The perfect conclusion to Phase 4, a phase that was mostly about grief and moving on in the wake of Endgame. But also continuing the Black Panther arc that started in Civil War of mourning, vengeance, and secrets. Civil War was of course T'Challa being consumed with grief over his father's death but ultimately choosing to reject vengeance and sparing Zemo as the secrets of the Winter Soldier Program and why Howard and Maria Stark really died. The 1st BP was Kilmonger being frozen in his grief over his father's murder, T'Challa coming to a middleground and agreeing Wakanda should be opened up as the secret of Kilmonger and his father are revealed. Here, it's about Shuri consumed with the deaths of T'Challa and Ramonda and choosing to spare Namor amid the secret of Vibranium existing elsewhere and another royal secret coming to light. Letitia Wright gave a heck of a performance and really ran the emotional gambit of all the stages of grief and landing in a place of acceptance and balance. Letting go of her anger and grief and sparing Namor instead of sparking an eternal war between Wakanda and Talokan and endless bloodshed. The challenge of dealing with the passing of Chadwick Boseman was handled it in a very respectful and reverent manner. Easily the best sequel since Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Namor was amazing. I was relieved Tenoch knocked him out of the park. I really cared about him and he made me feel his motives. What a gutwrenching yet horrifying origin story. And really appreciated the similarities between the two nations and mirroring each other in wanting to be isolationist and protect itself from the rest of the world who only covets its resources. Also its origins tied to a patron god and a herb enriched by a Vibranium meteor. And naturally, the similarities between Namor and Shuri. But Namor was basically frozen for centuries in his opinions of the world because of what he was told, being born different/treated as a godking, and the incident at the slave plantation. Yet, he only wants to do right by Talokan and keep it and its people safe. And of course, the way he secured the alliance was well shifty... Also interesting they made Namor a mutant – even said it – loved his unique fighting style and totally happy they kept the wings and a bit of the arrogance his comic book counterpart is infamous for. Subtle but still there. Props to Riri and Shuri coming up with the idea to toast him and fight him in a desert. Brutal fight ending with him getting roasted then spared. Man! Amazing stuff.
Riri was a neat scrappy addition. A genius on the level of Shuri but having to hustle because she only has a 'box of scraps' to work with in her current situation. Yet managed to pull off a Vibranium detector and an Iron Man-esque suit. And the experience of having everything at her disposal to make a top of the line Mark II. Should be interesting to see where she goes having to start from scratch again when her D+ show premieres. But idk, still felt a bit shoe horned into the movie at times.
From a visual standpoint, the movie was so beautiful: the lighting, the scenery, the CGI, the score, felt like they really stepped it up from the first movie. It was intriguing to see more of Wakanda like that north side where the funeral procession takes place and the River Tribe's land – as well as the infusion of the Mesoamerican and Mayan cultural representations for Talokan. Glad they didn't lean too much into humor like some of the recent movies have but still some funny stuff like Okoye at MIT or M'Baku joking about Nakia saving Shuri.
Am a little on the fence with Ramonda firing Okoye and her being killed off. I get how that fed into the finale but still, idk. But But. Such an unexpected but amazing parallel to The Dark World: a Queen protects a visitor to her kingdom that she barely knows at the cost of her own life.
Probably the big shocker was Contessa is not only CIA but the flipping Director and Ross's ex! Like the subtext in her past appearances was she was probably black ops or part of some shadow cabinet working behind the scenes. Nope, she's in charge of one of top U.S. federal agencies. I guess Ross will be given asylum in Wakanda. Brilliant move for Shuri to encounter Kilmonger on the Ancestral Plane. And he only stoked the conflict in her and making it clear the two choices she had. Didn't expect Namor to be like 454 years old. And oh yeah, T'Challa and Nakia had a secret son. Wasn't surprised M'Baku became the next king. The only thing Shuri was less interested in than becoming a Black Panther was a queen. Should be a fun dynamic between the two. They had a lot of great scenes in the movie. In a way similar to how T'Chaka was king while T'Challa was Black Panther and off protecting the country.
The troubling but intriguing aspect of the story for me is sorta of the idealistic and noble veneer is gone. The pretexts are over. Not learning at all from their own history, we have nations like the U.S. and France who are doing/thinking of unsavory methods to covet Vibranium all for themselves. So it's a new Imperialism/Cold War/Arms Race gearing up. And are the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts movies a taste of that? Just so happens to occur when Thaddeus Ross is no longer the Secretary of State and was succeeded by the character Richard Schiff portrays (what a get!). So the implication is we have a new administration – Matthew Ellis is out and thus, so is his cabinet. Though nice little easter egg when Contessa turns the TV on to CNN and there's a news ticker of President Ritson signing a trade pact with New Asgard. Maybe even a hypothetical Black Panther 3 will be about the world powers taking on Wakanda (and Talokan) with their own super soldier strike teams? But Secret Invasion and Skrulls first. The Secretary literally told Contessa and Ross the President wanted them to cause destabilization, pretty much a direct reference to their dirty Cold War history. But still overall, the CIA has been in the background since Iron Man 1 and now it stands to reason Phase 5 is when they will be at the forefront.
Looking back on the CIA's presence in the MCU with just the movies and D+ shows
-In "Captain Marvel," Nick Fury was a CIA agent during the Cold War and had missions in Belfast, Budapest, Bucharest, and Belgrade.
-In "Iron Man," the CIA approached Stark Industries after Tony was kidnapped.
-In "The Incredible Hulk," the CIA and FBI cooperated with General Ross in the pursuit of Hulk. The CIA even led the monitoring of the Pingo Doce Bottling Plant.
-In "Iron Man 3," the CIA had intel on the Mandarian bombings.
-In "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," Sharon Carter went to work for the CIA.
-In "Captain America: Civil War," Everett Ross commanded the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre in Berlin.
-In "Black Panther," Erik Stevens was in the CIA's Joint Special Operations Command and destabilized infrastructure of foreign countries. The CIA helped track down Klaue and set up the Vibranium sale in Busan. Then Klaue was taken to a CIA black site.
-In "The Falcon and The Winter Soldier," it was revealed the CIA recruited ex-HYDRA scientist Wilfred Nagel to recreate the Super Soldier Serium used on Winter Soldier. Their program used blood samples taken from Isaiah Bradley. After the Snap, the CIA closed down the program. Lemar Hoskins asked the CIA for intel on the Flag Smashers. Contessa recruits Walker and he's later rebranded U.S. Agent. Sharon returns to the CIA.
-In "Black Widow," Contessa contracted Yelena to kill Hawkeye.
Including the Marvel TV stuff, in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
-In the 1950s, Sousa contacted the CIA and tried to request them to do an internal investigation into sleeper agents.
-In 1x20 "Nothing Personal," the CIA was one of the agencies that questioned Maria Hill.
And in Punisher
-Chief Special Agent William Rawlins supervised ops in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Urugay.
-Operation Cerberus in Afghanistan, unsanctioned covert op
-Rawlins uses Anvil to try and silence Frank Castle
2/22/23: The Music of Wakanda Forever set for February 28 on Disney+.
3/12: Won Oscar for Best Costume.
I'd posted this back in 2016, over ten years ago!