Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: Similar, Emotional, yet Still Empowering

 

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever poster. Photo courtesy of Disney.

When I saw Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Friday night, I was reluctant at first because of the reminders of grieving a loss. From the first scene, it seemed pretty heavy, and god rest Chadwick Boseman's soul. And the plot and musical score seemed similar to other films, namely The Lion King and Aquaman, and it was heavy again with more reminders of the violent racism other people of color had to face. But the good parts of the film came from Dominique Thorne's character of Riri Williams/Ironheart with her scientific genius and geeking out with Shuri, Angela Bassett's empowering mother spirit (she should get an Oscar for this), Letitia Wright as Shuri for snapping out of the grief in time, the fighting choreography, and the costumes and makeup. I'd recommend you try not to read too much into the dark parts of the film, but try to do what Rihanna did and lift yourselves up, lift Chadwick Boseman up, and lift Wakanda up. Wakanda Forever is not just a saying, it's a way of life when you think about it. It means you carry a whole nation of fighters in you against any trying time. And if it does get too emotional, you can count on Ironheart's hip nature to lift you up, along with more girl power and reminders of what Black Panther stood for.

Life with Mikey-Seen It, But Still Decent

Photo courtesy of Amazon and Disney. Michael J. Fox played a former child actor turned struggling child actor agent named Mikey Chapman. But the better side of him is brought out when he becomes the agent of a snarky yet witty kid named Angie Vega, played by Christina Vidal. While it wasn't the best I've seen of Fox-- then again, I haven't seen a lot of roles that can beat his adventurous McFly days, it was good to see that like Dwayne Johnson in The Game Plan, he learned how to take care of family and himself at the same time when a little girl waltzed into his life. I'd say people would enjoy Angie and Mikey's chemistry, and I enjoyed Angie's quick witz and fiery spirit. And there were some times I enjoyed Fox's charming humor. If you ask me, maybe Fox did this to relfect on his own times as a kid with his son. Either way, the story seems familiar, like Annie and The Game Plan, and it's not the best light of Nathan Lane, Cyndi Lauper or young David Krumholtz, but it's still decent and heartwarming to give a whirl. Great job, Vidal and Fox!

Black Adam: Not Original, Yet Still Packs a Punch

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

From the opening scene of Kahndaq, it didn't seem like Black Adam was original, given that its location seemed similar to Amazon from Wonder Woman or Ancient Rome, places like that. However, Dwayne Johnson's character did stretch the perception of what it means to be a hero and, while it was a step back from his usual tough yet fun-loving characters, showed that he was not a complete villain depending on who he fights for.

Black Adam is about Teth-Adam, who gets powers from those who created Captain Marvel/Shazam, and uses those powers to liberate his enslaved people in Ancient and modern Kahndaq. But the Justice Society, led by Hawkman, tries to intervene in his perceived villainous acts. Adam and the Society will have to learn to work together when a bigger entity comes to destroy Earth as we know it.

Almost everything I saw in this film was similar to Black Panther: the debate over who is the villain, the politics, the freedom from slavery, the exotic location on the outside and marvelous lightning on the inside. But like I said, it packs a punch, with and without Johnson. 

It packed a punch without Johnson in the case of old man Pierce Brosnan breaking into the crazy superhero world as classic DC hero Doctor Fate and jumping around taking on villains with fast motion like Quicksilver or Flash. Then there was Fosters' Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, kind of bumbling when breaking buildings on his first time and getting on Hawkman's (Aldis Hodge) bad side, then coming through later on. Atom Smasher was a funny dude. Speaking of "funny dude", the character of Amon Tomaz (Bodhi Sabongui) was funny when trying to promote Black Adam like a little PT Barnum and being a DC superhero fanboy. And Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone was bold and colorful when they were producing wind powers.

Going back to Johnson, he was far removed from his usual adventure-seeking characters, instead portraying a no-nonsense, less talkative, herculean man, but like Johnny and Daniel from Cobra Kai, he's only so hardheaded when it comes to loved ones. There was a lot of intimidating electronic music when he came to attack. Thank you, composer Lorne Balfe.

It was funny when Hawkman got a hit on Black Adam in the face, before losing. He sure has guts to take on muscle man Johnson.

Black Adam has locations and stories too similar to other films, but it's decent enough to show that just because the man seems to be a bad guy, doesn't mean he can't be the good guy if given the chance. I'd love to see Captain Marvel take him on! Contrary to the humorous younger Shazam film, this film kind of brings the DCEU back to the dark tone days and whatnot. But it has a few laughs, moments of irony, and chances to build up on teamwork and family. If you want to see Dwayne Johnson walk the walk and seldom talk the trash talk and all, go watch Black Adam.