The Obsessive Viewer

As a sub-franchise within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ant-Man is a strange anomaly. Initially the many years long passion project of Edgar Wright, Ant-Man was handed off to Peyton Reed in 2014 when Wright exited due to creative differences. The trajectory of the MCUs “little guy” from his humble and heist-driven first film through one sequel, one Civil War, and one saga-concluding Endgame is substantial. But it’s the humor and extreme likability of Paul Rudd’s work in the franchise that makes it all make sense within its greater placement within the MCU. Now Reed is at the helm of his 3rd Ant-Man film and charged with bringing the Multiverse Saga’s big bad, Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conquerer, to the big screen.

It would have been naive to think James Cameron’s storytelling abilities would have changed for the better in the 13 year span between the first two Avatar films. There’s no denying that Cameron is responsible for some of film’s biggest and most innovative titles. Since Avatar is his passion project and Pandora is where he’s looking to park himself for the remainder of his career, it’s simply mind-boggling that this (and 2009’s Avatar) is the best he can muster.

When it is not held back by a disconnected subplot and an unimaginative character introduction, Wakanda Forever flourishes as an expansive entry in the Black Panther mythos. Above all, however, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a respectful and loving tribute to Chadwick Boseman’s legacy not only as King T’Challa, but to the actor himself as well.

There’s a slight crisis of identity to the tone and pacing of Windfall, overall. The weighty themes and serious nature of the plot sometimes clash with the almost comic tone of some of the situations that arise. When more serious and immediate developments occur, there’s a bit of whiplash for the audience as we’ve moved into a more conventional thriller from the semi-absurd plot in which Windfall feels the most at home.

There was once some charm to the idea of Smith revisiting the Clerks universe every decade or so to check in with the characters as he (and they) reach certain milestones of aging. However romantic as that notion was at the end of Clerks II, Clerks III obliterates it and ensures that Smith will likely never return to this series. Following the abysmal showing here and in 2019’s Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, which suffered the same nostalgic callback issues as Clerks III, it’s just as unlikely that this reviewer will be persuaded to give Smith’s future work much, if any, attention.