The review embargo for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever lifted earlier today (you can check out our verdict here), and following the highly positive social media reactions, critics have been sharing their more in-depth thoughts on Ryan Coogler's superhero sequel.
So far, the response has been almost as positive as the initial reactions (the movie is hovering around 94% on Rotten Tomatoes with 80 reviews counted), with high praise for the cast, Coogler's assured direction, and the sequel's emotional impact. Critics also seem to be in agreement that Wakanda Forever serves as a fitting tribute to both the late Chadwick Boseman and his character, T'Challa.
There are a few negative verdicts, however, with many bringing up the hefty 2 hrs, 30 mins+ run-time. Some also seemed to feel that the script was a tad uneven - and one notable review outright slates the film.
Check out some excerpts below.
"There’s a great deal to enjoy here, and fans of “Black Panther” won’t necessarily leave feeling disappointed, but there’s a sense of strong elements not quite coming together." - The Wrap
"Director Ryan Coogler delivers a powerful follow-up to the phenomenal 2018 Black Panther that’s funny, clever and heartbreaking, impressive in its world-building, honest in its view of world politics and naturally packed with huge action sequences." - USA Today
"Somehow Coogler and the returning cast of Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Angela Bassett and Winston Duke did it, creating a film that is emotional, enthralling and most of all, unapologetic." - POC Culture
"There is much to be admired here, a care for craft and detail on a higher plane than other Marvel fare. Still, some will no doubt miss the tight focus and energy of Black Panther. This sequel is more scattered, a vast expansion with a hole at its center." - Vanity Fair
"Though its lugubrious and plodding narrative spins its wheels ahead of someone coming along to fill T’Challa’s shoes, Wakanda Forever does stand out for its depictions of grief." - Slant Magazine
"This installment was always going to be more somber thanks to the loss of its star. What the film lacks is the will to make make that loss heartbreaking." - Roger Moore.
"Presented the daunting task of bidding farewell to a star tragically taken in his prime in sober but stirring fashion, Coogler has given audiences, and the studio, a solidly and gracefully executed dive into a “Wakanda” for right now." - CNN.
"It’s a movie about not seeing beyond your own grief... Every narrative tendril is implicated in grief, from historical colonialism to environmental exploitation to political repression." - Times UK.
"A near-three-hour endurance run of gloomy photography and turgidly staged, emotionally empty two-way conversations, all seemingly designed to sap cast and viewers’ combined will to live." - UK Telegraph.
What do you guys make of the critical consensus so far? Has it influenced you to see/skip Black Panther: Wakanda Forever at the theater this weekend? Be sire to let us know in the comments section.