The writers of this Marvel Cinematic Universe entry had their work cut out for them with the passing of Chadwick Boseman. I'm not surprised that the general reception has been middling. Still, I've enjoyed superhero flicks with lower ratings, and this one has and is in the running for a lot of awards. I decided to stream it in between my viewings of pictures that don't promise much fun.
A year after her son dies of an unspecified illness, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett, up for an Oscar) has not kept his promise of sharing Wakanda's seemingly unmatched tech with the rest of the world, because national governments aren't exactly proving themselves trustworthy. Brilliant MIT undergrad Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) develops a vibranium detector, and U.S. operatives use it to find some in the sea -- only to get massacred by aquatic mutants from an even more secretive and xenophobic kingdom, Talokan. The Talokan king, familiarly known as Namor (Tenoch Huerta), demands that Wakanda capture Riri for him or face his wrath. Not keen on his idea of justice, Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) and General Okoye (Danai Gurira) set out to protect Riri. It becomes clear that Namor plans war against surface dwellers around the world but perceives enough commonality to offer an alliance with Wakanda. Shuri strongly disagrees with his campaign, but she has her own anger issues to work through soon enough.
And I thought the first Black Panther was feminist. Sure enough, Shuri's next in line for the catsuit, tho she doesn't put it on until the third act, partly because Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) had eradicated the herb needed for the traditional super serum, and even her scientific prowess and AI helper Griot (Trevor Noah) can't replicate it as fast as desired. In addition to the aforementioned women, former prince lover Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) has lived as a humble teacher in Haiti since the Blip but still makes herself useful to Wakanda; Ayo (Florence Kasumba), Okoye's second-in-command, gets more to do; debuting Aneka (Michaela Coel), another soldier, stands out for having a preference for special daggers over the usual spear and for being Ayo's girlfriend (tho I didn't pick up on that); and CIA director Val de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) confronts her ex, Agent Ross (Martin Freeman), about his unsanctioned communications with Wakandans. There's not much battle glory for men this time around; the most prominent arguably good male fighter is M'Baku (Winston Duke), erstwhile rival of the Black Panther.
About that CIA bit: Throughout the story, the world at large remains unaware of Talokan. As far as they can tell, Wakanda is the only foreign player at the scenes of disasters, and it is not a good look. Shuri, Okoye, and Riri do blatantly violate U.S. laws, but I hardly blame them under the circumstances. Given loose ends, there may very well be a sequel in which Wakanda is mistakenly yet officially declared to have committed acts of war against fellow surface nations.
I'm afraid this is just as much Namor's story as Shuri's. I never cared much for Marvel's first superhero, whose wing-footed design hasn't aged well since 1939. I actually prefer his less powerful DC copycat, Aquaman, who seems slightly nicer and less frequently cast as an antagonist. The merfolk variants herein have been given the added interest of having started as Mayans, Namor being old enough to have seen Spaniards' oppression thereof. But that's no excuse for this level of venom and brutality, especially when they use siren song to drown people. I half-wished that Shuri would go harder on Namor in the end. (Also, with his pseudonym retconned to a shortening of "sin amor," why pronounce it with a long A?)
I do appreciate that Talokan adds more variety to the action than Killmonger did. These warriors are indeed a force to be reckoned with, bringing both vibranium and superpowers. About the only advantage for Wakanda is more apparent mechanical engineering. Oh, and Riri has her own power suit, albeit without a sensible helmet like Iron Man's.
Perhaps the main reason I didn't get as excited as I did watching BP is the pacing. At 161 minutes, it feels about an hour longer than necessary. The writing needs tightening. It doesn't help that there's very little comic relief. Even the sequence within the end credits is pretty serious, tho unlikely to affect future volumes.
BP:WF doesn't make the upper half of my MCU favorites, but I'm fine with having watched it. Maybe Shuri will have a better outing next time.
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