Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 28, 2023

The future of the Black Panther franchise within the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe was thrown into question when star Chadwick Boseman tragically lost his battle with cancer in 2020. Certainly, in the aftermath, the concern was not over the film but rather the face of the franchise, but the industry ticks forward, especially the Marvel industry, a train which cannot, at this time, pause or be stopped. Production on a Black Panther sequel was resumed, and the story reworked to remove Boseman's iconic T'Challa from the film, though certainly the character's spirit, and Boseman's loss, pulse through the film. The end result is a film that is far less dynamic than the original, clearly missing its star but also a firmer direction and sense of purpose beyond the need to move forward while paying tribute to the past.

Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M'Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the mighty Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba), fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of the death of their beloved King T'Challa. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) and Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman) if they are to forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.

The plot, then, is not overly complicated, but the filmmakers choose a rather indulgent and slow-burn exploration of it. The film rightly takes its time to remember T'Challa and, by proxy, Boseman, and the opening minutes are touching and tasteful; a more fitting remembrance could not have been committed to the screen. Following the emotional farewell and tribute, the film is slow to reach a point of serious engagement. That’s not only because action is next to nonexistent in the first act, it’s because the story takes too long to present and evolve. Likeable characters and good acting help the audience to push through, but the film feels equally torn between rewarding and lethargic. The first film, in contrast, was relentlessly engaging from visual and narrative considerations from its outset. That film was broader in scope and spectacle. This is a more intimate film, and even as it globetrots, introduces new characters and cultures, and even spends a good deal of its time in water or underwater, it always feels more inwardly rather than outwardly oriented. In some ways that is good as it internalizes its new direction, but it sometimes does so at the expense of the final product.

The film does not focus on action for the bulk of its runtime, offering snippets here and there but instead waiting until the climax for the usual large-scale Marvel battle, which is every bit as aggressively choreographed, fast moving, and even emotionally charged as fans have come to expect. It is perhaps the latter that demands the most attention and respect, for in the more outward ways the climax is fairly typical of the MCU, looking and sounding (unfortunately on the Blu-ray and UHD) pretty much the same in terms of how it is shot and staged, but once again it is that beating heart that is so firmly interconnected to the story that makes it sing. The film has some problems with pace, but it certainly does not have a problem with its heart, which beats as strongly, if not also necessarily somberly, as any MCU film.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

The image is well improved from the Blu-ray. The overall clarity differences are fairly striking, with the 2160p resolution presenting a pleasing gain to sharpness overall and frame definition in general. Faces and clothes present with obvious boosts and gains to natural and realistic elegance and overall visibility and stability. A few softer focus corners remain, inherent to the original photography, but the UHD's 2160p resolution brings out the absolute best the clean digital source has to offer. Viewers will be more than satisfied by being able to soak in every skin detail and costume and set design intricacy with as much clarity as the source and current technology has on offer. The HDR color grading is likewise a boost for the image, not transforming it but finding improved depth and color stability. Flesh tones are fuller and healthier, costumes bolder and accents more vibrant, and other world tones featuring satisfying pop and depth alike. Black levels are fine if not at times a little light; darker scenes are stable, though one could argue that blacks could stand a little more depth overall. Whites, especially various titles appearing on the screen to identify geography changes, are bright and bold and well above the Blu-ray whites for vividness and accuracy. As with the Bu-ray, noise and encode faults are essentially nonexistent. This is the clear superior to the Blu-ray.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with the Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack, the UHD's Dolby Atmos presentation scarcely finds any real or consistent sense of aggression or depth. For the most part, it's flat, tepid, uninteresting, and a sonic bore. While surround extension and wrap are fine -- the track offers plenty of movement, discrete effects, and the like -- there's no body to any of it. Action scenes are flat, for the most part. A one-on-one battle that begins at the 132-minute mark finds some depth but all of the battle elements before that struggle to offer much body. Music too offers solid front stretch and well-balanced surround wrap, but not a lot of body. The overhead channels are not often engaged with discrete content, instead offering a bit of layered support here and there. Dialogue is generally clear and center positioned. This should be a dynamic listen and a highlight of modern audio engineering, but it is instead another facsimile of a high-end blockbuster soundtrack that should have been much more.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This UHD release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever contains no extras on the UHD disc, but the bundled Blu-ray offers the usual assortment of extras: a couple of featurettes, a gag reel, deleted scenes, and a commentary track. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• Envisioning Two Worlds (1080p, 10:55): Returning to and expanding on the world of Wakanda, sets, Ryan Coogler's work on the film, costumes, character design, new cultures represented in the film, photography, and more.
• Passing the Mantle (1080p, 5:50): Exploring character evolutions in this film, with focus through the prism of losing the T'Challa character.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 2:28): Humorous moments from the shoot.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 10:11 total runtime): Included are Outside the Scope, The Upstairs Toilet, Daughter of the Border, and Anytime, Anywhere.
• Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Ryan Coogler, Writer Joe Robert Cole, and Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw discuss the film.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has the distinction of being the 30th Marvel film, a nice round number but ultimately just a number. The big question is will this be a standout amongst those 30, or will it simply be lost in the deluge of content that has come before it, and the deluge that is sure to come after it? It's difficult to say because the film can be equally rewarding and frustrating. It is perhaps the most emotionally charged and purely narrative- and character-driven film of the 30, allowing action to take a backseat to both necessary but at times indulgent entanglements. The tribute to open the film cannot help but to touch the viewer, and the film's best asset is its late star's spirit coursing through, not merely in the camera but in the heart that Coogler constructs from the beginning. Still, much of what is good about the film is bogged down by needless length and unnecessary side quests and explorations. The film's focus is in the right place, but its essentials are sometimes overshadowed by ancillary material. The UHD is typical Disney: strong 2160p/HDR picture, struggling Atmos audio, and a few extras. Recommended.