He may have been bluffing but, based on the character he portrayed, I don’t think he was bluffing. It may just have been a matter of how they wanted to put together the battle scene and nothing more. I think we tend to overthink these movies. LOL
I’m amused that they took Aquaman’s old weakness of needing to be around water all the time and gave it to Namor.
Just saw this, and found it a mixed bag. Namor and the Queen were great, and the bald elite guard women entertainingly hardcore as ever. The coincidence of real-life/fictional mourning added poignancy. The soundtrack was very good in some places (the synthy music from the new Black Panther reveal onwards and the African-style stuff), but the piped American R&B filler felt insipid.
But it didn’t seem right for the Princess to become the new BP, when she’s as thin as a rake and been shown up to that point as primarily the scientist/inventor. The winged-feet presumably seem more classical myth, less preposterous, on the printed page. And while I could buy the 19-year-old being a precocious engineering genius, having the resources to create a full-on Iron Man suit in her garage was a stretch. And frankly, the whole Wakanda concept seems rather smug. Apparently they’re both technologically and morally flawless. Though I suppose it’s morally dubious to end up allied with a powerful nation bent on world domination…
I feel like the whole Riri Williams/Ironheart subplot should have been excised completely.
I saw it today. I was good but I was hoping for better. The movie felt like it was missing its center; which it was. You can tell they originally developed the story around the idea of Chadwick Boseman being T’Challa, so the movie would have a established proven character who could confront events at a different level. We essentially had the supporting cast trying to collectively fulfill the role of central protagonist. This meant the narrative was disjointed from being divided up. And they were forced to work in a second storyline to build up a new Black Panther alongside what I assume was the original primary storyline of introducing Namor.
That said, this situation was not an editorial choice. It was forced upon them by Boseman’s death. And I feel that they navigated through this as well as they could have.
I thought the final scene had interesting implications. The introduction of Toussaint aka T’Challa Jr implies the me that the studio is making plans to continue the MCU series for well over another decade. They’re introducing child characters who will grow up in future adult characters.
Of course it was a choice. They could have recast the role but the chose not to.
I’d have loved to see Bosemen go up against Huerta. Letitia Wright just isn’t a “carry the franchise” actor.
The studio offered the part to Terrence Howard. But he turned it down after he found out they made an offer to Josh Dallas first.
And they chose not to keep looking for more actors.
I wonder why they didn’t go with Hugo Weaving.
That was a joke.
I think Danai Gurira would have been much more charismatic in the role. It would also have given Okoye a very satisfying character arc, much more compelling than Shuri’s story arc was.
Agreed. And opening up the mantle of Black Panther to non-royalty as well as keeping the person’s identity a secret would have been fun too.
I was convinced while watching that the idea would be to make T’Chala’s Girlfriend (I can’t remember the character’s name) the new BP. It had all the hallmarks of a heroic arc. She had left Wakanda and was refusing to come back. Until it became clear it was Shuri I was sure in the end she would be the new Panther.
In fact the heart shaped herb was offered to her in the previous movie when they though that T’challa was dead. If she had taken it, the subsequent fight scenes would have made more sense since she was shown fighting before and not just attacking with hand-cannons.
//i\\
Nakia (played by Lupita Nyong’o). I agree that her background would have been better suited to the Black Panther role. And Nyong’o is a strong enough actor to carry a lead role.
One thing worth noting is how Ramonda was so grief-stricken when Shuri disappeared, having the scene where she said she had lost all her family.
But she had actually gone through that experience before. Both her children, T’Challa and Shuri, were among those killed by Thanos. Granted, they both returned but that was five years later. After that, you’d think Ramonda wouldn’t react quite as strongly to Shuri being taken captive.
That is a great point unless she herself was also dusted but I guess if that were the case there would have been a power vacuum in Wakanda then. Most likely a case of the writers forgetting or glossing over complicated back story. Now the MCU is officially like the comics 
I’m not sure having all your children die makes it easier the next time all your children die.
I considered that. But I checked and apparently Ramonda ruled Wakanda during the five years of the Blip.