After the sudden death of T'Challa, the kingdom of Wakanda is feeling the pressure. Outside interests have seen the monarch's passing as an opportunity to strike against the nation for its vibranium, but Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) is a stalwart defender, even as she struggles with her grief. Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) has thrown herself into her work, trying to synthesize a replacement for the heart-shaped herb that gives the Black Panther its power, but is intrigued when the king of an underwater empire, Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía), offers an alliance and a threat. His kingdom, Talokan, also has vibranium and an American scientist, Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), developed a machine that detects it, putting Namor's people at risk for discovery. He wants Wakanda to join Talokan and wage war against all the surface nations, starting with Williams' death. Shuri and Okoye (Danai Gurira) go after the young woman to get to her first.
The filmmakers and cast made a point of treating late star Chadwick Boseman's role as T'Challa with absolute respect. There are no cheap tricks, no deep-fakes, or re-used footage to make it look like he's still there. He is gone and the film acknowledges that.
But all is not doom and gloom. The story is good, Namor is just sympathetic enough to be a really good villain, and there's a sense of tragic inevitability that adds to the mythological feeling.
Honestly, Namor is so much better than Aquaman it's not even funny. I almost feel bad comparing them but the costumes, the underwater sequences, the CGI, and the makeup are So Much Better in Wakanda Forever. Ruth Carter should probably get another Oscar for costumes. We'll see if she does. And hey, maybe Aquaman 2 will fix all the things that were cheap and tacky about the first film. I'm not holding my breath, but maybe.
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