bad hand dealt, it continues the trend of a drop in quality for the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame (2019).

Spider-Man: No Way Home (Spoiler Free)

★★★★★

Picking up hot off the heels of Spiderman: Far From Home, after having his secret identity revealed by Mysterio, Peter Parker must adapt to life where the world knows he is Spider-Man. When Peter begins to face the repercussions of being framed for murdering Mysterio and for the drone attack in London, he turns to Dr. Strange for help. But when Strange’s magic spell goes awry, Peter is faced with new multiversal threats.

Spider-Man: No Way Home was the perfect Spider-Man movie. And by that, I mean anything a fan could possibly dream, it had it. Now, it’s extremely difficult to delve into discussing this movie without spoilers, but I can say without a doubt it was the best Spider-Man movie I’ve ever seen, as well as one of the best Marvel Cinematic Universe, rivaling even Avengers: Endgame. A big part of this praise was the energy in the theater at key moments, similar to when the excitement of seeing Captain America finally lift Mjolnir. I’m sure most people have already seen No Way Home given the crazy records it has been setting, but if not, I’d highly recommend seeing this movie in the theater and as soon as possible to get the full experience.

Tom Holland gave his best performance yet, bringing his A-game as Peter. One of the reasons he shined so bright, however, was his co-stars Zendaya and Jacob Batalon. These three have had fantastic chemistry since Homecoming, and their bond really shows here with each of them elevating each other’s performances to the next level. Director Jon Watts brought his flavorful balance of comedy, action, and heart – all of which are necessities in crafting a great Spider-Man film.

Now, I don’t believe these are spoilers since they were revealed in the trailer, but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock and Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin return to the big screen. Having seen them battle Spider-Man almost 20 years ago, it was such a treat and a fan service to see them return in their supervillain duds.

Something loved about the movie was that it was all about second chances. Doc Ock and Green Goblin died fighting Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, so when they were brought to the world of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, instead of just sending them home to be killed, he made an effort to cure them of their madness. To give them a second chance so they wouldn’t have to be sent back home to die. I can’t think of a more fitting theme for Spider-Man than to give someone a second chance.

Maybe I’m still just caught up in the excitement, and maybe my opinion will change when I rewatch it sometime next year, but I have to give this movie 5/5 stars. It did and had everything I could have possibly wanted from a Spider-Man movie, and I still almost can’t believe it happened, it was so good. No Way Home is definitely my favorite movie of 2021, and I believe most everyone seeing it would agree.

Black Widow

Trying to remain off-the-grid, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) is attacked by an assassin and forced to confront her dark past as a spy and the relationships she left behind when she became an Avenger.

Finally, Black Widow has been released and, like most Marvel movies, was awesome. I thought it had fantastic action, great humor and a decent story. We finally got a glance at Natasha’s backstory and her family before she joined the Avengers. Similar to the Disney Plus shows, it’s nice giving the spotlight to some of the other MCU characters.

The movie takes place right after Captain America: Civil War with the Avengers disbanded and Steve Rogers on the run. It seems a little odd that we are getting this movie now, given that Marvel is usually so good about releasing their movies in chronological order. But I think that this movie was meant to provide backstory to set the gears in motion for Phase Four.

Beware…Spoilers ahead.

I thought Taskmaster was cool, I just wish she played a bigger part in the movie. Taskmaster was more like a side-villain, and although really cool, ultimately not making much of a difference in the end. I thought the character was done really well emphasizing that they could mimic anyone’s movement and skills.

One part of the story I found a little weak was that Dreykov could control the actions of every Widow with “chemicals.” It explained that he did this because Natasha turned on him, but it kind of glanced over how it worked. I also hoped that we would get to see more of the Red Room and some awesome hand-to-hand combat scenes, and was left a little disappointed. There was still plenty of action, it’s just when I think Black Widow, I think of amazing hand-to-hand combat and choreography. My favorite fight scenes were the scenes where Natasha and Ylana fought in the apartment and when Natasha fought Taskmaster on the bridge. 

Another thing I wished we saw more of was Budapest, a mission that Black Widow and Hawkeye have referenced numerous times. We did get a glimpse of the mission – seeing Natasha give the all-clear to blow up a building with Dreykov in it, completing her defection to SHIELD – but I feel like there was so much more they could have shown there. But, who knows? Maybe we will see some flashbacks in the Hawkeye series coming to Disney Plus. Or, maybe Budapest will always just be a reference left up to the audiences’ imagination. 

Overall, I enjoyed Black Widow and was glad I finally got to see it. It may not have been my favorite Marvel movie, but I enjoyed seeing more of Black Widow and learning more of her origin and backstory. I’d rate it 4/5 stars and say that if you’ve missed out on some of the Disney Plus shows, definitely see this as it is the launch for Phase Four.