Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Wakanda Forever runs 161 minutes, and too many of them go to setting up somebody else’s story. The Riri Williams thread and a side trip with the CIA keep stopping the movie cold, and the underwater scenes are often so dark you’ll squint. That’s frustrating, because the heart of this movie is something Marvel had never really tried. It’s about grief. Chadwick Boseman’s absence is felt in every scene, and Ryan Coogler meets it head on with a funeral, a silent studio logo and real care. Letitia Wright carries Shuri’s anger and loss without turning either into a speech. Angela Bassett is towering as Queen Ramonda, and every scene she’s in feels like a coronation. Tenoch Huerta Mejía’s Namor is a terrific new villain, a king with a real wound of his own and little wings on his ankles. It made $859.2 million worldwide. A 7.3 because the heart is enormous and the movie wrapped around it needed a tighter edit. $3,207 says you replay an Angela Bassett scene before bed just to feel that chill again.

What works: It honors Chadwick Boseman with real care, Angela Bassett and Letitia Wright are both powerful, and Namor is one of Marvel’s best new villains.

What doesn’t: At 161 minutes it’s overstuffed, the Riri and CIA subplots stall the story, and the underwater scenes are often too dark to follow.

Who it’s for: Anyone who loved the first Black Panther and is ready for something sadder and slower, with a few tissues nearby.