David R. Walker

Posts Tagged ‘Danai Gurira’

Wakanda Forever

Director: Ryan Coogler

Cast: Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Danai Gurira, Tenoch Huerta, Martin Freeman, Dominique Thorne, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Running Time: 2 hours and 41 minutes

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

When Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman died unexpectedly in August 2020, it left a film franchise without a definite superhero scuppering director Ryan Coogler’s plans for a sequel. However not to be daunted the Creed director forged ahead with a lavish sequel retaining most of the original cast except for Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah) and of course Boseman himself.

The lavish fantasy sequel Wakanda Forever is part of phase four in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is certainly a spectacle to behold as Letitia Wright takes a much bigger role as Shuri as she tries to hold the Kingdom of Wakanda together amidst a new threat from an underwater Mayan civilization led by King Namor played by Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta who has all sorts of evading oceanic abilities.

As Wakanda and the devious Mayans fight it out for the vibranium that is remaining, the conflict gets the attention of the US government represented rather blandly by characters Everett K. Ross played by Martin Freeman and Valentina played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

At 2 hours and 41 minutes, Wakanda Forever is very long and really a lavish tribute to its main late star Chadwick Boseman who made the original Black Panther so riveting, but what is left is a superhero movie without a definitive hero, leaving the middle of the film bloated.

Oscar nominee Angela Bassett (What’s Love Got to do With it?) reprises her role as Queen Ramonda as does Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) as Nakia, which helps elevate the convoluted plot. Fortunately Lupita Nyong’o lifts the spirit of the film by her excellent acting.

Visually, Wakanda Forever is stunning and is efficiently directed by Ryan Coogler although the middle of the film was lacking and at times, the viewer might be forgiven for thinking they are watching the Avatar sequel with all those blue Mayans swimming around.

As the action travels around the globe from Haiti to Cape Verde to Cambridge, Massachusetts whereby Shuri and the warrior Okoye played excellently by Danai Gurira track down a science genius played energetically by Dominique Thorne.

Viewers must realise that they are watching complete fantasy and in that genre, Wakanda Forever excels and there are some light hearted moments provided by M’Baku played by Winston Duke. What was interesting in Wakanda Forever was the complete lack of male actors in this sequel compared to the original film.

Despite its visual dazzle, the storyline falters and Wakanda Forever only gets a film rating of 7 out of 10.

Recommended viewing for those that enjoyed Black Panther and follow the entertaining Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Avengers: Endgame

Directors: Anthony & Joe Russo

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Robert Redford, Michael Douglas, Josh Brolin, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Anthony Mackie, Chadwick Boseman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Brie Larson, Tom Holland, Karen Gillen, Zoe Saldana, Evangeline Lilly, Tessa Thompson, Rene Russo, Elizabeth Olsen, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston, Danai Gurira, Benedict Wong, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Letitia Wright, John Slattery, Jon Favreau, Hayley Atwell, Natalie Portman, Marisa Tomei, Angela Bassett, Michelle Pfeiffer, William Hurt, Cobie Smulders, Linda Cardellini, Frank Grillo, Hiroyuki Sanada, James D’Arcy, Bradley Cooper, Samuel L. Jackson, Ty Simpkins    

Marvel Cinematic Universe continues with the highly anticipated sequel to Avengers: Infinity War with Avengers: Endgame featuring all the famous superheroes that fans have grown to love including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Antman, Hawkeye and Captain Marvel as they band together to go back in time to retrieve the infinity stones to reverse the evil Thanos’s ultimate revenge at the end of Infinity War where he made half the population vanish including such beloved heroes as Spiderman, Black Panther and Doctor Strange.

As Endgame starts, Ironman is stuck in space, Thor takes to drink in the New Asgard and Captain America is despondent that the Avengers are at their lowest point ever.

Captain Marvel played by Brie Larson rallies the troops along with Black Widow played by Scarlett Johansson. Jeremy Renner returns sporting a fantastic haircut as Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye to assist the remaining Avengers as they devise a time travel device to allow them to go back in time to three separate intergalactic locations to retrieve the highly precious and powerful Infinity Stones. It’s the ultimate Time Heist as Antman points out.

What follows is a fantastic feast of Superheroes which directors Anthony and Joe Russo will have hard core Marvel fans both laughing and crying at the deluge of their cinematic idols as they all band together to destroy the evil Thanos.

While some of the plot points in this three hour long superhero extravaganza don’t all get resolved, it certainly opens up a whole lot of new possibilities such a possible separate Hawkeye film? Sequels to the hugely successful Black Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy are both on the cards as well as another Spiderman film. So there is no shortage of geek fan crushing that will occur in Avengers: Endgame and the subsequent films to follow. Once again Marvel knocks it out of the park judging by the lucrative response at the international box office.

Avengers: Endgame is a culmination of all the Marvel films of the last decade and hints at a new start for some of the lesser known superheroes to flesh out their story lines. Let’s face it with an overcrowded universe, audiences will battle to identify with any one superhero but rather applaud and cheer at the massive team of Avengers and all their trusted sidekicks. Audiences should look out for cameos by Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Sebastian Stan as the Winter Soldier and of course Thor’s malevolent brother Loki played by Tom Hiddleston.

Avengers: Endgame is definitely for Marvel fans and trust me everyone from the previous films are in it. It’s definitely worth seeing and gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10.