‘Wakanda Forever' Reviews Keep Getting Worse

I woke up this morning to some reader emails, a few of which were outright angry about my disdain for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” Here is my favorite one, from someone who goes by the name of Kari Banner:

“Shut up about “Wakanda Forever.” Racist! You are going back in time with segregation. Shame on you, dumb c*nt!”

No, really, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which I caught yesterday, is out of the running for Best Picture. No matter what some pundits are telling you, it’s DOA. Fine, the original ‘Panther’ was Best Picture nominated, but reviews for the 2018 movie were far better than ‘Wakanda Forever.’

Given my utter distaste for the film, I have to look at the reviews and they paint a not-so-rosy picture for its Oscar chances. Now I’m wondering how the film will perform at the box-office when previews begin this evening. It surely won’t make as much cash as the original, the only question is how much less?

It went from having a mid-70s Metacritic score when the embargo broke, mostly from the bigwig coastal critics, to now a 67 on Metacritic. Its Rotten Tomatoes score went overnight from a 95% to now an 85% fresh score. Critics are being very polite when it comes to this film, but I’m telling you it’s a real MESS.

Of course, I’m the wrong person to get an opinion on this movie, and I found the first half, at times, engrossing, but the second half is just disastrous. Why did this sequel have to be almost 3 hours? The tribute to Boseman is well-done and the clear highlight, and there are some keeper moments during the set-up. However, the action is very choppy and the forced MCU connections very clunky.

Laetitia Wright turns out to be the standout of the ensemble. Angela Bassett’s performance is a total nothingburger. I’m surprised I’m even saying this, but it made me want to rewatch the original because this sequel makes the 2018 movie look very good in comparison. Maybe, just for shits and giggles, I’ll log into my Disney Plus account tonight and watch it for the first time in over four years.

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August 19, 2019

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