| CLOSE WINDOW |
|
FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Ludwig Göransson)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you appreciate Ludwig Göransson's consistent
blazing of new trails in the style of his film music, even if it means
leaving genre conventions aside.
Avoid it... if you expect the sequel's score to offer same superhero element or coolness factor as its predecessor, the atmosphere more challenging and less accessible due to the plot's needs.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: (Ludwig
Göransson) In the digital age where actors sign up for multitudes
of superhero films so that their likeness can grace an entire franchise,
it was only a matter of time before one lead in a titular role passed
away between films. Such was the tragedy with the Black Panther
offshoot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Chadwick Boseman's death from
cancer causing the filmmakers to shift the concept's storyline to
secondary characters. After delays, however, Black Panther: Wakanda
Forever intelligently extended the narrative and set up future
movies to glorify the secretive African nation and its Black Panther
superhero. Whereas the prior, 2018 film was a momentous and victorious
event despite some massive fallacies of logic, the 2022 sequel is a more
introspective and gloomy affair, the passing of the actor acknowledged
in the death of his character, and the resulting identity crises and war
with another secretive race (this time water-breathing humans descendant
from Mayans) complicate the story. Of course, the forces of the
underwater Talokan kingdom, led by the villain Namor, seek to align with
Wakanda to wipe out the pesky humans from other nations that hunt their
precious resources, forcing the Wakandan heroes to decide how to handle
adversaries from both sides. Needless to say, Black Panther: Wakanda
Forever is a cultural feast, one that affords black woman starring
roles in abundance, and while the geopolitical aspects of the tale may
cause some eye-rolling, the sheer emotional weight of the story remains
strong. (Controversy about the enhanced size of Namor's penis in the
film's trailers was an unexpectedly amusing sideshow.) The music for
Black Panther earned composer Ludwig Göransson substantial
awards recognition, his blend of orchestral superhero conventions and
traditional African music commended widely even if challenging for some
ears. For Wakanda Forever, Göransson was allowed to extend
his skills beyond the score and serve as a composer and producer for the
countless songs created specifically for this film. His experience in
the hip hop, rhythm & blues, and rap genres yielded a popular collection
highlighted by two entries performed by Rihanna, and many of these songs
are featured on screen.
Göransson's heavily involvement in writing, producing, and spotting songs in Wakanda Forever was largely uninhibited, only one Red Hot Chili Peppers entry an obvious licensed inclusion alongside them. Several have instrumental crossover connections to the score, and the three songs that are heard last in the film are the most noteworthy in these regards. The Rihanna performance of "Lift Me Up" is really good, featuring instrumental elements that inform the new Shuri theme in the score. While there is a "Lift Me Up" cue in the score that is informed by the song, it isn't anywhere near as impactful as the song's formal instrumental version available separately. The absence of the melody of "Lift Me Up" in the rest of the score is perhaps the most major disappointment involving the songs, especially given its placement prominently at the end of the movie; Lorne Balfe was able to incorporate Rihanna-related material into the 2015 animated film Home quite well, so it's somewhat odd that such connections weren't applied here. On the other hand, the "Born Again" song for the end credits (also performed by Rihanna) does share such connectivity, but the song isn't as good due to electronic manipulation of vocals. The two halves of this song are too disparate in style to work together, the score bleeding into its second half in an interesting but ultimately unsatisfying mashup. Also in the end credits is "Laayli' kuxa'ano'one," with Mayan rap lyrics and instrumentation intriguing but challenging, especially with woodwinds that really don't work in this mix. The song-oriented albums (both an extended play "Prologue" and the regular compilation) fail to supply any of Göransson's score, and users seeking to mingle tracks between the song and score albums will notice that the latter is provided a much quieter presence by comparison. The main song album is also totally out of film order and neglects to provide the film mixes of two entries whereas the score album remains chronologically faithful and doesn't stray as much in its film mix. Göransson did select three songs to include on the score-only product, taking it to an 83 minutes that help explain the lack of a CD option unlike the song compilation, and these songs are among the most compatible with the score, aside from the two Rihanna entries that would have enhanced the score album greatly with their inclusion. Listeners should expect tracks on the score album to be crossfaded so they bleed into each other. Intellectually, Göransson continues to strive for an extraordinarily unique but historically well-informed sound for this franchise's underscores. His process for Wakanda Forever wasn't too far removed from Terence Blanchard's equivalent for The Woman King not long before, and the scores exhibit many of the same basic characteristics and challenges for Western ears. In the superhero genre, this music's tact is about as far removed from Balfe's concurrent Black Adam as one could get. Göransson's collaborators and general techniques carry over from Black Panther, his ensemble including an orchestra, two choirs, African percussion and vocalists, and electronics. The returning African performers include the impactful soloists and the kore stringed instrument. The composer's altered textural strategy for Wakanda Forever was caused by the new Talokan culture shown, and he tried to reconstruct Mayan instrumental and vocal sounds in Mexico to the best that history could instruct. The most prominent contributors resulting from these efforts are horn-like shells and flutes that produce shrieking cries, and the related personality of these Talokan/Mayan elements, as introduced in "Sirens," is highly abrasive. Some listeners may find, for instance, that the screaming vocals for the Talokans sound like viciously fighting cats. Some of these sounds make you think something is buzzing or ringing around your person, in some cases emulating alarms going off. For those of you still marveling at how simultaneously impressive and awful the blasting vuvuzela horns were for the Jabari tribe in the previous score, this massively malfunctioning wood chipper sound returns in identical form at 2:22 into "Imperius Rex" and 5:16 into "Yibambe!" for continued astonishment. (Honestly, this effect remains a viable option for inducing insanity in undesirable family members.) On the cool end of the spectrum, the absence of Killmonger's material in this tale causes a commensurate reduction in the attractive electronic applications. The blaring, synthetic tone for Shuri's new, main anthem is extremely grating and out of place in later cues. In fact, there's very little coolness in this score generally, the hip hop influences in the dominant electric bass tones very welcome when they seldom do occur here. The idea of layering electronics for the Wakandans' (and American sub-character's) futuristic technology over traditional African musical sounds is totally understandable, but the balance doesn't work as well this time around. As in any superhero franchise, the use of existing themes is of paramount concern, and Göransson faced unusual associative issues in considering how to adapt his major themes from Black Panther into the sequel. With the main character deceased, the villain deceased, the kingdom a shell of what it once was, and secondary characters exploring all-new roles and identities, there were no easy answers when it came to reprising the prior themes in Wakanda Forever. These returning ideas are mostly wayward in the score, an intentional choice meant to accentuate a payoff at the end that suggests better times for these themes in future films. The Black Panther and Wakanda themes are marginalized as necessary until the conclusion, with very few allusions prior. The lack of the Killmonger theme other than flute suggestions in "Who Did You See?" is something of a disappointment, but a logical one. Shuri's theme from the prior film is almost completely subsumed by a new identity. The Ancestral Plane theme makes only one distinct cameo, while the Dora Milaje motif has a broader instrumental impact. Two dominant new themes (for Shuri and Namor) and a secondary motif (for the Talokans) are supplied for the primary characters of this tale, and their careful interaction with each other is more impressive than any of the comparatively needle-dropped applications of the previously existing themes. Serving as the main theme of Wakanda Forever is an identity that Göransson uses to address both Shuri's journey and the general sense of loss and mourning felt by the kingdom. Its underlying chords coincide with the "Born Again" song performed by Rihanna, and the actual Shuri melody emerges at 2:20 into the song in counterpoint, along with the Dora Milaje motif's vocals. Instrumentally, acoustic guitar and other Latin elements carry over from the other Rihanna song, "Lift Me Up," to complete the connections. The melody of the Shuri/mourning theme is somewhat elusive, surprisingly nimble but sometimes meandering in various incarnations of its five-note phrases. After a single quiet phrase to close "Nyana Wam," these pieces build in the middle of "Welcome Home" to a rousingly delightful statement at 1:20 but diminish thereafter as the character strives to self-reflect. It's drained of life and sometimes truncated in the solo vocals of "He Wasn't There," hints on guitar follow early in "Let Us Burn It Together" and struggle to enunciate in the latter half against the Namor theme, and a manipulated but somewhat tonal form stutters late in the battle of "Imperius Rex." The new Shuri/mourning theme in Wakanda Forever continues to scuffle in the middle of the score as the character and kingdom are challenged. It takes a while to fill out in "Mama," consolidating at 1:30 on solo female voice, and is badly fragmented in "Who Did You See?," an extremely unpleasant cue. Underlying parts of Shuri's prior theme (from Black Panther) are subsumed by the new theme on nasty synths in "Wakanda Forever," and the idea drones on agonized strings in "Blood for Blood." It takes a cheaply electronic, anthemic form at 1:38 into "Yibambe!" and chords only persist at 5:20 in an almost James Bond-like fashion. Further development into a massive synthetically raw anthem awaits in the middle of "It Could Have Been Different." Better, though, are the sparsely subtle and sad renditions early in "Vengeance Has Consumed Us" on strings and choir that culminate in an overly melodramatic classical stature that may be considered by some to be a little awkward in this context. The synthetics in bass chords yield to the Black Panther theme to close out the cue. The idea then retreats back to solo guitar hints early in "T'Challa." Whereas the Shuri/mourning theme can sometimes slip by unnoticed, it's hard not recognize the new Namor theme in most of its rather consistent renditions. Its simple, three-note phrasing around key that repeats over meandering chords underneath seems to have a somewhat hypnotic intent from Göransson when dwelled upon, beginning softly at 1:14 into "Namor" and stewing thereafter in the cue. Namor's theme receives fuller bass accompaniment in "Lost to the Depths," finally exploring its chords, but retreats to a brief reference late in "Yucatán," becomes exotic in the middle of "Let Us Burn It Together," and is suggested early in "This Will Mean War." (Note that these latter two cues are supplemented by the song "Con la Brisa" in the film, and it's the oddly romantic song that most casual viewers will remember from this sequence.) The theme is elevated to massive proportions at 0:34 in "Namor's Throne," gaining rhythmic steam in the middle of the cue and potentially annoying in its repetition. It dominates the soundscape by the time it explodes at 2:48 and 3:43 into "Imperius Rex" with Talokan accents, resuming full menace mode over those Talokan elements at 2:04 into "Yibambe!" before turning highly dramatic in an intriguing twist that transforms the idea positively into the major key at 2:55 in an almost unrecognizable shift. The theme continues at 2:59 into "Sink the Ship" over a shrill, whining flute pitch but is reduced to only two-note phrases at the start of "It Could Have Been Different." Related to Namor's theme but sometimes distinct is a four-note cyclical formation that serves the Talokan culture as a whole, and this material is most obvious in the big battle sequences of Wakanda Forever. The motif's structure is belabored throughout "Sirens" on layered vocals, attractive but obnoxious at the same time. It punctuates conflict by 1:05 into "Imperius Rex" with high choral tones, static movements, and rough attitude for a minute, manipulated into a related rhythm at 3:24 over throat singing. It adjoins the Namor theme in "Yibambe!," and the higher vocals become defocused to sound like animals over throat singing in "Sink the Ship," a really annoying cue. In something of a defeat, only slight, two-note fragments from this motif survive at the outset of "Alliance." The wayward returning themes in Wakanda Forever include T'Challa's Black Panther franchise identity, hinted early in "Wakanda Forever" but bursting for a new superhero at 2:38 into "Vengeance Has Consumed Us" for a wonderfully huge ensemble moment with electronic bass. The idea has a redemptive but anticipatory crescendo at the end of "T'Challa" as expected for future attribution. The related Wakanda theme is fragmented and joined by new progressions in the stellar "Welcome Home," combines with the new Shuri theme late in "Wakanda Forever," and lends its percussion elements to "Yibambe!" and the end of "T'Challa." The compelling Ancestral Plane theme is limited to the end of "Nyana Wam" on cello and later fuller strings and choir, a very nicely rendered moment of passage. Some listeners may also hear it subtly connected to the "Lift Me Up" song and its related score cue. The Dora Milaje motif concludes the "Born Again" song and recurs in the score with stylish but sparse contributions in "We Know What You Whisper," its vocals and dominant bass elements distinctive. The motif recurs in "Yibambe!" against the Talokan material in a smart but harrowing musical conflict. So much of Wakanda Forever could be described as such; it is intelligent music for this context but difficult to appreciate casually. The first half of the work is particularly grating at times, the soundscape either sparse or dissonant in fascinatingly unpleasant ways that strikingly mingle musical cultures. These elements are not always comfortable with each other, possibly by design, and the electronic textures for the new Shuri theme's anthemic performances are downright hideous. It's no surprise that Göransson's two really phenomenal cues, "Welcome Home" and "Vengeance Has Consumed Us," find a better balance in the mix for his synthetics. The sequel's music is further removed from the superhero genre and, despite its intellectual prowess, is a more difficult listening experience on album.
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 83:22
NOTES & QUOTES:
There exists no official packaging for the score album.
Copyright ©
2022-2024, Filmtracks Publications. All rights reserved.
The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever are Copyright © 2022, Hollywood Records/Marvel Music and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 11/30/22 (and not updated significantly since). |
