Last Friday, my friends and I went to the movie theatre for the premiere of the newest Marvel Movie, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. I went into the movie with high expectations because of how amazing the original Black Panther was, but with little hope because of the outcome of recent Marvel projects. I originally thought there was no way this movie could be as good as the original, but luckily, I was wrong.
Going into this movie, I had already decided that if this movie was the disappointment that the last few movies had been I would give up on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ever since the release of Endgame in 2019, the MCU that I learned to know and love had not been the same. The only movies released since then that I felt really lived up to the Marvel name were Spider-man: Far From Home and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Black Widow and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness were fine but not as great as previous movies. While Eternals and Thor: Love and Thunder were unfortunately some of my least in the franchise to date. Meanwhile, the television shows that were being released on Disney+ around the same time were also pretty hit-or-miss.
I was really nervous about how this movie would play out mostly due to the death of Chadwick Boseman, who played the superhero Black Panther in the movie as well as multiple other Marvel films. I felt that the way this was reflected in Wakanda Forever was done in a greatly beautiful but also heartbreaking way. When seeing this movie be ready to cry multiple times as we see the characters grieve the death of T’Challa but also (HUGE SPOILER) the death of another great and beloved character, Queen Ramonda.
Something that I think made this movie so great was the use of women in most of the lead roles. I felt this was the first time Marvel successfully did not only female leads but also female superheroes. The multi-dimensional main character, Shuri, has all the qualities that Marvel normally only designates for men. In this movie, we see Shiri’s smart and witty personality but also watch her battle with the pressure of losing everyone she loves while also learning to take over the role of her older brother.
Even if you have never seen a Marvel movie before, I would highly suggest seeing this movie. It has so many great elements with a talented cast, good character introduction and development, and an interesting plot that is unique to all the MCU movies that came before. If you go to see this movie, you MUST stay for the post-credit scene. I won’t spoil it here because it is so good but just know it will probably put tears in your eyes. So, to answer the question, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever not only definitely saved the MCU but was also my new favorite Marvel movie, which, trust me, is a very hard list to get to the top of.