‘Wakanda Forever’ attempts to balance touching tribute and Marvel action

One of the big questions heading into “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is how the Marvel Cinematic Universe would handle the untimely passing of Chadwick Boseman, the actor who brought T’Challa, the Black Panther, to the screen. “Wakanda Forever” addresses Boseman’s passing by trying to combine a moving tribute to the late actor with the action-driven spectacle you expect from the MCU.

The result is a bit of a Frankenstein’s Monster of a movie that doesn’t scratch the comic book movie action itch but that provides some emotional closure to Boseman’s journey in the MCU.

“Wakanda Forever” finds the small but mighty nation still healing from the loss of King T’Challa. Shuri (Letitia Wright), T’Challa’s sister, is struggling more than most.

When Wakanda comes into conflict with the undersea nation of Talokan and its leader, Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejia), over the fate of Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), an M.I.T. undergrad who’s invented a machine that can detect vibranium. As war between Wakanda and Talokan looms, Shuri must deal with her family drama and her own emotional issues in order to save her home country.

Boseman’s spirit hangs over “Wakanda Forever” like an ethereal mist. The movie spends a lot of time dealing with T’Challa’s passing and the implications it had for Shuri and Wakanda. Most of the main characters in the film are haunted by his memory. Shuri has a great scene with her mother, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), where the two discuss their pain and the most effective way to process it. Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) gets a subplot revolving around her absence from T’Challa’s funeral.

Dealing with this type of emotional material requires good work from the actors and “Wakanda Forever” delivers. Wright does a great job carrying the weight of the movie. She convincingly plays the spectrum of feelings, from heartbreak to anger, that someone who’s lost a loved one experiences. Bassett and Nyong’o also add emotional heft to the story. Danai Gurira gets to show a bit of vulnerability as her role as Okoye involves seeking redemption.

When “Wakanda Forever” focuses on emotional issues, it’s pretty satisfying. When it turns its attention to action and the comic book plot stuff, it’s not quite as engrossing. The conflict between Wakanda and Talokan boils down to a butt-hurt guy with a lot of power who wants to take his grievances out on the world. Huerta Mejia does a good job as Namor but that’s not exactly the most powerful motivation.

The battle scenes aren’t the most creative scenes ever, either. They’re most car chases or sequences of people swinging pointy sticks at one another. The final conflict between Shuri and Namor hits pretty hard but the bigger scenes aren’t all that impressive. Maybe it’s because we’ve seen so many of the same kind of action scenes from Marvel movies over the years but the big, CGI-infused punch-ups don’t impress like they used to.

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” could use some streamlining, more imaginative action scenes and some truly striking cinematography. But it also gives us a chance to reflect on the legacy of Chadwick Boseman within the MCU and provides an emotional release and some closure for fans. It might not be the most Marvel movie ever, but thanks to some good acting and emotionally resonant themes, it also might be the Marvel movie we need right now.

4 Indy Fedoras out of 5

MPAA Rating: PG-13