Marvel Studios' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Spoilers!) - On D+ & Home Video!

[bosk1]

White Lion.

[Adami]

White Savior.





Too much?

[bosk1]

Flattered.  But as I've said, I'm not really "White," so...

Anyway, hope you enjoy!  I really wish I could be there.

[Adami]

Flattered.  But as I've said, I'm not really "White," so...

Anyway, hope you enjoy!  I really wish I could be there.

If anyone talks, I'll give them the banhammer on your behalf.

[The Letter M]

From my personal Facebook post:
Wakanda Forever might be the most emotional MCU experience to date. It definitely did not hold back on the feels, but it was also suitably and appropriately action-packed. Everyone's performances were more than expected and the score was as much a part of the film as anyone on screen.

This might be a Top 5 MCU film for me, but definitely go see it for yourself. And if you can, watch the first one beforehand for an optimal experience.

There is one mid-credits scene, nothing after the credits but do stay for the music.

-Marc.

[bosk1]

Marc, just out of curiosity, knowing my criticisms for phase 4, do you think I will like it a lot?  As you know from my posts, I'm pretty down on the MCU phase 4 films as a whole (although I love most of the D+ shows).  But the trailers and promo materials have been great, and I'm looking forward to this. 

I'm only asking because you pretty much seem to love everything, so it's hard to go off of what you wrote. 

[The Letter M]

Marc, just out of curiosity, knowing my criticisms for phase 4, do you think I will like it a lot?  As you know from my posts, I'm pretty down on the MCU phase 4 films as a whole (although I love most of the D+ shows).  But the trailers and promo materials have been great, and I'm looking forward to this. 

I'm only asking because you pretty much seem to love everything, so it's hard to go off of what you wrote. 

I can be a little easy to please but I like to find the good in all the entertainment I consume and not focus on what I dislike. Saves me a lot of turmoil when it comes to being overly critical.

I think if you liked the first Black Panther, this one should be right up your alley. The filmmakers and actors had an impossible task set before them and they put all their best performances forward. Whether you think they succeed or not will be up to you but I definitely think it's worth seeing, and quite possibly the best film of Phase 4. No Way Home has a ton of emotionally nostalgic beats going for it, but BPWF has a lot of purely emotional reasons to push it ahead of many of the MCU films.

There's also a lot that could be spoiled so if you're worried about being accidentally spoiled over the weekend, definitely see it ASAP.

-Marc.

[bosk1]

We don't have any definite plans, and this weekend is actually shaping up to be pretty chaotic, so we'll have to hold off a bit, unfortunately.  But we'll get to it VERY soon.

Initially, I liked the first one, but didn't love it.  I felt that it was good, but WAY overrated, and standard origin story fare for phases 1-3 (which is to say, really good).  I've come to appreciate it more over time, and I feel like the subsequent MCU since then adds a lot of texture and emotion to that film and its characters.

[Skeever]

Just got home a bit ago. I liked it A LOT. Such a great tribute to Boseman. And there is a LOT of movie to check and unpack. I'm not sure how I will feel about all of it on further consideration but I enjoyed it and thought it was better than the first (which was good, but a bit overrated).

[lonestar]

Waiting for the mid credit scene... Just an outstanding film. Good performances, a solid story with a ton of heart, and an outstanding tribute to Boseman.

[Adami]

Just got home.

No spoilers. I really liked this film a lot. I don’t walk into these movies with ideas of what should or shouldn’t happen or what makes a marvel movie a marvel or anything. I just want good writing, good directing, and good performances. This movie delivered all of that. It’s not without its flaws but they’re pretty minor.

Much more to say once we can talk spoilers.

[lonestar]

For me, aside from the heart that's woven throughout the movie for Chadwick, the real strength is the balance. They let the movie unfold without going heavy handed on any of the token Marvel tropes. They really just tell a good story, and took the time to do it. I think that was the biggest downfall of MoM and L&T was how they tried to forcefeed us an MCU story instead of telling us one, if that makes any sense.

[lordxizor]

I enjoyed it a lot as well. I'm kind of over the whole massive hand to hand combat CGI laden battle to end the movie, so that was a little disappointing to me. But overall probably the most emotional MCU film to date and a good tribute to Boseman.

[lonestar]

I would not be surprised by a best supporting nod for Angela Bassett, she was amazing.

[lordxizor]

I would not be surprised by a best supporting nod for Angela Bassett, she was amazing.

Agreed. She did a a great job.

[lonestar]

I would not be surprised by a best supporting nod for Angela Bassett, she was amazing.

Agreed. She did a a great job.

I could count the actors who could match that level of grief with responsibility for a country in such epic fashion on one hand.

[jammindude]

I’m in one of those fancy “sit in your recliner and waiters bring you drinks and food” type theaters and the movie is going to start in about 10 minutes.

We’re trying to squeeze some fun out of what has otherwise been a nightmare vacation.

[Adami]

Angela gave an amazing performance, which I won't go into cause of spoilers, but I also really thought Namor and Shuri did an amazing job as well.

[The Letter M]

Angela gave an amazing performance, which I won't go into cause of spoilers, but I also really thought Namor and Shuri did an amazing job as well.

Angela deserves an Oscar nom for this one for sure. Honestly, I don't feel like any actor was wasted in this one, even the smaller roles. I definitely want to try and see it a second time in theaters, though!

-Marc.

[lonestar]

Angela gave an amazing performance, which I won't go into cause of spoilers, but I also really thought Namor and Shuri did an amazing job as well.

Angela deserves an Oscar nom for this one for sure. Honestly, I don't feel like any actor was wasted in this one, even the smaller roles. I definitely want to try and see it a second time in theaters, though!

-Marc.

Totally agreed...I'd imagine the emotionality surrounding the whole production had everyone, especially the principles from the first film, bringing their A+ game.

[axeman90210]

Just finishing watching the first Black Panther tonight ahead of the new one tomorrow. Man, I forgot how good Michael B Jordan was.

[Zantera]

I thought it was pretty good, probably liked it more than the first one. Yeah it's probably 20 minutes too long, it has a side plot with a new character that feels filler and only exists to set up a new tv-show or movie, I think it also suffers a bit from the normal MCU stuff (action sequences too CGI heavy, video game physics, characters without powers being invincible) but I was happy they scaled back a bit on the comedy. It felt appropriate to have this a bit more serious with the story and themes and I was so happy they didn't have Martin Freeman be the comedy sidekick that you get in 9/10 MCU movies going all "What are you some kind of panther broad? Catwoman?". The few funny bits that were felt natural.

Overall it was pretty good and I liked Namor too.

[Lonk]

Watching it later today 

Edit: Enjoyed that very much.thought the movie was really good and well done.

[The Letter M]

Starting tomorrow, I will change the thread title to SPOILERS INSIDE so that those of us who have seen the film can discuss all of the plot details, twists and turns that captivated us! And that mid-credits scene, what it means, and what could be the plot of BP3!

So again, if you haven't seen the film yet, DO IT! Totally worth your time. Heck, if you're strapped for cash, catch a matinee or the Regal Crown Club discounted tickets on Tuesdays (they're like $7 for any movie, anytime on Tuesday). Spoiler discussion will begin tomorrow!

-Marc.

[Lonk]

Safe to assume most people have seen it? Or should we wait a little longer?

[The Letter M]

Safe to assume most people have seen it? Or should we wait a little longer?

I've updated the thread title to allow spoiler discussion now. If you haven't seen it yet, definitely do not read past this point!.

Folks are free to discuss spoilers beyond this point!

-Marc.

[bosk1]

Just got back from seeing it.  Overall, enjoyed it.  I would put it in the upper tier of phase 4 films, with Black Widow, Shang Chi, and Spider Man.  By default, it might be the best of them, or at least in the #2 spot.  But I can't rank it so soon after seeing it.  Recency bias and all.

Was not expecting Val or Kilmonger in it.  Both were actually great appearances, especially the latter.  SO many parallels with him and subtle nods to him throughout the film that left me legitimately not sure whether Shuri was going to go down a dark path.  That was really well done. 

Angela Bassett's queen was such a beautiful, strong character. 

Namor was better than what I would have hoped they would have done with the character when I first found out he was coming to the MCU.  But that said, he was still a bit of a letdown.  He wasn't bad.  But I expected more.

Anyhow, overall I liked it.  More thoughts later.

[bosk1]

Wow, really surprised the discussion is this sparse.  I guess people really are just finally getting tired of either the ubiquitousness of the MCU, the decline in quality, or both. 

I just wanted to add something to what I posted above.  And I want to be careful to not sound callous about losing Boseman when I say this.  But I think we got a better film by not having him in it.  If he was still around, we would have likely gotten another great actor in a decent but not great superhero movie.  The movie we got was...as a superhero movie, it was okay.  As a movie about world powers colonizing and exploiting other nations for their resources that just happened to have superheroes in it, it was good.  As a movie about processing loss and grief that just happened to have superheroes in it, it was REALLY good.  And we wouldn't have gotten that if not for the rewrites necessitated by Boseman's passing.  Obviously, I'm not "glad" things happened the way he did.  Better that he lives a full life and we get a lesser movie, 100 times out of 100.  I'm not debating that.  Just observing that the end result that we got is more likely than not a MUCH better, and MUCH more powerful film.  And, really, I'm just trying to praise Coogler, the actors, and the rest involved in the film for very tastefully using the awful real-world circumstances of Boseman's passing to create something touching and memorable.

[Adami]

I haven't been posting much in general cause it's been a bit of a crazy few weeks, but I did see it opening day.

I really loved this movie. It wasn't perfect. Yes, the Riri/Ross/Elaine stuff could've easily been cut, but it didn't detract from the movie and it didn't impact my enjoyment.

I thought Namor was a great character and I love the changes they made to him and his people from the comics. So I'm very excited to see more fo him over time.

I thought all of the characters brought their A games, and I think the writing was very well done, as was the directing. So I'd rank this pretty high in the MCU. Not top 5, but possibly top 10, but if not, it's just because of how many amazing movies they have, not because this one wasn't good.

So yea, big big fan of this one, and excited to watch it again when it hits blu ray or Disney +.

As far as why there's little discussion.....it could be because people didn't like the movie much. Or because the rest of Phase 4 kind of quelled the enthusiasm, or because we're being so overloaded with MCU content, that it's hard to feel any of it is very special any more.

If you give me an amazing movie 2 times a year, I get excited. When I get 5 movies, 4 tv shows and all are of varying quality, then it's hard to muster up the same level of excitement.

I know Marvel has no plans of slowing down, but it would probably be in their best interest to slow down.

[jammindude]

I enjoy watching other peoples discussions, but I haven’t really felt the need to go on any long rants lately.

It’s an interesting take that may be Marvel movies just aren’t as special anymore to the public in general. I know that for me I still look forward to every Marvel release with the same enthusiasm I had for the early phase 3 films. The enthusiasm for IW/EG was next level, so I separate those two films a bit. But I am hoping to be back to that same hype of anticipation by the time we get to TKD/SW.

I have noticed that, even though I am carrying the same level of enthusiasm, the enthusiasm of those around me has diminished quite a bit, and that does tend to take the wind out of my own sails. It’s hard to stay excited when you’re only running on your own power and you don’t have the added energy of those around you.

[axeman90210]

I would have sworn I posted my thoughts here already, but I guess not.

Highly recommended if you're generally a fan of the MCU. It was a little bit bloated for sure, and once again everything culminates in a big CGI battle, but I enjoyed it. Angela Bassett was an absolute powerhouse and I liked the actor cast for Namor as well. The Michael B Jordan cameo was unexpected and that led to one of my favorite scenes in the whole movie. Obviously the specter of Chadwick Boseman loomed large over everything and gave a lot of the scenes/performances extra weight.

[lonestar]

I was waiting for the spoiler ban to be lifted. It's only been a few days...

I absolutely loved it. Top 5? That'll have to wait, but I deeply respect what they brought to the table in the most difficult of circumstances. They made an outstanding tribute film to Boseman, but nobody will deny that it's also 100% an MCU film, with all the necessary trappings.

Flaws- Yeah, there was some fluff that could've been trimmed, and the final battle didn't play out as lobsided as it was, definitely some suspension of belief was needed. (the big battle, not the Shuri/Namor one)

Pluses- The story, the sensitivity and care they dealt with Boseman, Killmonger!!, and how they used him to drive Shuri through her own major conflict in dealing with the loss of her brother and mother.

The best- Angela Basset... holy moly was she outstanding.

[Lonk]

I wrote my thoughts but was waiting until more people posted.

Given that the first Black Panther is a bottom tier movie for me, my expectations for this one were not that high, though I was hyped to see it. With that said, I loved this movie and can't wait to see it again. The tribute to Boseman/T'Challa was great. Everyone's acting was great, the plot I though was great. I'm a bit biased with this, but Namor might just be one of my favorite characters in the MCU and I love the change in his origin story.

For the bad, I'll get this out the way and say that I did not care for Shuri as Black Panther. Not sure if it was the plot, the actor, the newness of it or what, but I seriously did not care for Shuri as BP. I thought she was great in the first 3/4 of the movies but once she became the BP, it was a bit underwhelming for me. The other thing I did not like is that I wish we would have seen more of Namor under water. We saw what he could do on land and in the air, but we barely saw him in action under water, which is where his forte is.

Overall, a great movie with some minor flaws. However none of those flaws too away from me enjoying the movie.

[MinistroRaven]

I watched this today it was as good, not great but it wasn’t bad.
I think it was a bit too long it could have been trimmed a bit.
I agree that I vmadera in that I liked shuri before being BP but as soon as she got in the suit I lost her.
It didn’t feel “right” it would have been better if the BP legacy to remain untouched IMO. Getting anew synthetic plant felt a bit forced to me. Plus if the plant is supposed to make you invincible how is that Tchala died anyway? Was he sick prior to becoming BP and that’s why he died? I would have prefer to see BP dying in the battle field. Why any of the avengers went to Tchala’s funeral? Scott, Bucky who BTW  got a new arm in Wakanda, the Falcon? No one?!? Why would Namor give the bracelet of her mother to Shuri so easily? What happened during the blip in the deep sea? How did Shuri survived that spear?

[jammindude]

Have you guys ever read a comic book?