Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

The death of Chadwick Boseman is front and center in this sequel to the original, and as a result, the void must be filled and a new Black Panther comes into being. Unfortunately, there is just way too much of almost everything in this movie, which clocks in at 160 minutes--thank goodness I watched it streaming on Disney+ so I could get up and walk around a few times! Where the original is fluid and breathtakingly gorgeous, the sequel is a bit wooden and full of itself. The seemingly endless script is chock-full of ideas and themes, and in typical Marvel style, kind of hard to follow. Then, rather than fighting their common enemy (white colonists), two kingdoms helmed by people of color are pitted against each other (an idea that never thematically lands), and the film must delve into the cultural pain that still exists from the historical annihilation of Central and South America’s Indigenous kingdoms. Not cool. Finally, there is the time investment. Other than the lush costuming and hairstyles, it is orquestrated fight scenes or funeral dirges. Just too much. It is not alone in movies nominated this year that are 30-60 minutes too long, and the goal of getting it all in in under an hour and forty minutes should be the standard!