If the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever needed a jolt it’s now. While the box office and streaming juggernaut is still widely popular and hugely profitable, its current phase (Phase IV for those keeping up) is a far cry from the propulsive and cohesive MCU of old that culminated in “The Avengers: Endgame”. Since then, the MCU has been branching off into so many directions and have forgotten about coherence and continuity (yes, I know Kevin Feige and company have a blueprint they’re following, but that doesn’t change how these movies and streaming shows feel).

Quite frankly, the MCU needs a kick in the pants; a boost of adrenaline to get it out of this current malaise where everything feels so lightweight, segmented, and directionless. Earlier this year Sam Raimi tried with the deliciously chaotic and gonzo “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness”. But predictably it was met with some push-back (it was too dark. it was too violent, it was too “out there”). The dreadful “Thor: Love and Thunder” only exacerbated the MCU’s problems. And now we have the long-awaited “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, a movie full of unenviable challenges. Could it be a cinematic return to form for the MCU, or would its emotional baggage be too much to overcome?

For some people, all they really needed was for “Wakanda Forever” to handle Chadwick Boseman‘s passing well. If the movie did that, it would earn enough goodwill that the rest wouldn’t really matter. In a way that’s understandable. The loss of Boseman hit hard and is still felt by many. Director Ryan Coogler had to deal with it, both in reality and within the context of the “Black Panther” character. That’s no easy task. But Coogler does his best, creating something that’s a memorial to both T’Challa and Chadwick Boseman himself. He also provides a cathartic release for audiences and the cast alike. Something that’s needed before he or we can move forward.

“Wakanda Forever” begins by immediately tackling the T’Challa issue. Rather than using CGI to recreate the character or framing his death through a some big action encounter, Coogler and co-writer Joe Robert Cole attribute it to an “undisclosed illness”. It’s undeniably vague and the lack of detail is pretty hard to look past. Still, I didn’t mind how Coogler chose to handle it under the circumstances. It hits pretty hard, especially when we’re reintroduced to the Wakandans as they try to cope with the loss of their king and protector.

The story quickly shifts to one year later as T’Challa’s mother, Queen Ramonda (an excellent Angela Bassett) works to lead the wounded and mourning Wakanda. Meanwhile, her daughter, the tech savvy Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright), is burdened with guilt, feeling she should have been able to use her know-how to save her brother. As they try to navigate this difficult time individually and collectively, Wakanda finds itself a hot topic on the global stage. Various nations are pressuring Ramonda to share their vibranium, the strongest metal in the world which Wakanda kept hidden until the events of the previous film. And with word of Black Panther’s death getting around, some are trying to take it by force.

With a new vibranium-detecting machine in their possession, the US government locate a potential vibranium deposit on the ocean floor. A mining expedition is sent out, but during their operation the entire team is attacked and killed by blue-skinned warriors led by Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejia), the king of an underwater civilization who, like Wakanda, hides from the outside world and also possesses and protects vibranium.

The brainiacs at the CIA wrongly conclude it was the Wakandans who sabotaged their mission. Meanwhile an angry Namor blames Wakanda for drawing the outsiders to their vibranium in the first place. He approaches Ramonda and Shuri to voice his displeasure and inform them of his plan to find and kill the inventor of the vibranium-detecting machine, an MIT student named Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne). He gives them a choice. They can either join him against the surface world, or he and his warriors will attack Wakanda.

Needless to say the story has a lot going on. While the loss of T’Challa looms over the entire movie, there are also introductions of new characters and new worlds, global politics and at-home tension. It ends up being a little too much as the movie feels needlessly overstuffed even at 160 minutes. Much of it comes from the insistence on franchise service. Take the Riri Williams (aka Ironheart) inclusion. She’s a decent enough character and Thorne’s performance is fine. But here she’s little more than a plot device, and here mainly to promote her upcoming Disney+ streaming series.

The biggest new addition is Namor, a classic comics character with a lot of potential within the MCU. In many ways he’s Coogler’s Killmonger 2.0 – an antagonist with a fairly similar backstory rooted in pain and oppression. Both Namor and Huerta Mejia’s performance start a little soft. But he toughens up later and really embraces the villain role. He’s particularly strong in the action scenes, proving Namor to be a formidable foe.

But the movie can’t fully shake its nagging issues. Some of photography is dark and murky, specifically in Namor’s Mayan-inspired underwater home Talokan (DC and Aquaman had dibs on Atlantis). Also, at times the blue skin of Namor’s warriors doesn’t always look convincing. And while I loved going back to Wakanda, here it’s missing a lot of the detail that made the 2018 film so transporting. It doesn’t quite feel like the same place. Storywise, there’s several strangely rash decisions and knee-jerk reactions. And after some good tense buildup, the ending feels a bit too tidy.

Some of these are small gripes on their own, but they add up. Still Coogler and company deserve credit for facing some really big challenges head-on. And while the heartache is intense, Coogler does more than ride a wave of sentiment and emotion. There are some storytelling issues, the film starts to drag in the middle, and it definitely misses Chadwick Boseman’s quiet dignity and gravitas. But I loved the thorny politics that play out within and between the two vibranium empowered nations. Plus, the introduction of Namor teases some pretty exciting things. And considering how light and breezy the recent MCU has felt, it’s nice and refreshing to get something more serious-minded. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is in theaters now.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS