Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Official Australian release date: 10/11/22.
Viewed: 10/11/22.
Director: Ryan Coogler
Actors: Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Tenoch Huerta, Danai Gurira
Genre: Action / Drama
Rating: M

 

‘Wakanda Forever’ was always going to have a tough job, needing to replace star Chadwick Boseman who passed away from cancer in 2020. Rather than try to do a ‘Rise of Skywalker’ and use some archive footage/CGI, Coogler chooses to have T’Challa killed off immediately. This sets the scene for a sombre outing, with Wakanda dealing with new challenges now they’ve shown the world their vibranium resources.

It's good that T’Challa’s mum, Ramonda (Bassett), gets more screentime, but sister Shuri (Wright) is the star here. Okoye (Gurira), Ayo (Kasumba), Aneka (Coel), M’Baku (Duke), Ross (Freeman) and Nakia (Nyong’o) are all back again, but it feels like a lot has happened in the four years since the first film – mostly because of ‘Infinity War’ and ‘Endgame’. Namor (Huerta) is the villain in this film, and while he’s similar to the comics character, here he’s of Mayan descent, with the under-water kingdom seemingly in the Gulf of Mexico – called “Talokan”, not Atlantis.

Some of the decisions made by the characters and by the director don’t make a lot of sense, with it sometime feeling like a lot has tied to be shoehorned in to make a film, rather than a linear storyline. Riri (Thorne)’s character seems pointless; Nakia is wasted until the end; and I’m not sure it needed to go for 2 hours 40min. It’s by no means bad, with a solid ending, but doesn’t really feel like a Marvel epic and probably has too much death and not enough fun. FYI, there’s no end credits scene, just the one after the titles.

Overall: Different style of Marvel film.

Gav’s Rating: 3 stars.

Barbarian

Official Australian release date: 20/10/22.
Viewed: 30/10/22.
Director: Zach Cregger
Actors: Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgard, Justin Long, Richard Brake        
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Rating: MA

‘Barbarian’ is both a straightforward thriller/horror, but also a bit unique and unconventional. The set-up is simple – Tess (Campbell) is staying at an AirBnB in Detroit, which happens to be double-booked by Keith (Skarsgard). Seems straightforward what might happen next… AJ (Long) comes along as the landlord and there’s a few flashbacks of Frank (Drake). Other than that, a very light on cast, carried by each of the stars.

Even though it’s a horror film, the tone is often light, but allows for tension to be built, mostly thanks to the good score. I did like the turn it took after the first act. Always good to see Justin Long in a horror film – this is up there with one of my favourites, ‘Drag Me To Hell’, and is better than ‘Jeepers Creepers’ and ‘Tusk’.

It’s fun and fast – only 100min – and Campbell does a convincing job of being empathetic and not the stereotypical victim. See it to find out what happens! Great directorial debut from Cregger.

Overall: Fun, different horror tale.
 
Gav’s Rating: 4 stars.