Yeah, #WakandaForever is incredible. Still formulating my thoughts some more, but it’s absolutely one of Marvel’s best. It really is a beautiful, compelling, & worthy sequel to #BlackPanther. The explorations of grief, legacy, generational trauma, & cycles of pain are stunning.
It honestly would have been a MIRACLE to get even a “good” movie given the heartbreaking real life circumstances, but they managed to make an amazing movie. The way they handled the themes of loss are SO elegantly done. It’s so moving. #BlackPanther#WakandaForever
This being a script created by devastating necessity is just UNREAL to me, because it just feels like the next natural chapter for #BlackPanther. It’s both a clear tribute piece, and a navigation of circumstances, but it never feels like a panicked reaction. It’s SO confident.
To put it in terms of other films, particularly Star Wars (shocking, I know), #WakandaForever is both The Empire Strikes Back of #BlackPanther, AND the Return of the Jedi. It’s BOTH, with those middle chapter trials of darkness, but also the heroic, triumphant crystallization.
Cast is amazing too. Tenoch Huerta Mejía as #Namor is a revelation. Letitia Wright as #Shuri went to new emotional places that were so powerful. Winston Duke continues to shine as #MBaku. And the incomparable Angela Bassett is UNREAL. #Ramonda is next level. #WakandaForever
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I think there’s something interesting built into modern #StarWars, which was imbued over time, and was honestly sorta inevitable with its nature: The idea that Star Wars is now drawing from Star Wars. It’s been around long enough now to become its own source of inspiration. 🧵
First off, it’s important to note that nostalgia is baked into the fabric of #StarWars. It’s not something it DOES, it’s what it IS. It’s the DNA. That often gets overlooked. Star Wars being nostalgic is A PART OF Star Wars. George was lovingly looking back at his own influences.
Creators now have #StarWars ITSELF as an influence. Some of them embrace that more than others, and that’s not a positive or negative judgment on anyone, or on any project. It just is. Sometimes it was a formative thing, sometimes it came to them later, whatever their story is.
Can’t stop thinking about #Namor. A phenomenal debut for the character, & a thunderous performance from Tenoch Huerta Mejía. The humanity, the pain, the presence. A mythic hero AND a classic tragedy, delivering every shade of complexity. Thank you, @TenochHuerta. #WakandaForever
And Tenoch had to be everything that #Namor is all while conveying SO much world-building. It was a huge goal, and he & Ryan Coogler delivered in every way. The entirety of the history, plight, spirit, & love of this newly introduced people all rests on THIS character working.
And just consider how Coogler has now given us TWO locations on screen, with TWO cultures & TWO peoples, that feel so immensely real & fleshed out. To do it once with Wakanda was already masterful, but to do it again in a sequel? It’s wild. Talokan feels so rich. #WakandaForever
A NEW HOPE. It has it all. Everything from the “I want song,” to the various tones for different kinds of music, to perfect character introductions, to duet opportunities, to a rousing finale. It’s begging to be a #musical. #filmtwitter
• “Escape (Hunt for the Plans)” - Leia, Threepio, R2, & Vader
• “Doomed in the Desert” - Threepio & R2
• We give a small tease of “Help Me, Obi-Wan Kenobi” - Leia
• “Binary Sunset” - Luke
• “The Same As Your Father” - Obi-Wan
I think that there’s a deep insecurity within the expression of a lot of pop culture opinions, and it leads to two reactions boiling to the surface:
1. The need to be academically/morally right in an opinion. Not enough to say “that didn’t work for me because [x].” No... (1/10)
...they must inject a sense moral/social superiority into said opinion, even over things like a CGI face. Not enough that it doesn’t resonate with you, it must be a campaign against it as a “ghoulish” ideological affront. A stance. Imbued into their identity/persona. (2/10)
And then there’s the other reaction:
2. A perceived sense of victimhood or being censored/oppressed for...a pop cultural take? For entertainment? NOT talking about when actual hatred & bigotry break into spaces, I’m talking about things like “criticism vs. positivity.” (3/10)