It turns out that two other movies actually have the courage to open against Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. They do, however, seem to be catering to a very different audience than the MCU crowd, so nobody is left out this weekend at South African cinemas.


Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

How do you make a superhero sequel when you’ve lost your star to cancer? Director and co-writer Ryan Coogler tackles that challenge head on in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the movie that caps off the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 4 on the big screen.

Shuri (Letitia Wright), Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje fight to protect the kingdom of Wakanda from new threats in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. This includes Namor (Tenoch Huerta), the powerful mutant king of underwater city Tālocān. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman), and forge a new path for their nation.

It’s not without its stumbles, but Wakanda Forever’s strength comes from its emotional potency – it features a better balance of gravitas and humour than most recent MCU movies. Read Kervyn’s full review now.


Emily

Rebel. Misfit. Literary genius. Emily is a 2022 biographical drama that looks at the too-short 19th Century life of Wuthering Heights author Emily Brontë, portrayed by Emma Mackey. Looking at what shaped Brontë’s masterpiece, the film tackles Emily’s raw, passionate sisterhood with Charlotte (Alexandra Dowling) and Anne (Amelia Gething); her first aching, forbidden love for Weightman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen); and her relationship with her troubled maverick brother (Fionn Whitehead). Also with Gemma Jones.


Notre-Dame on Fire

That was fast. Notre-Dame on Fire (French title: Notre-Dame brûle) is a 2022 disaster film based on the real-life Notre-Dame de Paris fire that occurred in 2019. The movie is directed by multi-award winner Jean-Jacques Annaud, and offers a blow-by-blow recreation of the gripping events that took place on 15 April, when the cathedral suffered the biggest blaze in its history. Notre-Dame on Fire retraces how heroic men and women put their lives on the line on that shocking day.