The death of actor Chadwick Boseman looms large over "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," the sequel to "Black Panther," the 2018 blockbuster that signaled a new — and long overdue — form of representation in the superhero genre at large.
Co-writer and director Ryan Coogler created an immersive world within the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Boseman at its core. The actor's unexpected death in 2020 at age 43 robbed the MCU of one of its boldest heroes and Hollywood one of its brightest stars, and it leaves "Wakanda Forever" reeling, searching for its center.
In Boseman's absence, Coogler focuses on the women of Wakanda, largely fashioning the film around the strong females in the "Black Panther" orbit. But after a hearty start, the film sputters in its second half, dragging through its bloated runtime — at 2 hours and 41 minutes, it's the second-longest Marvel film to date, behind "Avengers: Endgame" — on its way to its at once overblown and underwhelming finale.
"Wakanda Forever" pays tribute to Boseman, but it doesn't do anything to reverse the sense of stagnation within the MCU and the overall feeling of fatigue in the current superhero movie landscape.
Without delving into spoiler territory, "Wakanda Forever" addresses the death of Boseman right away, as Wakanda honors its late King T'Challa, and family members Shuri (Letitia Wright) and Ramonda (Angela Bassett) go through the loss of their brother and son, respectively.
A news report — Anderson Cooper delivers the latest out of Wakanda — informs TV viewers of T'Challa's death. To some, the loss of its protector leaves Wakanda's precious supply of vibranium vulnerable, and they go after it only to be thwarted, and later publicly humiliated by Wakanda's Queen Mother Ramonda, who makes a show of the attempted seizure in front of the United Nations. Bassett, all resilience and resolve, makes a mighty showing here.
It turns out that in the wrong hands, vibranium can be used for great evil, and Ramonda won't let it fall into those wrong hands.
Meanwhile, new supplies of vibranium are located deep within the Atlantic Ocean, but an ops crew's efforts to mine it are busted up by a squad of blue underwater sea people, led by Namor (Tenoch Huerta). He's the king of Talokan, an ancient underwater kingdom, and he has the ability to fly thanks to a pair of wings affixed to his ankles.
Namor makes a visit to Wakanda to warn off Ramonda and Shuri, and the vibranium wars are on. As with anytime there's this much focus placed on the importance of a particular Earth element, it's a sign of a weakness in the script.
The action shifts to America where we're reintroduced to CIA agent Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman), who is minding his own business and jogging while listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers through his AirPods. Ross' communication with Wakanda is under scrutiny from Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), the shadowy agent who also happens to be his ex-wife.
And at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology we meet young Chicago-bred prodigy Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), a genius student who is recruited to work for Wakanda by Shuri and Okoye (Danai Gurira), Wakanda's no-nonsense head of security forces. A trip to Haiti brings Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o), a Wakandan spy who had retreated to be alone following the death of T'Challa, back into the fold.
While there are no shortage of moving parts, the film's first half hums along, as things fall into place and we settle back into the rhythms of the world Coogler has created.
It's in the second half where things get wobbly, as the pile up of plotlines resembles a car wreck and the weakness of the film's central conflict is exposed.
Boseman's absence leaves a gaping hole at the heart of the film, and the attempts to fill it are scattered in too many different directions. A superhero movie needs a great villain — "Black Panther" had Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger, who was so powerful he threatened to steal the spotlight from Boseman — and "Wakanda Forever" lacks both a great bad guy (Huerta's Namor is too measured to be evil) and a strong, believable hero holding everything together. It's a superhero movie in need of a superhero.
The world of Wakanda is still wondrous (the film's costumes and production design are splendid), but the magic from the first "Black Panther" and the groundbreaking feel of discovery, of freshness, is missing. And the underwater scenes in Talokan draw unfortunate parallels to "Aquaman," a rare case of the MCU recalling the DC universe; one hopes the upcoming "Avatar" sequel has better luck rendering a water world on screen.
"Wakanda Forever" does set a new benchmark for female representation on screen in a superhero movie; the best action, the best lines and the majority of the movie is owned by Black women. But it can't measure up to the high bar of its predecessor or overcome the loss of its franchise star. Which, in its own way, is a testament to Boseman and the power he brought to the character. "Black Panther" just isn't "Black Panther" without him.
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'BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER'
Grade: C+
MPAA rating: PG-13 (for sequences of strong violence, action and some language)
Running time: 2:41
How to watch: In theaters Friday
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