Phase 4's MCU comes to a close with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It's been a truly inconsistent run of films. There was the good (Shang-Chi, Spider-Man, some of Dr. Strange 2), the eh (other parts of Dr. Strange 2, Black Widow and Eternals), and the ugly (Thor 4, which is easily the worst MCU movie so far). If this movie had been bad, it might have been enough to make me bail on keeping up with the MCU's movies, and truth be told, I've already bailed on the Disney+ series', because WandaVision, Falcon & Winter Soldier, and Loki really didn't do it for me.
If you're expecting Black Panther 2 to wrap up Phase 4, you might be disappointed. But then again, there hasn't been a consistent narrative to the last two years of Marvel releases, so there's really nothing to conclude, overall. Importantly, it's just a very good movie, and that's enough to ensure it ends Phase 4 on a high. It's not a total slam-dunk, but there's a great deal about Black Panther 2 that's extremely effective, and enough great stuff that I feel the overall movie is a strong one.
I think the pacing is its greatest strength. I really didn't feel the 2 hour 40 minute runtime. The opening half-hour doesn't flow the best, but there was a need to adjust after Chadwick Boseman's passing meant T'Challa died, too. Once the movie establishes this and sets up its main plot, it's pretty smooth-sailing, and unlike many Marvel movies, it saves its most emotional moments and best action scenes for its excellent final hour.
It's a very emotional movie, and the way it pays respect to Boseman and T'Challa is essentially perfect. With good action, a solid story, a very good new antagonist (Namor and the whole underworld were great), and fantastic music (maybe the best Marvel score so far?), this was a very good MCU movie, and gives me a little more hope for the franchise going forward.
If you're expecting Black Panther 2 to wrap up Phase 4, you might be disappointed. But then again, there hasn't been a consistent narrative to the last two years of Marvel releases, so there's really nothing to conclude, overall. Importantly, it's just a very good movie, and that's enough to ensure it ends Phase 4 on a high. It's not a total slam-dunk, but there's a great deal about Black Panther 2 that's extremely effective, and enough great stuff that I feel the overall movie is a strong one.
I think the pacing is its greatest strength. I really didn't feel the 2 hour 40 minute runtime. The opening half-hour doesn't flow the best, but there was a need to adjust after Chadwick Boseman's passing meant T'Challa died, too. Once the movie establishes this and sets up its main plot, it's pretty smooth-sailing, and unlike many Marvel movies, it saves its most emotional moments and best action scenes for its excellent final hour.
It's a very emotional movie, and the way it pays respect to Boseman and T'Challa is essentially perfect. With good action, a solid story, a very good new antagonist (Namor and the whole underworld were great), and fantastic music (maybe the best Marvel score so far?), this was a very good MCU movie, and gives me a little more hope for the franchise going forward.