Black Panther Wakanda For Ever may have been a good ending as a sequel but more than a good second Black Panther movie it became the launching pad for two new stories that will possibly be developed into their standalone movies or a third Black Panther movie.
Personally, I think that Wakanda For Ever serves more as a tribute to actor Chadwick Boseman who unfortunately passed away at the age of 43 in 2020 due to cancer that he had been fighting for some years now.
Black Panther Wakanda For Ever develops the story of Shuri, TChalla's sister, Black Panther, who loses not only her older brother but also her hero, left alone with her mother, Queen Ramonda, who rules Wakanda at the time of the film. Wakanda faces pressure from outside nations but does not show weakness or fear as they strongly rely on their technological advances and power as a military force.
In the first five minutes is where the tribute to the actor Boseman and his Black Panther character in the film is most expressed, a traditional funeral where we see his sister and mother suffer the loss of their king and loved one. In these scenes where the performance of pain and loss of their loved one can be too big of a role for certain actors as well as Ramonda and Shuri develop it perfectly, we do not see them overacting, at the funeral it looks like they are saying goodbye to their loved one in a ritual of celebration, in many traditions birth is celebrated the same as death since the individual begins and ends a journey on both scenarios, TChalla was not just any son or brother, TChalla was Son, Brother, King and Hero taking it upon himself to rule and defend Wakanda far more than it would be for a ruler of such vast nation.
After the death of Black Panther became known, it was only a matter of time before Wakanda was attacked by other nations, The King is Dead, The Black Panther is gone, Ramonda mentions to them in a meeting before other nations, letting them know that she is very well informed and being realistic that from that moment on they would be a military target due to the vibranium that Wakanda possesses. Like every human being, the rest of the nations are afraid of what they do not understand, they do not understand that Wakanda is a noble nation governed by traditions and their people, not by a single entity, they are rushed in the search for Vibranium using a machine created by a "scientific", this will be explain latter.
Ramonda at the time knowing that Shuri is the second in the royal family tries to guide her, to follow the traditions and not let Shuri be consumed by the pain of the loss of her brother and lose herself in the world of technology, while Shuri does not think in more than creating new weapons and systems that help protect Wakanda, forgetting her responsibilities as the only child at this time of the ruler of Wakanda, leaving behind the attempt to recreate the Heart-Shaped Herb that gives the Black Panther his powers , the legendary protector of Wakanda.
Private excavation contractor finds Vibranium at the bottom of the sea, it is here that they first make contact with Namor, "el niño sin amor", K'uk'ulkan, Feathered Serpent God. This is the first new character that is possible to be further developed by Marvel in some other movie, be it a continuation of Black Panther or his own movie, at the time Namor mentions that the nations will come for Wakanda and then Wakanda for Talokan the city that he built for his people, a city in the depths of the sea with a people of humans who were altered by ingesting a plant born in Vibranium soil.
Namor is the first son of the new town, born from the exploitation of a town in Yucatan by Spanish conquistadors in the year 1571 AD, tired of the mistreatment, abuse, diseases and traditions of the white man, the people of Namor looks forced to leave their lands trusting in their traditions, their Gods who give the vision to the Shaman of the town and guide him to a blue plant born on a rock under the sea, this plant growing on a vibranium rock would have components that never no human had been exposed much less ingested. By ingesting an extract of the plant these people genetically change and develop gills that allow them to live under the sea far from the conquerors but Namor was different, he was the first son of Talokan and he mutates in a superior being, with wings on his ankles and the ability to breathe out and under the water with great speed and strength becomes the ruler and defender of this new nation, which much later goes to the surface to bury his mother as requested on his home soil and finds a world of abuse and terror, taking revenge kills everyone and a priest calls him "the child without love".
I like to explain this part of the story as explicitly as possible according to the movie, since the most interesting thing about Wakanda For Ever is Namor and the city of Talokan, looking for information on the internet I find that Namor is indeed a character with his own comic book, I don't expect that in this movie the story is 100% attached to the comic since it would be too much to ask but I found the story quite interesting.
Here an interesting video that explains more about Namor
If perhaps the movie had only been Black Panther vs. Namor, it would have been more entertaining since Wakanda For Ever brings a new character that I had heard of but had never been interested in: Iron Heart
Okoye takes Shuri in search of the scientist who invented the Vibranium tracking machine, only to find that it is a girl who has no idea what is going on, that her machine is being used by the military without notifying her and that this machine will unleash the war between Wakanda and Talokan.
Enter the character of Riri, the "scientist" who invented the machine to locate Vibranium just because a teacher challenged her that she couldn't. Riri in Wakanda For Ever seems to me to be a character that only gets in the way and steals time in the movie from these two great nations with cultures and characters of much more interesting powers than a genius girl fan of Iron Man with a suit taken from the Power Rangers only that Iron Man type, there really isn't much to say about this character at the moment if we talk from Wakanda For Ever, maybe in the future they will release a TV series or an animated series but I don't see it with its own movie.
Okoye loses Shuri after escaping from the feds in the USA, then battles with Talokan's militants and Namor's people who outmatch her in battle, in strength and skill, thus kidnapping Shuri and Riri, taking them to Namor.
Namor introduces himself to Shuri and takes her to Talokan in the depths of her manna, explaining that for nothing or for Wakanda he will allow Riri to live or allow any nation to return to the sea in search of Vibranium.
This is where the movie ends for me, the rest of the movie is pretty empty, predictable.
They send to rescue Shuri
Namor declares war on Wakanda, attacks them and Shuri seeks revenge
Shuri superior in technology but with a terrible strategy is going to attack Namor, in the sea
Shuri wins and the two nations come to a truce
Source
Almost everybody die on the ship by the hand of Talokan.
Source
Even with Siri suit made no difference in the battle field, Talokan's are superior and in their habitat.
In truth, the movie was only interesting until the moment that Namor explains his history and his birth, but after this it's as if that ghost of every bad sequel came out, I don't see how they would make another Black Panther movie if it wasn't for Namor, after Shuri defeats Namor and they reach a truce, a high representative of his people claims him since for them Namor is more than a man, he is K'uk'ulkan, Feathered Serpent God and the cannot understand why he surrendered, Namor replies that Black Panther is the strongest being on the surface and is an ally that soon the other nations will go for Wakanda and that later Black Panther will go to Talokan, this leaves me thinking that Namor persists with his plan to eliminate the surface if they are threatened again.
Again a good movie for the first hour but after this it leaves a lot to be asked for, Shuri proceeds in ways that her brother would never have done, clumsily they almost die at the hands of Talokan in the middle of the sea where Riri did not any difference in the battle at all for that even with her suit they were losing, Wakanda For Ever possibly you don't see her more than twice.
Trailer
I hope you find useful this personal take on "Wakanda For Ever"
Black Panther Wakanda For Ever: Namor Launch Platform | Ecency
