✦Elzary
Cinema·5 min read·👀 Watched 2022.11.12

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

A film entirely in memory of T'Challa. It was tearing at my eyes before the movie even began — Black Panther is my favorite Marvel character.

2022 · Action / Sci-fi · Ryan Coogler · Theatrical

✦ The Panther King forever lives in us.

Setting the scene

This is entirely a film in memory of T'Challa. He passed at 43 from colon cancer, yet is forever the Black Panther in everyone's heart: Chadwick Boseman. Before the film even started my eyes were tearing up — after all, Black Panther is my favorite character in Marvel!! 😭😭😭

A few (few, few) thoughts

Some reviews say it's too long. Maybe it's not like a typical Marvel film that goes the funny-thrilling route, but I think the backstory, the shifts in mindset, the plot — all of it is laid out pretty clearly, and even the emotional buildup is ready to erupt. I actually wished the writers had made it longer; I really love Wakanda's setting! So I really want to dig deeper into Wakanda's story!

Whatever the reviews say, I believe this film holds some irreplaceable meaning in many people's hearts (mine).

My favorite part is the later stretch where Shuri says her final goodbye to her brother on the beach (?). At first Shuri insists on not burning the white robe, since it's the last object she and her brother once shared a space with; I think burning it later signals letting go and moving forward again. That stretch is filled with fragments of memories of her and her brother, and the writers deliberately added no music — sitting in total silence, my emotions kept stirring, until at the very end Rihanna's "Lift Me Up" comes in and my feelings were completely set ablaze. All I can say is this film's power to move is super strong, and Rihanna's vocals are heart-touching too.

Twist after twist. I believe that after touring the kingdom, Shuri wanted the two sides to coexist in peace — but then, after losing her mother, the desire for revenge swallowed her. Thankfully, at the end of the duel, she remembers T'Challa and thinks: what would he do today? That severs the otherwise endless cycle of vengeance. Only, the surviving Namor also gives me the sense he'll keep up his ill intent — if there's a third film, let's look forward to how they perform.

Funny bit. In the middle, before Namor takes Shuri to tour his kingdom, he lists all the terrifying reasons ordinary humans can't go to the deep sea — then finally says: actually, you can just wear a diving suit. The person behind me and I snorted at the same time. I think that's a joy of watching in theaters — discovering someone whose sense of humor matches yours, haha!

Closing thoughts

Unlike Marvel's usual funny-tense-thrilling style, this one leans more on emotional buildup and shifts in mindset, but the visual effects are exquisite as ever, plus it adds another powerful hidden nation and a little post-credit scene at the very end. All I can say is, anyone who loves Black Panther has to go see it (obviously).

Extra rambling 😍

  • The post-credit scene is so sincere! It feels like a setup too — will there be a third film? Who knows 🤷‍♀️
  • Okoye and Shuri's outfits are super sharp, and paired with the sports car I love it 😍 (especially Shuri, who's basically a clothes hanger — the jumpsuit doesn't make her legs look short at all; turns out they're both 170cm, haha).

✦ Even while processing grief, you must keep moving forward.

#movie#marvel#action
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