The final film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase IV, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever held its world premiere in Hollywood on Thursday, which means that first reactions to the film have arrived online. Wakanda Forever is a sequel to 2018’s blockbuster Black Panther, which made $1.3 billion worldwide and scored the MCU’s first-ever Best Picture nomination at the Oscars.
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Anticipation for Wakanda Forever is high, as fans wait to watch how director Ryan Coogler and his team handle the franchise in the wake of star Chadwick Boseman’s death. The actor died of colon cancer in 2020, when Wakanda Forever was being written. Coogler retooled the story into a tribute to both Boseman and his character, which some have highlighted and appreciated in their initial reactions.
Variety’s Clayton Davis wrote on Twitter that Wakanda Forever “is a beautiful tribute to Chadwick Boseman.” He added, “Visual stunner, with Angela Bassett commanding every scene she inhabits. Rihanna’s ‘Lift Me Up’ will do that for many. Another great post credit scene that’s genuinely a jaw-dropper. Don’t know about Oscars.”
The Hollywood Reporter’s Brian Davids wrote that the film “is Marvel’s most poignant and powerful film to date. It’s heavy and dark in the way that it needed to be, and mostly abandons the studio’s trademark tone. The craft work levels up in every conceivable way, and the performances rise to the occasion.”
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The Verge’s Chales Pulliam-Moore called it a ‘bigger’ film than the first, but said that the story is one of Marvel’s most ‘intimate’. He added, “It’s definitely a Comic Book Movie, but it’s one that centers grief and the grieving process rather than superheroics and spectacle.”
Collider’s Perri Nemiroff wrote, “An immensely powerful story of forging forward — shattering at times, but also beautifully cathartic and heartening. Cannot get over how well the film earns that title.” Collider’s Steve Weintraub added, “Expect your eyes to leak.”
CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell called the film ‘cathartic’. He added, “An emotional movie about loss, legacy and healing. The story is intimate, but vast with global power struggles and palace intrigue. Tenoch Huerta’s Namor is a FORCE, better than I hoped. So much to discuss.”
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Here are some more reactions:
What Ryan Coogler does with #BlackPanther is to reconstruct a whole mosaic of generational traumas that haunt ethnic communities around the planet. It goes deep, and not just for Namor, but for the care with plots and emotions that are truer than ever before in Marvel. 👇 pic.twitter.com/CC1Og73XZf
— Gabriel Carvalho (@gabirucarvalho) October 27, 2022
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#WakandaForever is fantastic! Coogler delivers a soulful, wondrous sequel that packs an emotional punch & effectively explores relevant world themes. A beautiful tribute to Boseman’s legacy. Letitia & Tenoch are great, & the mid-credits scene is really moving. #BlackPanther pic.twitter.com/dqoSSfnTR9
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— Fico (@FicoCangiano) October 27, 2022
It’s hard to shake the emotional weight #BlackPanther #WakandaForever carries throughout the entire film. More serious in tone, a wonderful conclusion to Phase Four. It celebrates women as the fiercest protectors of all. Angela Bassett. Tenoch Huerta. Michaela Coel. RIHANNA! pic.twitter.com/9V2gcmKJpA
— espooky bloody marie 🎃 (@TheJosieMarie) October 27, 2022
Due out in theatres on November 11, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever also stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Dominique Thorne, Florence Kasumba, Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta, Martin Freeman and Angela Bassett.
