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Back on its release in 2018, I proclaimed Black Panther the most important blockbuster film ever. What it did for cultural representation and on screen gender politics set it way apart from every other mainstream American movie. That was always going to be a hard thing to live up to but then just as production was about to start it’s leading man, an actor who himself had become a brilliant role model and the absolute picture of dignity and Hollywood humility, passed away.

The way director Ryan Coogler has responded to these two factors, one the result of masterful control and the other of utter powerlessness, is tremendous. The secondary story is one about the place a nation and its peoples has in the world but the main narrative is centred on loss and the pain of living on after bereavement. This being the focus, this sequel is not just the most wonderful tribute to Chadwick Boseman but is is also a paean to the strength of anyone in mourning. If Black Panther was the most important blockbuster ever, then this is the most heartening one. It is clear that last time the rallying call of Wakanda Forever meant a great deal to a huge group of people of which I am not a part, but in the context of this movie it spoke to me personally too and near made me cry. If the first film encouraged all people to stand up, this one wipes away all differences and makes us stand together.

What all of this means is that Black Panther Wakanda Forever is so much more than just another superhero film. This is important for Marvel Studios (although perhaps not as important in the scheme of things) because this used to be their M.O. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was known for how it played with and extended the genre but since Avengers: Endgame this has got away from them a bit. Black Panther Wakanda Forever is a brilliant return to form. I might have clapped gleefully during points of Spider-Man: No Way Home but this is the better film and certainly way ahead of the recent Black Widow, Doctor Strange and Thor movies. It has a two hour and forty minutes running time but crucially it didn’t feel eternal.

It also doesn’t play too heavily into the wider universe. The snap is significant and there is one character from outside of this story (who I have to say is more interesting here that she has been elsewhere) but mostly this is just about the Black Panther characters.

This of course raises the question of which character is now the Black Panther. There has been much discussion around this on the geek web but actually it seems Coogler is largely uninterested in playing to the debate and the way he handles this is just guided by storytelling. A different director may have written in teases as to who it would be since there are any number of woman who could have taken up the mantle (the trailers made it clear it was a woman) but thankfully there is no messing around with that. One woman it isn’t is new player Riri Williams because she has a different hero’s shoes to fill. Again, you’ll probably know who, but it is here that this film is likely to play into the bigger picture. For me, comic precedent not withstanding, the recent films and TV shows have leant a little too much into giving us new versions of established Avengers. We’ve already had a new Black Widow, a new Thor, a new Hulk, a new Hawkeye, a new Captain America and a new Captain Marvel (and two old Spider-Mans) and this adds two more to the roster. Taken in isolation Williams is a nice new character though.

The other newbie who will no doubt return to the fold later is Namor the submariner. What I find curious about this is how much it makes this film play in the domain of the new Avatar movie (and DC’s Aquaman, of course). James Cameron and his Avatar series have a nice little competition with the MCU, although I suspect only one side really cares about it. 2009’s Avatar sat at the top of the all time box office list for a decade until Endgame stole its crown. Cameron’s response was to rerelease his film in China for no clear reason other than to bring in some more money and get back to number one, which he did. Now as Avatar’s long awaited sequel prepares to come out next month, with its focus on an underwater world, Marvel gives us this. I’m sure Cameron will see this as a gauntlet but even knowing gauntlets as they do I suspect for Marvel it is more of a wry smile.

I have to say if Avatar: The Way of Water is better than this, I’ll be amazed. Black Panther Wakanda Forever is a powerful, respectful, considered and exhilarating piece of cinema.

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The Ripley Factor:

The first Black Panther movie was already full of strong female characters and with their leading man tragically gone the sequel brings them totally to the fore. Danai Gurira’s Okoye and Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia both feature significantly again, Angela Bassett has more to do as Queen Ramonda and those are a guy’s boots that Dominique Thorne’s Riri is being bolted into. It is Letitia Wright as Shuri who essentially becomes the protagonist through. Getting what was a supporting part back in 2018 was a big step up for the up and coming actor but a series of strong performances later, in things like Small Axe and Death on the Nile, and with the sad circumstances of this film she has been placed front and centre where she belongs. Hers might not be the best performance in the lead of a comic book movie ever, but it might be the best acted. The cheeky little sister of the first film is largely gone, broken by tragedy, and Wright owns the transition perfectly. The woman’s a hero.

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