Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

2. The Underwhelming Action Sequences

Perhaps the single biggest disappointment in Wakanda Forever is the generally pedestrian quality of the film's action sequences, which while hardly bad feel so incredibly ordinary for the standards of the MCU.

Given that Coogler delivered one of the MCU's finest set-pieces with the original film's thrilling Busan sequence, it's a shame that the majority of the action here feels perfunctory and unenthusiastic, like Coogler knew he had to include it but really wanted to focus on the superior dramatic material.

This lack of inspiration is especially apparent during the final battle between the Wakandans and Namor's Talokanil: a listless, CGI-slathered clash in a dull location that doesn't do anything particularly creative or interesting.

There are brief moments of tenacious action - Okoye (Danai Gurira) using her spear to decimate a police car during a high-speed chase - but for the most part the action design is seriously underwhelming coming from a filmmaker as talented as Coogler.

It never gets as visually unappealing as the infamous climax to the original Black Panther, though some of the suit designs that show up in Wakanda Forever's third act might make you wince a little.