Black Panther-Wakanda Forever

T’Challa is dead, killed by a virus off-screen. Wakanda is in a state of mourning. Other countries are desperate to steal Wakanda’s Vibranium reserves, and a new threat quickly emerges in the form of Namor. x Alongside Talokanil warriors, that are armed with hypnotic singing powers like Sirens, Namor shows up unannounced in Wakanda, needing help from Shuri and the Queen to save his world of Talokan. It turns out a brilliant scientist has created a device to detect Vibranium, and Namor wants Wakanda’s help to kill them to protect both their worlds. That scientist however, happens to be Riri Williams aka. Ironheart. Clocking in at a hefty 2 hours and 40 minutes, Wakanda Forever takes forever to get moving. Caught between being a jokey, bombastic Marvel flick and a sombre, reflective drama about the effect of T’Challa’s death on the nation of Wakanda, the ensuing push/pull feel gives this movie a very uneven kilter. x Alongside Talokanil warriors, that are armed with hypnotic singing powers like Sirens, Namor shows up unannounced in Wakanda, needing help from Shuri and the Queen to save his world of Talokan. It turns out a brilliant scientist has created a device to detect Vibranium, and Namor wants Wakanda’s help to kill them to protect both their worlds. That scientist however, happens to be Riri Williams aka. Ironheart. Clocking in at a hefty 2 hours and 40 minutes, Wakanda Forever takes forever to get moving. Caught between being a jokey, bombastic Marvel flick and a sombre, reflective drama about the effect of T’Challa’s death on the nation of Wakanda, the ensuing push/pull feel gives this movie a very uneven kilter. While the threat to Wakanda and potential world-ending ramifications of Namor’s forces attacking are felt, it’s made that much more messy by the introduction of Riri Williams’ Ironheart. Although she’s nowhere near as insufferable as she is in the comics, her inclusion feels like an odd one and seems to only serve the purpose to get eyeballs on her upcoming series in 2023. In fact, you could easily tweak the story and remove her completely from the narrative, such is the weight of her narrative involvement here. And that’s before mentioning a repurposed scene from Iron Man she’s in, whizzing up to the upper-atmosphere only to run out of oxygen and tumble back down to Earth again.