What’s it about?

In the wake of King T’Challa’s death, Wakanda struggles with grief, the perceived lack of a protector, and the diplomatic problems of a world hungry for their own vibranium.

What did we think?

Anthony Sherratt says: Wakanda Forever is a welcome diversion from the MCU’s reliance on scripts packed with action and non-stop quips. Instead we’re served up a poignant and thoughtful piece that focuses more on characters and big-picture development.

Director Ryan Coogler’s decision to truly lean into T’Challa’s death is both touching and organic without feeling forced at all. In fact much of the plot revolves around the world’s perception of the hole the previous monarch left.

It’s intelligent, engaging, and character-driven but it will be interesting to see how the diehard MCU fans receive something less action-driven. It’s certainly not without fault – it’s a touch long and has some poor CGI moments – but I actually think this is a better quality movie than the first. 8.5/10

Pete Linning says: If I had a dollar for every time the antagonist of a Black Panther movie was a sexy brown dude that hates shirts, loves killing, but technically isn’t wrong, I’d now have two dollars.

Marvel really could have been forgiven if they fumbled this one, but Chadwick’s death was handled about as tastefully as possible without lingering too long on the issue or completely sidelining it. Wakanda Forever takes its time to look at the different ways that people deal with grief as well as the real-world political maneuvering that would ensue in the power vacuum left by the death of Wakanda’s King and protector.

The action is a big improvement on the original (for the most part), and the movie is enhanced by some really strong performances from its central and supporting cast.

Wakanda Forever would definitely have benefitted from a few more script revisions to trim it down, but it’s really well-paced despite its runtime.

Overall, a pleasant surprise. 7/10