Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

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

Disney brings Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to Blu-ray with a solid, if somewhat visually unspectacular, 1080p transfer. The image is technically in fine shape, offering the sort of general 1080p clarity and color excellence to satisfy, but the image is also not of a character or quality that stands apart from its peers. The image is a bit flat, lacking a real sense of dimensionality and depth, at least as far as 2-D can provide that sort of viewing experience. The digital source is clean but lacks much character. Details are high but not extraordinary. The image capably captures core facial and clothing and costume definition with ease, while a broad array of terrain, spanning the globe and all variety of both natural and manmade elements, present with commendable definition. Color reproduction is very good, with impressively bold primaries and good depth and realism to earthier tones. The image pops as the situation warrants and delivers hearty tonal depth and solid contrast throughout. Color temperature is stable. The image presents minimal noise and there are no encode artifacts of note. This is a very capable image, but it's hardly a memorable image. Technically, there's really nothing wrong with it, it's just...pedestrian within the larger Blu-ray community.

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

Disney continues with its now longstanding tradition of presenting a new release film on Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack while bringing the same film to UHD with a Dolby Atmos track. Unfortunately, it also continues the practice of delivering less than dynamic audio. This 7.1 track is pretty anemic, all things considered. It is characteristically all but identical to so many other Disney tracks, especially, it seems, with the Marvel films (which seems to be the bulk of the studio's new releases, anyway). While surround engagement is high, and while there are plenty of discrete effects at work and many instances of seamless sound traversal, the track lacks low end strength and vigor. Sonic elements fall flat without depth and intensity. Neither action nor music have much body to them, and there's not much vigor in volume, either. It's a shame, because there are ample opportunities for the track to explode out of speakers and really drive the listener into the moment, but sadly the track fails to engage on any level beyond that surround information. Dialogue is clear but could stand a little more depth and volume itself.

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

This Blu-ray release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever contains the usual assortment of extras: a couple of featurettes, a gag reel, deleted scenes, and a commentary track. A DVD copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase.

• 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 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 Blu-ray is typical Disney: solid picture, struggling audio, and a few extras. Recommended.