Pom Klementieff, Greg Tarzan Davis, Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg and Hayley Atwell in “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” (Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures)
Culture Representation: Taking place in various parts of the world, the action film “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” (the eighth movie in the “Mission: Impossible” movie series) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some black people, Asians, Latin people and Native Americans) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: American rogue superspy Ethan Hunt and his international allies race against time to stop a massive artificial intelligence force called the Entity from destroying the world.
Culture Audience: “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners, the “Mission: Impossible” franchise and action movies that are over-the-top spectacles.
Nick Offerman, Angela Bassett, Mark Gatiss and Janet McTeer in “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” (Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures)
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is overstuffed, goes on for too long, and comes dangerously close to the ridiculousness of the “Fast & Furious” franchise. However, the engaging characters and superior stunts outweigh the movie’s flaws. It’s by no means the best “Mission: Impossible” movie in the series, but it’s certainly the one that expects viewers to think the hardest about a convoluted plot that doesn’t deserve overthinking.
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” (the eighth movie in the “Mission: Impossible” series was written by Erik Jendresen and McQuarrie. “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” had its world premiere in Tokyo and its European premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. McQuarrie also directed and co-wrote 2015’s “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation,” 2018’s “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” and 2023’s “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” whose title was later shortened to “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning” after the movie underperformed at the box office. The “Mission: Impossible” movie series is inspired by the TV series “Mission: Impossible,” which was on the air from 1966 to 1973.
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is essentially “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two,” but you don’t need to see “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” to understand “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.” That’s because “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is filled with exposition dumps of characters explaining what happened in previous “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” and other previous “Mission: Impossible” movies, as well as over-explaining what they’re about to do in “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.”
One of the most unintentionally laughable things about “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is how the characters take turns in their exposition-dump dialogues by each saying things with perfect timing, as if they know each other’s lines and never talk over each other or interrupt each other during these overly choreographed conversations. It never looks like real conversations, especially in the high-pressure situations that these characters experience. There are also several flashback montages for nostalgia’s sake and to inform viewers who might not have seen or who might have forgotten some key moments in previous “Mission: Impossible” movies.
At the end of “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” American rogue superspy Ethan Hunt (played by Tom Cruise)—an operative of the secret agency Impossible Missions Force (IMF)—escaped from with one of two keys that have the power to destroy a massive artificial intelligence villain called the Entity, which is intent on taking over the world. The Entity is not physically embodied in any one being because the Entity is a virtual enemy that can spread wherever and whenever it chooses. However, the biggest human enemy in the “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” and “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is Gabriel (played by Esai Morales), an assassin liaison for the Entity.
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” begins with an outer-space galaxy image and a male voice intoning the “Mission: Impossible” movie motto that gets repeated multiple times throughout this film: “We live and die in the shadows of those we hold close and those we never meet.” The voice adds, “The world is changing. War is coming.”
The praise gets a little corny and starts to deify Ethan as a female voice thanks Ethan for hs service, as several scenes from previous “Mission: Impossible” movies are shown like a greatest-hits playlist. The voice adds: “Every personal sacrifice you made has brought us another sunrise,” she says. “And although you never followed orders, you never let us down.
It’s also explained in the beginning of the movie that every corner of cyberspace has been corrupted by the Entity, which has inspired a doomsday cult. These fanatics have infiltrated every level of law enforcement, government bureaucracy and the military. “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” doesn’t do a lot with this “worldwide cult” plot development, because most of the movie shows Ethan mostly hanging out or fighting against a small group of people, most of whom are familiar characters.
Ethan is under orders to surrender to the U.S. government and hand over the Entity key that Ethan has in his possession. Ethan as other plans. His first order of business in “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is to a prison break of former Gabriel cohort Paris (played by Pom Klementieff), a French assassin who is currently in prison in Austria because of the events that happened in “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.”
This review won’t go into too many more details about what happens, but it’s enough to say that “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” has a lot of dazzling action scenes but the story doesn’t do much that’s surprising. Ethan is joined by Ethan is joined by his two most loyal sidekicks: IMF computer technician Luther Stickell (played by Ving Rhames) and IMF technology field agent Benji (played by Simon Pegg), who have opposite personalities. Luther is laid-back and cool. Benji is high-strung and nervous.
Also along for the ride are Paris and two other of Ethan’s enemies-turned-allies who first appeared in “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”: arms dealer Alanna Mitsopolis (played by Vanessa Kirby); former U.S. intelligence agent Degas (played by Greg Tarzan Davis); and masterful thief Grace (played by Hayley Atwell), who has a mutual growing attraction to Ethan. Alanna is the daughter of illegal arms dealer Max Mitsopolis (played by Vanessa Redgrave), who died in 1996’s “Mission: Impossible,” the first film in the “Mission: Impossible” movie series. “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” reveals that another character in the movie has a parent who died in the first “Mission: Impossible'” movie.
Erika Sloane (played by Angela Bassett), who was the director of the CIA in “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” is now the president of the United States in “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.” Field agent Jasper Briggs (played by Shea Whigham) also returns and continues to hunt Ethan. He has a much smaller role than he did in “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.”
Other government officials who are featured in the movie are U.S. Army General Sidney (played by Nick Offerman), who is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; U.S. Secretary of Defense Serling (played Holt McCallany); Walters (played by Janet McTeer); CIA director Eugene Kittridge (played by Henry Czerny); U.S. Navy Admiral Neely (played by Hannah Waddingham); U.S. Navy Captain Bledsoe (played by Tramell Tillman); and National Security Agency chief Angstrom (played by Mark Gatiss). They mostly just stand around and worry about decisions they have to make because of Ethan’s actions.
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” has a lot of expected globetrotting, mostly in Europe, North America and Africa. (The movie was actually filmed in South Africa and England.) The trekking includes a stop in Alaska, where CIA analyst William Donloe (played by Rolf Saxon) and his wife Tapeesa (played by Lucy Tulugarjuk) play crucial roles in the story. William was previously seen in the first “Mission: Impossible” movie. It’s explained in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” what William been doing since then.
The expected fist fights, explosions and gun shootouts occur, but the two most impressive action sequences involve (1) a deep-sea dive to go inside a shipwrecked submarine and (2) a battle to reach Gabriel flying in a single-passenger plane. (These action sequences are glimpsed in the movie’s trailers.) The deep-sea sequence is marred only by unrealistic-looking actions where Ethan does certain things without an oxygen tank or pressure suit, which would definitely kill someone in real life in a deep-sea environment.
Cruise famously does many of his own stunts. But the visual effects in these fake-looking scenes don’t look convincing because they make Ethan look superhuman, which defeats the “Mission: Impossible” purpose of showing Ethan as a flawed human being. The filmmakers should’ve left it so Ethan could be a superhero without superpowers that go beyond human capacities.
And in case it wasn’t clear enough, even though it’s repeated enough times in the movie: It’s up to Ethan to save the world. And if he doesn’t save the world, as someone in the movie quips, it’s all Ethan’s fault. The elevating of Ethan to almost messianic levels becomes a running joke in the movie. The concept of Ethan being a superhero is obvious and doesn’t even need to be said out loud. However, it’s good to see that the movie is in on the joke and doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Cruise and the rest of the cast members are serviceable in their roles. But there’s sort of a cold disconnect in how most of the characters don’t mention the human stakes of saving their loved ones in this possible apocalypse. The only hints that any of these characters have lives outside of their work are brief glimpses of Erika showing affection and concern for her unnamed adult son (played by Kwabena Ansan), who’s in the U.S. military. William and Tapeesa are the only couple shown in the movie.
One of the drawbacks of making the chief villain an abstract virtual enigma instead of something tangible: It removes the possibility of having a villain with a unique personality. Human villain Gabriel is not in the movie for very long, considering the 169-minute runtime. Although there’s nothing wrong with Morales’ performance, Gabriel is an underdeveloped character and comes across as an inferior imitation of a villain in a James Bond movie.
Does anyone with knowledge of the movie business really believe that “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is the last “Mission: Impossible” movie? No. “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is not a great movie, but it’s good enough in delivering what fans expect. And what people can expect is for this franchise to continue in one way or another.
Paramount Pictures will release “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” in U.S. cinemas on May 23, 2025.
Angela Bassett in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Photo by Annette Brown/Marvel Studios)
With eight prizes, including Outstanding Motion Picture, Marvel Studios’ superhero blockbuster “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” was the top winner at the 54th annual NAACP Image Awards. Hosted by Queen Latifah, the televised award show was held on February 25, 2023, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. BET had the U.S. telecast of the show, which was simulcast on several other Paramount Global Networks-owned TV networks, including CBS, MTV, MTV2, VH1, Logo, Paramount, BET Her, CMT, Pop, Comedy Central, Smithsonian Channel, Pluto TV, and TV Land. It was the first NAACP Image Awards show that was held in front of a live, in-person audience since 2020. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) selected the nominees, while the winners in the competitive categories were voted for online by the general public.
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” was the leading contender going into the ceremony, by having the most nominations (12) before the winners were announced. In addition to winning Outstanding Motion Picture, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” won awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (for Angela Bassett); Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (for Tenoch Huerta); Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture; Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture (for Ryan Coogler); Outstanding Costume Design (for Ruth E. Carter); Outstanding Hairstyling (for Camille Friend); Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album. On a related note, Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” (from the “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” soundtrack) was awarded Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album, which is a prize that goes to the artist (Rihanna) and video director (Autumn Durald Arkapaw), not the makers of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
Other winners of multiple awards included Bassett, who won three prizes: In addition to her “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” award, she won the prizes for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series (for her role in Fox’s “9-1-1”) and Entertainer of the Year. This was the first time in NAACP Image Awards history that all of the Entertainer of the Year nominees were women. Beyoncé, who had five nominations, won three of those awards: Outstanding Album (for “Renaissance”); Outstanding Soul/R&B Song (for “Cuff It”); and Outstanding Female Artist.
ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” had nine nominations and ended up winning six prizes: Outstanding Comedy Series; Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series (for Quinta Brunson); Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (for Tyler James Williams); Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (for Janelle James); Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series (for Brittani Nichols); and Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Television), for Brunson.
Starz’s “P-Valley” was nominated for six prizes and won three: Outstanding Drama Series; Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (for Nicco Annan); and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (for Loretta Devine). Also winning three prizes (from seven nominations) was Peacock’s “The Best Man: The Final Chapters,” which garnered the awards for Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special; Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special (for Morris Chestnut); and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special (for Nia Long).
Presentations of untelevised categories were livestreamed from February 20 to February 24, 2023, on the NAACP Image Awards website. On February 24, 2023, the NAACP had a pre-telecast awards program and dinner in Los Angeles. Hosted by Bresha Webb, the event gave recognition to nominees and previously announced winners. The NAACP Imahe Awards added new categories (all non-televised) in 2023: Outstanding Costume Design, Outstanding Hairstyling and Outstanding Make-Up. The award for Outstanding Make-Up was won by Debi Young, Sandra Linn, Ngozi Olandu Young and Gina Bateman of the HBO miniseries “We Own This City.”
The televised ceremony also gave a spotlight to honorees in non-competitive categories, where the honorees were selected by the NAACP and announced several days in advance of the show. The Chairman’s Award was given to Congressman Bennie G. Thompson. The President’s Award went to Gabrielle Union-Wade and Dwyane Wade. The Social Justice Impact Award was given to Benjamin Crump. The Jackie Robinson Sports Award went to Serena Williams. In non-televised parts of the ceremony, other prizes in non-competitive categories included Activist of the Year (Dr. Derrick L. Forward); Youth Activist of the Year (Bradley Ross Jackson); NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award (Nabiha Syed); and The Vanguard Award (Bethann Hardison).
Here is the complete list of winners and nominees for the 2023 NAACP Image Awards:
*=winner
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR NOMINEES
Angela Bassett*
Mary J. Blige
Quinta Brunson
Viola Davis
Zendaya
MOTION PICTURE CATEGORIES
Outstanding Motion Picture
A Jazzman’s Blues (Netflix)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)*
Emancipation (Apple TV)
The Woman King (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Till (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)
Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
Daniel Kaluuya – Nope (Universal Pictures)
Jonathan Majors – Devotion (Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Joshua Boone – A Jazzman’s Blues (Netflix)
Sterling K. Brown – Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. (Focus Features)
Will Smith – Emancipation (Apple)*
Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Danielle Deadwyler – Till (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)
Keke Palmer – Alice (Vertical Entertainment)
Letitia Wright – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)
Regina Hall – Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. (Focus Features)
Viola Davis – The Woman King (Sony Pictures Releasing)*
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Aldis Hodge – Black Adam (Warner Bros. Pictures / New Line Cinema)
Cliff “Method Man” Smith – On the Come Up (Paramount Pictures)
Jalyn Hall – Till (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)
John Boyega – The Woman King (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Tenoch Huerta – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)*
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Angela Bassett – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)*
Danai Gurira – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)
Janelle Monáe – Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix)
Lashana Lynch – The Woman King (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Lupita Nyong’o – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)
Outstanding Independent Motion Picture
Breaking (Bleecker Street)
Causeway (Apple TV)
Mr. Malcolm’s List (Bleecker Street)
Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story (Hulu)
The Inspection (A24)*
Outstanding International Motion Picture
Athena (Netflix)
Bantú Mama (ARRAY)*
Broker (NEON)
Learn to Swim (ARRAY)
The Silent Twins (Focus Features)
Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture
Jalyn Hall – Till (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)*
Joshua Boone – A Jazzman’s Blues (Netflix)
Ledisi – Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story (Hulu)
Y’lan Noel – A Lot of Nothing (RLJE)
Yola – Elvis (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture
A Jazzman’s Blues (Netflix)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)*
Emancipation (Apple TV)
The Woman King (Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Till (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)
Outstanding Animated Motion Picture
DC League of Super-Pets (Warner Bros. Pictures / WAG / DC)
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (Netflix)
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (Universal Pictures)
Turning Red (Pixar Animation Studios)
Wendell & Wild (Netflix)*
Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance – Motion Picture
Angela Bassett – Wendell & Wild (Netflix)
Keke Palmer – Lightyear (Walt Disney Studios)*
Kevin Hart – DC League of Super-Pets (Warner Bros. Pictures / WAG / DC)
Lyric Ross – Wendell & Wild (Netflix)
Taraji P. Henson – Minions: The Rise of Gru (Universal Pictures)
Outstanding Short-Form (Live Action)
Dear Mama… (Film Independent)*
Fannie (Chromatic Black)
Fathead (University of Southern California)
Incomplete (20th Century Digital, Hulu)
Pens & Pencils (Wavelength Productions/Black TV & Film Collective)
Outstanding Short-Form (Animated)
I Knew Superman (Houghtonville Animation)
More Than I Want To Remember (MTV Entertainment Studios)*
Supercilious (York Cinemas)
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (Apple Studios)
Gina Prince-Bythewood – Women of the Movement – “Mother and Son” (ABC)
Hanelle Culpepper – The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey – “Sensia” (Apple TV+)
Kasi Lemmons – Women of the Movement – “Episode 106” (ABC)
Outstanding Directing in a Television Movie or Special
Anton Cropper – Fantasy Football (Paramount+)*
Marta Cunningham – 61st Street (AMC)
Sujata Day – Definition Please (Netflix)
Tailiah Breon – Kirk Franklin’s The Night Before Christmas (Lifetime)
Tine Fields – Soul of a Nation: Screen Queens Rising (ABC)
Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture
Antoine Fuqua – Emancipation (Apple)
Chinonye Chukwu – Till (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)
Gina Prince-Bythewood – The Woman King (Sony Pictures Releasing)*
Kasi Lemmons – I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Ryan Coogler – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)
Outstanding Directing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture)
Nadia Hallgren – Civil (Netflix)
Reginald Hudlin – Sidney (Apple TV+)*
Sacha Jenkins – Everything’s Gonna Be All White (Showtime)
Sacha Jenkins – Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues (Apple TV+)
Kamau Bell – We Need to Talk About Cosby (Showtime)
LITERARY CATEGORIES
Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction
Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction – Sheree Renée Thomas (Macmillan)
Light Skin Gone to Waste – Toni Ann Johnson (University of Georgia Press)
Take My Hand – Dolen Perkins-Valdez (Penguin Random House)*
The Keeper – Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes (Abrams Books)
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty – Akwaeke Emezi (Simon & Schuster)
Outstanding Literary Work – Nonfiction
Finding Me – Viola Davis (HarperCollins Publishers)*
Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America – Cody Keenan (HarperCollins Publishers)
Requiem for the Massacre – RJ Young (Counterpoint)
Under the Skin – Linda Villarosa (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)
Who’s Black and Why? A Hidden Chapter from the Eighteenth-Century Invention of Race – Henry Louis Gates, Andrew S. Curran (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press)
Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author
America Made Me a Black Man – Boyah Farah (HarperCollins Publishers)
Illustrated Black History: Honoring the Iconic and the Unseen – George McCalman (HarperCollins)*
Marriage Be Hard – Kevin Fredericks, Melissa Fredericks (Penguin Random House)
Truth’s Table: Black Women’s Musings on Life, Love, and Liberation – Ekemini Uwan, Christina Edmondson, Michelle Higgins (Penguin Random House Convergent Imprint)
What the Fireflies Knew – Kai Harris (Penguin Random House)
Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/Autobiography
A Way Out of No Way: A Memoir of Truth, Transformation, and the New American Story – Raphael G. Warnock (Penguin Random House)
Scenes from My Life – Michael K. Williams (Penguin Random House)*
The Light We Carry – Michelle Obama (Penguin Random House)
Walking In My Joy: In These Streets – Jenifer Lewis (HarperCollins Publishers)
You’ve Been Chosen – Cynt Marshall (Ballantine Books)
Outstanding Literary Work – Instructional
Black Joy: Stories of Resistance, Resilience, and Restoration – Tracey Lewis-Giggetts (Gallery/Simon and Schuster)*
Cooking from the Spirit – Tabitha Brown (William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
Eat Plants, B*tch: 91 Vegan Recipes That Will Blow Your Meat-Loving Mind – Pinky Cole (Simon & Schuster)
Homecoming: Overcome Fear and Trauma to Reclaim Your Whole Authentic Self – Thema Bryant (Penguin Random House/TarcherPerigee)
The Five Principles: A Revolutionary Path to Health, Inner Wealth, and Knowledge of Self – Khnum Ibomu (Hachette Book Group)
Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry
Best Barbarian – Roger Reeves (Norton)
Bluest Nude – Ama Codjoe (Milkweed Editions)
Concentrate – Courtney Faye Taylor (Graywolf Press)
Muse Found in a Colonized Body – Yesenia Montilla (Four Way Books)
To the Realization of Perfect Helplessness – Robin Coste Lewis (Alfred A. Knopf)*
Outstanding Literary Work – Children
Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas – Jeanne Walker Harvey, Loveis Wise (HarperCollins)
Black Gold – Laura Obuobi, London Ladd (HarperCollins)
Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky – Nana Brew-Hammond, Daniel Minter (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers)
Some language in French and Yucatec with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place in various parts of Earth, the superhero action film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” features a racially diverse cast of characters (black, Latino and white) representing the working-class, middle-class and royalty.
Culture Clash: After the death of King T’Challa, the fictional African nation of Wakanda becomes under siege from various factions, including the secret underwater kingdom of Talokan, that want Wakanda’s help in obtaining the precious metal vibranium.
Culture Audience: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the “Black Panther” franchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and superhero movies that include multiculturalism issues.
Tenoch Huerta Mejía in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios)
In more ways than one, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” shows how healing from a tragedy can turn into a triumph. This top-notch sequel to 2018’s “Black Panther” is an epic story of grief, loyalty, greed and the resilience of the human spirit. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” should more than satisfy fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and will inspire repeat viewings. Do people need to see “Black Panther” before seeing “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”? No, but it certainly helps, especially in understanding the backgrounds of the characters who have the most poignant moments in this sequel.
Directed by Ryan Coogler (who co-wrote the “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” screenplay with Joe Robert Cole), “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” puts the women of the fictional African nation of Wakanda in the front and center of a story that also pays respectful tribute to Wakanda’s deceased King T’Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman in 2018’s “Black Panther.” Coogler directed and co-wrote (with Cole) the first “Black Panther” movie, which helps in keeping a consistent tone for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
The beginning of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” shows King T’Challa’s younger sister Princess Shuri (played by Letitia Wright) frantically trying to find a medical solution to save T’Challa, who is dying from an unnamed illness. (Boseman tragically died of colon cancer in 2020. He was 43.) All of Shuri’s efforts don’t work, and T’Challa passes away.
The people of Wakanda have an elaborate funeral for T’Challa that includes mourning his death and celebrating his life. Everyone is dressed in white for this event. At the end of the funeral, T’Challa’s casket floats up into the sky. As explained in the first “Black Panther” movie and in Marvel’s “Black Panther” comic books, Wakanda is a self-sufficient nation that is somewhat of a utopia and where supernatural things can occur. Wakanda is protected by an all-female army called the Dora Milaje.
One year after T’Challa’s death, Shuri and her mother Queen Ramonda (played by Angela Bassett) are grieving, but Shuri has had a more diffcult time trying to move on with her life. Shuri is a genius scientist who blames herself for not being able to find a medical cure that could have saved T’Challa. Much of Shuri’s storyline in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” has to do with Shuri’s grief and other traumatic things she experiences in the movie.
Meanwhile, Queen Ramonda has to contend with pressure from different entities that want Wakanda’s help in finding vibranium, a rare metal that has the power to harness kinetic energy. An early scene in the movie shows a regal and confident Ramonda at a United Nations meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, one year after T’Challa’s death. During this meeting with world leaders, Ramonda is told that the United States is disappointed that Wakanda has not shared resources in the quest to find vibranium.
However, Wakanda (a self-sufficient nation that is somewhat of a utopia) has a policy not to get involved in other nations’ politics, and Ramonda reiterates that fact. She also has members of Dora Milaje bring in some captives: several men who tried to invade one of Wakanda’s member facilities that handles vibranium. A flashback shows how members of the Dora Milaje captured these invaders. Ramonda’s sternly tells the assembled officials that she knows that a member state of the United Nations was probably behind this attack, and this capture serves as an “olive branch” warning for this attack not to happen on Wakanda again.
Meanwhile, a U.S. ship in the Atlantic Ocean has been looking for vibranium underwater. The ship then experiences something unexpected and bizarre. Crew members of the ship seem to go into a daze and start jumping off of the ship to their death. And then, a group of blue-skinned people rise out of the ocean and attack the ship. The attackers’ leader is dressed like a Mayan king and has wings on his feet that allow him to fly. Viewers later find out that his name is Namor (played Tenoch Huerta Mejía), and he’s the ruler of Talokan, a hidden nation under the sea.
One evening, back in Wakanda, Ramonda and Shuri have a heart-to-heart talk on a beach. Ramonda is concerned about Shuri’s emotional well-being because Shuri seems to be deeply depressed. Shuri tries to brush off her mother’s concerns. Ramonda says she has a secret about T’Challa that she wants to tell Shuri. But just as she’s about to tell Shuri, Namor appears out of the water.
Namor is not there to pay a friendly visit. He essentially tells Ramonda and Shuri that Talokan needs Wakanda’s help to defend themselves from extinction and to get vibranium. If Wakanda refuses to help, Talokan will declare war on the world, and Wakanda will be Talokan’s first target. A stunned Ramonda tells Namor that Wakanda does not get involved in other people’s wars and refuses to give in to his demand. Namor leaves and ominously says that he will return in one week.
Meanwhile, CIA operative Everett K. Ross (played by Martin Freeman) reprises his role from 2018’s “Black Panther.” Everett is an ally to Wakanda but he gets into conflicts about it with higher-ranking agent Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who is pressuring Wakanda to cooperate with the U.S. government to find vibranium. Valentina (who communicates with a brittle, sarcastic tone) has another, more personal connection to Everett that is revealed in the movie.
Also reprising their roles from “Blank Panther” are Okoye (played by Danai Gurira), the courageous leader of the Dora Milaje; Ayo (played by Florence Kasumba), a powerful enforcer of the Dora Milaje; M’Baku (played by Winston Duke), the leader of Jabariland, Wakanda’s isolated region known for its snow and mountains; and Nakia (played by Lupita Nyong’o), who is the best spy in Wakanda’s history and T’Challa’s former love partner. New to the Dora Milaje team is Aneka (played by Michaela Coel), a high-ranking member.
During the course of the story, Shuri and Okoye travel to Haiti, where viewers find out that Nakia has been living for the past six years. In Haiti, Nakia has been working as a teacher of children in elementary school. Shuri and Okoye have to plead with Nakia to come back to Wakanda to help them, but Nakia is very reluctant to go back. Why did Nakia leave Wakanda? And why is Nakia reluctant to go back? Those questions are answered in the movie.
Wakanda also has another ally, who finds herself involved in this brewing war through no choice of her own. Her name is Riri Williams (played by Dominique Thorne), a brilliant 19-year-old MIT student and aspiring scientist. Riri and Shuri are thrown together in circumstances where they have to learn to work together. Riri is sometimes overwhelmed by the danger that comes her way, but she can be counted on to come up with helpful ideas. She has a sassy personality that is the comic relief in the movie.
Meanwhile, Namor has been assembling his own troops to prepare for war. His two main sidekicks are Talokan’s strongest warrior Attuma (played by Alex Livinalli) and Talokan’s most fearless warrior Namora (played by Mabel Cadena), who have unwavering loyalty to Talokan and their leader, Namor. At one point in the movie, viewers find out more about Talokan and Namor’s backstory to explain why he is on such a brutal revenge mission.
“Black Panther” won Academy Awards for its production design (led by Hannah Beachler) and its costume design (led by Ruth E. Carter), with Beachler and Carter both leading the same teams for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” The production design for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is even more elaborate and awe-inspiring, particularly in how Talokan was designed. (It looks like an underwater Mayan paradise inspired by Atlantis.) The costume design for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is also Oscar-worthy, although many of the Dora Milaje costumes are understandably the same or similar to as they were in “Black Panther.”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” has better visual effects than “Black Panther.” The cinematography is also an improvement over the first “Black Panther” movie, particularly when it comes to the scenes in Talokan and some of the camera angles during the fight scenes. Every action sequence looks believable, given the characters’ superpowers. But all of these dazzling components to the film would be wasted if the story wasn’t compelling and the acting performances weren’t up to par.
Shuri becomes the heart and soul of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” as she comes to terms with T’Challa’s death; faces doubts and moral dilemmas about where he should put her loyalties; and sometimes clashes with her strong-willed mother Ramonda on decision to make about Wakanda’s future. Wright gives a standout performance in having to convey a wide myriad of emotions of someone who is the heir to the throne but has inner and exterior conflicts about her leadership, while living in the shadow of T’Challa and his legacy.
Bassett is also noteworthy in her performance as Romanda, who has to find a way to reconcile her pain with a possible new direction for Wakanda. Huerta Mejía a gives solid performance as the movie’s villain, who is alternately stoic and filled with rage. Namor isn’t the most fearsome villain of the MCU, but his backstory will make viewers see that underneath his anger is a lot of personal pain and pride for his people.
Because of the real-life death of Boseman, there are expected tearjerking moments when the movie shows flashbacks of T’Challa. There’s also the brief return of another major character from the first “Black Panther” movie, with the character appearing to Shuri in a vision. A mid-credits scene (there is no end-credits scene) in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” shines a bright light of hope for the future of Wakanda, but it’s with a bittersweet tone that T’Challa is immensely beloved and will always be missed.
Marvel Studios will release “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” in U.S. cinemas on November 11, 2022.
THE OSCARS – Key Art. (ABC) Artwork by Victoria Villasana.
THE OSCARS – Key Art. (ABC) Artwork by Petra Eriksson.
THE OSCARS – Key Art. (ABC) Artwork by Magnus Voll Mathiassen.
THE OSCARS – Key Art. (ABC) Artwork by Michelle Robinson.
THE OSCARS – Key Art. (ABC) Artwork by Shawna X.
THE OSCARS – Key Art. (ABC) Artwork by Karan Singh.
The following is a combination of press releases from ABC:
Oscar® nominee Steven Yeun will join the ensemble cast slated to present at the 93rd Oscars®, show producers Jesse Collins, Stacey Sher and Steven Soderbergh announced today. “The Oscars” will air live on Sunday, April 25, 2021, on ABC.
“Surprise! We’re so excited to welcome Steven to the crew, and he completes our Oscars cast. No, really, this is it,” said Collins, Sher and Soderbergh.
The previously announced lineup includes Riz Ahmed, Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Bryan Cranston, Viola Davis, Laura Dern, Harrison Ford, Bong Joon Ho, Regina King, Marlee Matlin, Rita Moreno, Joaquin Phoenix, Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon, Renée Zellweger and Zendaya.
Joaquin Phoenix, Renée Zellweger and Brad Pitt at the 92nd annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on February 9, 2020. (Photo by Rick Rowell/ABC)
Regina King at the 92nd annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on February 9, 2020. (Photo by Rick Rowell/ABC)
Rita Moreno at the 90th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 4, 2018. (Photo by Michael Baker/A.M.P.A.S.)
Bong Joo Ho at the 92nd annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on February 9, 2020. (Photo by Rick Rowell/ABC)
Viola Davis at the 90th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 4, 2018. (Photo by Rick Rowell/ABC)
Riz Ahmed at the 89th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on February 26, 2017. (Photo by Tyler Golden/ABC)
Laura Dern at the 92nd annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on February 9, 2020. (Photo by Rick Rowell/ABC)
Halle Berry at the 89th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on February 26, 2017. (Photo by Tyler Golden/ABC)
Celeste, H.E.R., Leslie Odom Jr., Laura Pausini, Daniel Pemberton, Molly Sandén and Diane Warren will perform the five nominated original songs in their entirety for “Oscars: Into the Spotlight,” the lead-in to the 93rd Oscars. One performance will be recorded in Húsavík, Iceland, and four at the Dolby Family Terrace of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. Hosted by actors Ariana DeBose (“Hamilton”) and Lil Rel Howery (“Bad Trip”), the 90-minute “Oscars: Into the Spotlight” will highlight the nominees’ journey to Hollywood’s biggest night, give fans around the world the ultimate insiders’ sneak peek to the party and, for the first time, bring Oscar music to the festivities. The show will feature a special appearance by DJ Tara. “Oscars: Into the Spotlight” will air Oscar Sunday, April 25, at 6:30 p.m. EDT/3:30 p.m. PDT.
Leslie Odom Jr. in “Oscars: Into the Spotlight” (Photo courtesy of ABC)
H.E.R. in “Oscars: Into the Spotlight” (Photo courtesy of ABC)
Laura Pausini in “Oscars: Into the Spotlight” (Photo courtesy of ABC)
Celeste in “Oscars: Into the Spotlight” (Photo courtesy of ABC)
Molly Sandén in “Oscars: Into the Spotlight” (Photo courtesy of ABC)
THE OSCARS¨ – Key Art. (ABC) Artwork by Temi Coker.
The 93rd Oscars will be held on Sunday, April 25, 2021, at Union Station Los Angeles and the Dolby® Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and international locations via satellite. “Oscars: Into the Spotlight” will air live on ABC at 6:30 p.m. EDT/3:30 p.m. PDT. “The Oscars” will be televised live on ABC at 8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT and in more than 200 territories worldwide. “Oscars: After Dark” will immediately follow the Oscars show.
ABOUT THE ACADEMY The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a global community of more than 10,000 of the most accomplished artists, filmmakers and executives working in film. In addition to celebrating and recognizing excellence in filmmaking through the Oscars, the Academy supports a wide range of initiatives to promote the art and science of the movies, including public programming, educational outreach and the upcoming Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
Directed by Pete Docter; co-directed by Kemp Powers
Culture Representation: The animated film “Soul” features a racially diverse cast of characters (African American and white, with a few Latinos and Asians) representing the middle-class.
Culture Clash: An aspiring jazz musician has a purgatory-like experience where he fights to save his life while encountering a cynical soul that doesn’t want to be born in any body.
Culture Audience: “Soul” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in philosophical stories about the meaning of life that are wrapped in a bright and shiny package of a Disney/Pixar animated movie.
Counselor Jerry (voiced by Richard Ayoade), Counselor Jerry (voiced by Alice Braga), 22 (voiced by Tina Fey), Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx), Terry (voiced by Rachel House) and Counselor Jerry (voiced by Fortune Feimster) in “Soul” (Image courtesy of Disney/Pixar Animation Studios)
Pixar Animation Studios has long been the gold standard for groundbreaking and crowd-pleasing movie animation, with several Oscars and blockbuster films to prove it. Pixar launched in 1986, and was acquired by the Walt Disney Company in 2006. But it wasn’t until 2020 that Pixar released its first movie with an African American as the lead character. That movie is “Soul,” which does what Pixar does best: blend stunning visuals with sentimental, family-friendly messages. However, the movie isn’t quite the innovative cultural breakthrough that it’s hyped up to be.
“Soul” (directed by Pete Docter and co-directed by Kemp Powers) follows a lot of the same thematic tropes that are in a lot of Pixar movies: Someone has to cope with death and/or find a way back home. In order to reach that goal, the protagonist encounters someone who usually has an opposite personality. For any variety of reasons, the two opposite personalities are stuck together on a journey. And they spend most of the story bickering and/or trying to learn how to work together.
In “Soul,” the main protagonist is Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx), a middle-aged, aspiring jazz pianist in New York City who hasn’t been able to fulfil his dream of becoming a professional musician. Instead, to pay his bills, Joe has become a teacher of band music at a public middle school called M.S. 70, where almost all of the students in his class are less-than-talented at playing music. Joe isn’t particularly happy with how his life has turned out, but he hasn’t lost his passion for playing jazz. It’s a passion that almost no one else shares in his life.
Joe tells his students about the life-changing experience he had as a boy when his father took him to a nightclub to see jazz performed live for the first time. It was the first time that Joe understood the joy of turning a passion into something that can be shared with others. Joe describes to his students how he felt when he saw the jazz musicians expressing themselves in their performance: “I wanted to learn how to talk like that. That’s when I knew I was born to play.”
Joe then says to a student, “Connie knows what I mean. Right, Connie?” Connie (voiced by Cora Champommier) deadpans in response: “I’m 12.” This won’t be the last time Connie will be in the movie, since she represents whether or not Joe has made an impact on any of his students.
Joe, who is an only child, is somewhat of a disappointment to his widowed mother Libba (voiced by Phylicia Rashad), who owns a custom tailor shop. Libba has grown tired of seeing Joe in a series of dead-end, part-time jobs that don’t pay very well. Joe’s father was also an aspiring musician, but he gave up his music dreams because of the financial obligations of raising a family. Joe is a bachelor with no children, so it’s been easier for him to not feel as much pressure to get a full-time job that pays well.
One day, M.S. 70’s Principal Arroyo (voiced by Jeannie Tirado) tells Joe that the school would like to offer him a full-time job as the band teacher. However, Joe isn’t all that excited about the offer, because it means that he’ll have less time to pursue what he really wants to be: a professional musician playing in a real band. Privately, he thinks about whether or not he should accept the offer.
When Joe tells Libba about this job offer, she thinks he’s crazy not to take the offer right away. Libba reminds Joe that a full-time job comes with insurance benefits and a retirement plan, which are things that she thinks Joe needs to have now that he’s reached a certain age. Joe reluctantly agrees to take the school’s full-time job offer.
But then, something unexpected happens that changes his life when he gets a chance to become a professional musician. A former student of his named Lamont “Curley” Baker (voiced by Ahmir-Khalib Thompson, also known as Questlove) calls Joe and tells him that he’s now a drummer for the Dorothea Williams Quartet, a famous group that is in the city for a tour performance. Curley thanks Joe for his mentorship and excitedly mentions to Joe that the band’s regular pianist suddenly “skipped town” and can’t be found.
Curley says that Joe would be the perfect replacement for this pianist for the band’s show that will take place that evening at the Half Note, a popular jazz nightclub. Curley invites Joe to go to the nightclub for an audition. Curley says that if Dorothea Williams likes what she hears from Joe, then Joe could become the permanent pianist for the Dorothea Williams Quartet. Needless to say, Joe is ecstatic but also nervous.
Dorothea (voiced by Angela Bassett) is a hard-to-please taskmaster. And she’s not impressed that Joe has been working as a school teacher, because she thinks it means he isn’t talented enough to be a professional musician. But once Dorothea hears Joe play, she changes her mind and says he can perform with the band that night. She keeps cool about it and doesn’t want to lavish too much praise on Joe.
Joe is so excited about this big break that he calls people on his phone to tell them the good news, while he’s walking down various streets. Joe is so distracted that he doesn’t notice several things that could get him injured. He narrowly misses getting hit by a car when he walks into traffic. He avoids getting hurt by construction work happening on a street where he walks.
But a misfortune that Joe literally falls into is a deep and open manhole that he doesn’t notice while he’s talking on the phone. Joe wakes up in a purgatory-like environment where he finds out that he “died” from this fall. His soul and other souls (which look like ghostly blue blobs) are headed to a place called the Great Beyond, which is implied to be heaven.
However, Joe doesn’t want to accept this fate, and he runs away and tries to hide. What he really wants to do is go back to Earth, have his soul reunited with his body, and recover from his injuries in time to make it to the Dorothea Williams Quartet performance. He believes that this performance is his only shot at fulfilling his dream of becoming a professional musician.
Joe tries to hide in the purgatory, but he’s quickly discovered by spirit-like entities called counselors that look like two-dimensional, bisected figures. Several of the counselors (with male and female voices) are named Counselor Jerry. Alice Braga and Richard Ayoade voice the two Counselor Jerry characters that have the most interaction with Joe. Braga’s Counselor Jerry character is empathetic and patient. Ayoade’s Counselor Jerry character is wisecracking and neurotic. Other actors who are the voices of Counselor Jerry characters include Fortune Feimster, Wes Studi and Zenobia Shroff.
Joe finds out that he hasn’t died yet, but his body is in a “holding pattern,” and he’s in a place called the Great Before, also known as the You Seminar. It’s a place where each soul is numbered and assigned a unique personality before being sent to Earth to inhabit a body. In addition to personality traits, each soul must have a “spark,” in order to be ready to be sent to Earth. In the You Seminar, each soul is assigned a mentor to inspire that spark. (The word “spark” in the movie is another way of saying a person’s biggest passion in life.)
Joe already knows what his spark is (playing music), but through a series of events, he ends up becoming the mentor for a soul whose name/number is 22 (voiced by Tina Fey), who is an especially difficult soul because she doesn’t want to be live in anybody on Earth and she wants to stay where she is. She’s very stubborn and likes to cause a lot of mischief. (Technically, 22 could be interpreted as having no gender, but since a woman was chosen to voice the character, 22 will be referred to as “she” and “her” in this review.)
Joe finds out that 22 has had several mentors who tried and failed to help 22 find her spark. The mentors include Mahatma Ghandi, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa, Marie Antoinette, Nicolaus Copernicus and Muhammad Ali. There’s a brief montage sequence that shows how 22 aggravated and disappointed all of her famous mentors. And 22 is so insufferable, cynical and bratty that even Mother Teresa ran out of patience with her.
And so, the rest of the movie is about these two souls who have different agendas and have to find a way to work together. One soul desperately wants to go back to Earth to reunite with his body, while the other soul desperately does not want to go to Earth to avoid inhabiting any body. There’s also a running joke in the film about a very nitpicky, uptight spirit named Terry (voiced by Rachel House), who works as an accountant in the purgatory and notices that a soul (Joe) is missing from the expected Great Beyond population. Terry goes on the hunt to find this missing soul.
“Soul” has a lot of metaphors not just about life after death but also about life on Earth. There’s a subplot about “lost souls” on Earth. And during Joe and 22’s time together, they encounter a soul who’s an aging hippie type named Moonwind (played by Graham Norton), who is the captain of a ship of souls.
What works very well in “Soul,” as is the case of almost every Pixar film, is how the film looks overall. When Joe describes the elation he felt the first time he discovered his passion for music, the screen lights up with an engaging vibrancy of sights and sounds. There are also some almost-psychedelic representations of what the You Seminar looks like that give “Soul” an immersive quality. The human characters look very lifelike. And it all adds up to a very memorable animated film.
“Soul” is not without flaws, however. The movie has a few plot holes that aren’t really explained. For example, there’s a scene in the movie where 22 tells Joe that souls without a body do not have the use of human senses, which is why 22 doesn’t know what it’s like to smell, taste or touch. However, it’s never explained why 22 (and other souls without bodies) have the senses of sight and hearing. Why bother saying that souls in this story cannot have human senses, when the souls can obviously see and hear?
Docter won an Oscar for the 2015 Pixar film “Inside Out,” another existential movie with a plot revolving around the concept that people are unique because of personalities and interests. “Soul” has lot of philosophies about what makes someone human and what a human being’s purpose is in life. Both movies can be enjoyed by people of different generations. However, the storyline of “Soul” is riskier and potentially more alienating.
“Soul” is not a religious movie, but it’s literally a spiritual movie. Its plot and characters are based on spiritual beliefs that when people die, their souls go to another place that can’t be seen by living humans, or souls could be stuck on Earth as “ghosts.” Therefore, what happens in “Soul” won’t have as much of an emotional impact on atheists or other people who believe that death is final and who think that there is no such thing as a soul that can leave a body.
There’s a reincarnation subplot to the “Soul” that isn’t as funny as it could have been, mainly because one of the characters is reincarnated as a cat. There have already been plenty of movies that have over-used the gimmick of a non-human animal that can talk and think like a human. The world has more than enough “talking animals” movies.
As for “Soul” being touted as a racial breakthrough in Pixar animation, the movie falls short of many expectations that Joe’s life as an African American musician would be in the movie more than it actually is. This part of Joe’s identity is only shown as “bookends,” in service of a story that’s really about how Joe can help redeem 22, so that she will want to become a fully formed person with a “spark.”
In fact, Joe’s quest to go back to becoming a living, breathing human being often takes a back seat to 22 and her shenanigans. Joe doesn’t become completely sidelined, since he’s still the main character who’s in almost every scene of the movie. But there are many moments in “Soul” where it feels like the filmmakers deliberately made 22 the scene stealer, while Joe passively reacts to whatever 22 does or wants.
These creative decisions are a bit problematic when Disney and Pixar seem to have a self-congratulatory attitude in promoting “Soul” as the first Pixar movie to celebrate African American culture. Well, it’s not exactly a celebration. It’s more of a polite acknowledgement, because for most of the movie, Joe isn’t even in his own body.
It should be noted that “Soul” was written by Docter (who is white), Powers (who is African American) and Mike Jones (who is white). The vast majority of people on the “Soul” creative team are also white, including producer Dana Murray and chief composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Jonathan “Jon” Batiste,” who is African American, did the jazz compositions for “Soul,” but not the overall music score. The music of “Soul” is perfectly fine, but it just seems a bit “off” that the filmmakers couldn’t be bothered to hire any of the numerous qualified African Americans to be the chief composers for this movie about an African American musician. Make of that what you will, but that’s why people say that representation matters.
And it seems like such a waste for “Soul” to not feature the singing talents of Foxx, who plays a musician but not a singer in this movie. (Foxx is a piano player in real life too.) He does a very good job in the role, as do the other “Soul” cast members. However, Joe is at times written as a sidekick to 22, when 22 should be the sidekick throughout the entire time that Joe and 22 are together. It isn’t until the last 20 minutes of “Soul” that the Joe character reclaims the spot as the central focus of the story.
“Soul” certainly meets Pixar’s high standards of a visually compelling film that tackles heavy emotional issues in an entertaining way. The movie has a lot of musing about the meaning of life and positive messages about self-acceptance. These themes in “Soul” are, for the most part, handled well for a movie whose target audience includes a lot of kids who are too young to have deep, philosophical debates. Just don’t expect “Soul” to have major representation of African American culture in the way that Pixar’s “Coco” celebrated Mexican culture.
Disney+ premiered “Soul” on December 25, 2020. The movies was released in cinemas in countries where Disney+ is not available.
The following is a press release from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences:
Michael Douglas at the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on January 6, 2019. (Photo by Paul Drinkwater/NBC)
Viola Davis at the 90th annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 4, 2018. (Photo Craig Sjodin/ABC)
Jimmy Kimmel at the 90th annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 4, 2018. (Photo by Craig Sjodin/ABC)
The Television Academy and Emmy Awards telecast producers Don Mischer Productions and Done+Dusted announced the first group of talent set to present the iconic Emmy statuettes at the 71st Emmy Awards on Sunday, September 22.
The presenters include:
Angela Bassett* (9-1-1 and The Flood)
Stephen Colbert* (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert)
Viola Davis* (How to Get Away with Murder)
Michael Douglas* (The Kominsky Method)
Taraji P. Henson (Empire)
Terrence Howard (Empire)
Jimmy Kimmel* (Jimmy Kimmel Live)
Peter Krause (9-1-1)
Seth Meyers* (Late Night With Seth Meyers and Documentary Now!)
Billy Porter* (Pose)
Naomi Watts (The Loudest Voice)
Zendaya (Euphoria)
The cast of Game of Thrones: Alfie Allen*, Gwendoline Christie*, Emilia Clarke*, Peter Dinklage*, Kit Harington*, Lena Headey*, Sophie Turner*, Carice van Houten*, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau*, and Maisie Williams*
September 17, 2019 UPDATE:
More presenters have been announced for the 2019 Primetime Emmy Awards:
Anthony Anderson* (black-ish)
Ike Barinholtz (Bless the Harts)
Cedric the Entertainer (The Neighborhood)
Max Greenfield (The Neighborhood)
Bill Hader* (Barry)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus* (VEEP)
Cast of VEEP: Anna Chlumsky, Gary Cole, Kevin Dunn, Clea DuVall, Tony Hale, Sam Richardson, Reid Scott, Timothy Simons, Sarah Sutherland, Matt Walsh
Gwyneth Paltrow (The Politician)
Amy Poehler* (Duncanville and Russian Doll)
Maya Rudolph (Bless the Harts and The Good Place)
RuPaul* (RuPaul’s Drag Race)
Lilly Singh (A Little Late with Lilly Singh)
Ben Stiller* (Escape at Dannemora)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge* (Fleabag)
Cast of Keeping Up with the Kardashians: Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner
The 71st Emmy Awards will air live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 22, (8:00-11:00 PM ET/5:00-8:00 PM PT) on FOX.
For more information, please visit Emmys.com. Find out Where to Watch.
Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga at the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 6, 2019. (Photo by Paul Drinkwater/NBC)
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced several entertainers who will be performers and presenters at the 91st Annual Academy Awards ceremony, which will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. ABC will have the U.S. telecast of the show, which will not have a host. As previously reported, comedian/actor Kevin Hart was going to host the show, but he backed out after the show’s producers demanded that he make a public apology for homophobic remarks that he made several years ago. After getting a firestorm of backlash for the homophobic remarks, Hart later made several public apologies but remained adamant that he would still not host the Oscars this year.
The celebrities who will be on stage at the Oscars this year are several of those whose songs are nominated for Best Original Song. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper will perform their duet “Shallow” from their movie remake of “A Star Is Born.” Jennifer Hudson will perform “I’ll Fight” from the Ruth Bader Ginsburg documentary “RBG.” David Rawlings and Gillian Welch will team up for the duet “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from the Western film “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.” It has not yet been announced who will perform “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from the Disney musical sequel “Mary Poppins Returns.”** It also hasn’t been announced yet if Kendrick Lamar and SZA will take the stage for “All the Stars” from the superhero flick “Black Panther.”
Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Philharmonic do the music for the “In Memoriam” segment, which spotlights notable people in the film industry who have died in the year since the previous Oscar ceremony.
Meanwhile, the following celebrities have been announced as presenters at the ceremony: Whoopi Goldberg (who has hosted the Oscars twice in the past), Awkwafina, Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Tina Fey, Jennifer Lopez, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Amandla Stenberg, Tessa Thompson Constance Wu, Javier Bardem, Angela Bassett, Chadwick Boseman, Emilia Clarke, Laura Dern, Samuel L. Jackson, Stephan James, Keegan-Michael Key, KiKi Layne, James McAvoy, Melissa McCarthy, Jason Momoa and Sarah Paulson. Goldberg and Bardem are previous Oscar winners.
Other previous Oscar winners taking the stage will be Gary Oldman, Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney, who won the actor and actress prizes at the 2018 Academy Awards.
Donna Gigliotti (who won an Oscar for Best Picture for 1998’s “Shakespeare in Love) and Emmy-winning director Glenn Weiss are the producers of the 2019 Academy Awards. This will be the first time that Gigliotti is producing the Oscar ceremony. Weiss has directed several major award shows, including the Oscars and the Tonys. He will direct the Oscar ceremony again in 2019.
**February 18, 2019 UPDATE: Bette Midler will perform “The Place Where Los Things Go,” the Oscar-nominated song from “Mary Poppins Returns.” British rock band Queen, whose official biopic is the Oscar-nominated film “Bohemian Rhapsody,” will also perform on the show with lead singer Adam Lambert. It has not been revealed which song(s) Queen will perform at the Oscars.
February 19, 2019 UPDATE: These presenters have been added to the Oscar telecast: Elsie Fisher, Danai Gurira, Brian Tyree Henry, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Keaton, Helen Mirren, John Mulaney, Tyler Perry, Pharrell Williams, Krysten Ritter, Paul Rudd and Michelle Yeoh.
February 21, 2019 UPDATE: These celebrities will present the Best Picture nominees: José Andrés, Dana Carvey, Queen Latifah, Congressman John Lewis, Diego Luna, Tom Morello, Mike Myers, Trevor Noah, Amandla Stenberg, Barbra Streisand and Serena Williams.
