If this new entry falls short of its predecessor, it’s mostly because the 2018 film set the bar so impressively high.
 |
| Okoye (Danai Gurira, left) and Shuri (Letitia Wright) adopt disguises in an effort to infiltrate MIT, where they hope to locate — and rescue — the scientist who has developed a controversial vibranium detector. |
And, in an effort to compensate — while also honoring the series’ ongoing heritage — they spend too much time on grief, lamentation and bleak dialogue exchanges between the story’s primary characters. You’ll find very few smiles in this long-winded saga, which at a ridiculously self-indulgent 161 minutes, overstays its welcome by at least one massive melee too many.
On top of which, this story’s central character — the science-minded prodigy, Shuri (Letitia Wright) — is burdened by an unnecessary amount of heartbreak.
A year has passed since the untimely death of Shuri’s older brother, King T’Challa, from circumstances left vague. Wakanda’s Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) struggles to protect their nation from intervening world powers, some of whom — notably France and the United States — wish to get their hands on the African realm’s fabled vibranium metal, with its extraordinary abilities to absorb, store and release large amounts of kinetic energy.
This meteoric substance also remains invisible to conventional scanners, making it a potential game-changer in global rivalries … which Queen Ramonda knows only too well. She has no intention of sharing vibranium with anybody.
Ah, but elsewhere at sea, a U.S. research facility is monitoring the progress of a deep-water machine that CAN detect — and has found — an undersea vibranium deposit. But before this discovery can be celebrated, everybody at the facility is slaughtered by an ocean-going platoon of blue-skinned underwater denizens, led by the remorselessly vicious Namor (Tenoch Huerta), lord of the hidden undersea civilization of Talokan.
(A brief sidebar, for those unfamiliar with Marvel Comics history: Namor, most famously known as the Sub-Mariner, dates all the way back to 1939. Since then, he has become both hero and villain, generally in service of trying to prevent his undersea kingdom of Atlantis from being discovered and/or destroyed by “surface dwellers.”
(More recently in the Marvel Comics universe — given that both are hidden civilizations with advanced tech and militaristic tendencies — Wakanda and Atlantis have been embroiled in a punishing, long-term war that has wreaked havoc on both sides: hence, this film’s core plotline.)
(But I’ve no idea while Coogler and Cole made up “Talokan,” when they could — should — simply have used Atlantis.)
We eventually learn that Namor’s people long ago found their own vibranium meteor, with which their undersea civilization was built; he therefore shares Wakanda’s desire to shield this discovery. But whereas Queen Ramonda prefers to rely on diplomacy, the bloodthirsty Namor wishes to wage war on the entire surface world … with Wakanda’s help.
And if Queen Ramonda refuses, he’ll destroy Wakanda first. (Nice guy, hmm?)
Namor’s first order of business, though, is to locate and kill the scientist who developed the vibranium detector. Shuri — chaperoned by Okoye (Danai Gurira), head of the Amazon-esque Dora Milaje, the all-female Wakandan warrior clan — hopes to find this individual first. Imagine their surprise, when the “scientist” turns out to be Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), a whip-smart, super-cool 19-year-old MIT student.
(MIT’s financial resources apparently have improved significantly. Aside from developing and building the tractor-sized vibranium detector, Riri also has created a weapons-laden super-suit that would give Iron Man pause. That’s some science class!)
What follows becomes a bit clumsy: Namor wants Riri dead, but apparently changes his mind, then changes his mind again. This prompts some obligatory background exposition, which allows Namor to show a softer side … which Huerta can’t pull off. He’s much more believable as a bad-ass über-villain.
Back in her Wakanda lab, Shuri has spent the previous year trying to replicate the heart-shaped herbs that traditionally gave the Black Panther his powers, all of which were destroyed in the previous film by Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan, who makes a telling return appearance here). Shuri views this as essential, because Wakanda remains somewhat “aimless” without its cherished symbol of might and authority.
Wright capably shoulders the burden of this film’s emotional angst; Shuri has buried herself in the lab, rather than fully deal with the grief of losing her older brother. This is both unwise and unhealthy, as her mother Ramonda knows full well; Shuri is likely to succumb to anger and a desire for revenge.
Bassett’s Queen Ramonda is the epitome of nobility; Winston Duke makes a welcome return as the imposing M’Baku, leader of the Wakanda Jabari tribe. Duke’s best moment comes when M’Baku attempts to cut through Shuri’s stubborn emotional withdrawal.
Okoye also endures considerable emotional upheaval, and Gurira’s performance is similarly solid: a warrior who knows no other way of life, and is beyond despair when she’s suddenly stripped of this responsibility.
Thorne’s Riri is a total hoot: the personification of bubbly, reckless teenage enthusiasm. She’s a breath of fresh air in a story otherwise laden with so many gloomy characters.
On the other hand, Martin Freeman’s return as clandestinely accommodating CIA operative Everett Ross is a wasted afterthought. His snarky verbal sparring with a new supervisor (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) belongs in an entirely different movie.
Ruth E. Carter’s costume design is stunning, both for the variety and dazzling colors worn by the primary characters and hundreds of extras who populate so many scenes. Hannah Beachler and Jason T. Clark’s production design is similarly jaw-dropping, having created a massive undersea kingdom that is every bit as visually breathtaking as Wakanda. Marvel Cinematic Universe entries always look amazing.
Ultimately, though, Coogler’s film sags beneath the weight of serving disparate responsibilities: properly honoring Boseman, while also somehow topping the first film’s action sequences. Coogler and Cole’s attempt at the latter ultimately involves far too much mean-spirited death, destruction and collateral civilian damage (all of which miraculously vanishes in time for the happy-clappy finale).
On the other hand, the revised MCU logo — which introduces this film — is a touching nod toward Boseman, as are some well-placed “memory clips” toward the conclusion.
Ironically, though, they merely remind us of what this bombastic, overlong sequel lacks: heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment