Chadwick Boseman is undeniably missed, but 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' still manages to produce an entertaining and even touching final chapter of the MCU's Phase Four.
I had a positive time with this, one good thing about watching it almost two months after release is that I got to watch this in an empty cinema - absolute bliss. Thankfully I managed to avoid all spoilers, though had heard the name Namor bandied about online so that's all I knew coming into it.
Speaking of Namor, I'm a fan. He makes for a cool new character to the universe, as does Talokan as a whole, with Tenoch Huerta a welcomed addition to the cast - first time I recall seeing him in something, and I'm impressed. The star of this 2022 flick, however, is Letitia Wright. I don't really remember her standing out in the original much, at least to me, but here Wright is excellent.
Angela Bassett is very good also, there's one emotion-filled speech scene in particular that stands out in my memory. Danai Gurira is always a joy to watch, while Winston Duke and Lupita Nyong'o are the best of the rest - though, the whole cast are good; even Martin Freeman, who I'm not always convinced by.
The film handles Boseman's absence nicely, there are some very touching moments in there. I'd say they went the correct way with the character of T'Challa, no-one would've been able to even closely replicate Boseman. The music, meanwhile, is pleasant.
I do think this has some relatively minor pacing issues, mainly around the midway point, but other than that I felt more than satisified with what I had just watched when leaving the cinema. Phase Five, see you soon!