This article will contain spoilers for the movie “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”.

Simply put, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is a masterpiece. After Chadwick Boseman’s tragic death, Marvel/Disney decided to also have the character T’Challa die from a terminal illness. This movie is largely about grief and hard decisions endured by the characters close to T’Challa. The story follows the political nature of power and the question of when revolution is justified. The main character of this movie is, unsurprisingly, Shuri. The movie was very emotional when characters the audience could relate to were on screen, especially early on in the movie.

This movie is great and deserves the praise it is receiving. although Marvel’s formula for making movies is still present. To be clear, characters meant to be more serious were given very eccentric dialogue– making it hard to take the stakes seriously. This is a trope that appears frequently in Marvel movies sometimes hitting the mark; but most of the time the jokes fall short. Not everything landed and that’s okay. Nonetheless, to make an outstanding sequel to the amazing Black Panther movie with the passing of Chadwick is extremely impressive.

This movie is a bit of a slow burn with a decent amount of politics, but that’s what makes it interesting. The actions of the heroes in the past movie have had consequences on the world of the sequel. Now that Wakanda has been revealed to the world, other nations are coming for Wakandan resources: vibranium. With the loss of her family and the consequences of their actions passed down onto her, Shuri had to make some very tough decisions.

Viewers aren’t likely to forget Kukulkan played by Tenoch Huerta. Kukulkan or Namor is the leader of the Talocan (an underwater nation) and protector of his home. His tribe is one not to be taken lightly; the film reveals that they’re endowed with power and vibranium.

The soundtrack of this movie was a highlight similar to the first with eerie scenes you will not forget. The sound that they emit is an ode to the folklore of the siren sea creature which lures it’s enemies with a song. The one thing that Namor suffers from is the box the writers put him in. While it would be nigh-impossible to top Michal B. Jordan’s performance and character, Namor still feels too similar to Killmonger. However this similarity begs a great question: What would’ve happened if Killmonger and Namor popped up at the same time?

Lila Franklin, a freshman at SCAHS, had seen the film with family. “I liked everything with Namor in it. He was really my favorite part. He was such a good actor and he was my favorite,” Franklin said, “I would I describe it as a great way to memorialize Chadwick Boseman.”

Jeremy Powlus, a junior at SCAHS, had his own input, “I cried within the first two minutes when they showed the scene of his death and everything and like the casket,” Powlus said. “It did a good job of like showing this new group of people that’s just been there the whole time, they did a good job of explaining why they’ve been there but haven’t been there, ya know?” he added, referring to Talocan. Ultimately, Powlus did have one criticism of the movie. “I think the wings on his ankles were a bit goofy,” he admitted.

Even with the setbacks it faced, this movie still rose to the challenge and created a great film for fans to enjoy. Marvel has done a great job at setting up a legacy for characters to grow into. I think I can speak for many when I say we’re excited about what’s next. Disney characters such as Ms. Marvel, America Chavez, Black Panther, Riri Williams, Kate Bishop, etc. might be creating a young avengers team seeing, as the original one is fading.