Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs
An impressive and emotional - if flawed - follow-up to its classic predecessor.
Without question one of the most anticipated superhero movie sequels of recent years is now finally in cinemas around the world - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Ryan Coogler's original 2018 film was a pop-culture phenomenon far beyond anyone's expectations, yet Wakanda Forever inevitably rolls into cinemas accompanied by a cloud of melancholy, given the absence of the late Chadwick Boseman.
Coogler and company were faced with an incredibly challenging task, of paying tribute to Boseman in a new film while moving the story forward in a way that made sense, and for the most part they've pulled it off in affecting and satisfying fashion.
While it's fair to say that Wakanda Forever doesn't reach the fist-pumping highs of its predecessor and is hobbled by several common MCU issues, that such a robust sequel has been produced barely two years after Boseman's untimely death is quite the impressive feat indeed.
As a conclusion to the MCU's rather uneven fourth phase, it's certainly one of the franchise's stronger cinematic offerings in recent times, if also very far from perfect.
With that in mind, first here's what doesn't work in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever...