This is a tough question. Both movies are excellent. For what it’s worth, Black Panther still sits at a 96% on RT while Wakanda Forever is an 84%. But what is really interesting is that “Forever” has an amazing 95% audience score while “Panther” has a lower one at 79%.
What does all this mean?
Based on the critical and fan feedback for Wakanda Forever, it seems like people believe Black Panther has a tighter, more cohesive plot but the sequel is a more emotionally satisfying and entertaining film. And I tend to agree.
What works in Wakanda Forever?
Can I say, everything? Just kidding—but I really enjoyed the movie, and will be seeing it for the third time this week!
I teared up at the beginning of movie during the opening Marvel scroll and subsequent homegoing service for Chadwick Boseman/T’Challa/Black Panther. I welled up again in the middle of the film when Queen Ramonda shockingly passes away.
And lastly, I got teary-eyed during the final scene when Princess Shuri is sitting on the beach in Haiti, reminiscing over her late brother, and then being surprised by the revelation that he left behind a son.
I’d be remiss without mentioning the revelation that actor Tenoch Huerta is in the film. He’s nearly as great a villain as Erik Killmonger is in the first film. I had only seen him in the Forever Purge, and it was hard to assess his skill in that film in which he barely spoke. But this film is proof positive that the casting folks at Marvel Studios know what they are doing.
Why Black Panther is still number one
I hate to compare two movies that I truly enjoyed. Beyond the plot being more streamlined than the busier Wakanda Forever, what really makes Black Panther stand out for me, is the late, gone-too-soon, Chadwick Boseman. The dedication to Boseman that Wakanda Forever is, validates the measure of the actor and the man that Boseman was.
He is the key, and at the heart of both movie plots. He deals with becoming the king too soon after the death of his father, King T’Chaka in the first film. And the sequel deals with the loss of himself, and how Shuri, Ramonda, M’Baku, Okoye, Everett Ross and everyone he touched is dealing with it.
Shout out to director Ryan Coogler and screenwriter Joe Robert Cole for giving us Wakanda Forever and properly paying homage to Chadwick Boseman while expanding and maturing the world that he led—Wakanda Forever! 🙅🏿♂️
