Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Worth the Watch?

Agastya Shahane, Writer

The highly-anticipated Marvel blockbuster Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, was released on Friday, Nov. 11, to an audience that had been waiting for this film for almost four years.

People, including myself, were looking forward to this movie ever since Marvel proclaimed that after actor Chadwick Boseman’s (King T’Challa/Black Panther) death from colon cancer, Marvel would not be recasting the role of Black Panther. 

This brought suspicion to many people as they thought that the movies would not be the same without T’Challa, but it has actually been carried out by director Ryan Coogler in a very satisfying way that successfully honors the legacy of Chadwick Boseman and also develops the characters in the best way possible.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever centers around the kingdom of Wakanda and how its city and T’Challa’s family members mourn the Black Panther’s death. However, outside forces threaten Wakanda, and the people are forced to fight back. Ryan Coogler has crafted a sentimental, climactic, and compelling film that tackles the grief that T’Challa’s family feels in a very natural and interesting way.

In my opinion, I believe that this film is one of Marvel’s best, and definitely the best film in Phase Four. I believe that character development is one of the best that has taken place in Marvel films, and this growth of the characters brings the story to a close in a great way that will cause people to leave the theater with a sense of peace.

If I had to rate this movie out of 10, I would score it an 8, losing points mainly because of the length of the movie. This movie boasts a hefty runtime, with it running for two hours and 40 minutes. I was squirming in my seat during a few parts because I did get bored, but every time this happened, it was only for a minute. 

Overall, this movie is almost a masterpiece. Its writing is amazing, its characters grow a great amount and the directing is at its best. Rotten Tomatoes also shows this; Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has an 84% rating, which is very positive. I would definitely recommend it to almost everyone; this movie is very much worth a watch.