My Tribute To A King: Chadwick Boseman || Wakanda Forever

Black Panther 2 has been in cinemas for a couple of weeks now, and after watching the first part and loving every part of it, I longed to see the second part as well.

However, going to the cinema to see films is not something I normally do. This meant that I would have to wait until it was released for download to get to see it. But it was different this time.

A conversation between @teminike and I about Black Panther came up, and to my surprise, she had not seen the first part. I guess I was only surprised that she had not seen it because it was everywhere when it was released in 2018, and I assumed that the entire world had seen it.

Well, I managed to get her to see Black Panther 1, and afterwards, she grew to want to see the sequel, Black Panther 2. It was only available in the cinemas (and still is), so we made arrangements to see it in the nearest cinema.

This weekend, we saw The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and just like the first part, we loved it and were glad we did see it in the cinemas, as the feeling was different from watching through a mobile device or PC. However, in this sequel, there was way more than what the first film delivered. Chadwick Boseman is in absentia as he has passed on.

Unlike the first film, I had a deeper connection to the second, particularly because my favorite actor is no longer with us. With a broken heart, I watched this film. It was more than a film to me; it was a tribute to a king, Chadwick Boseman.

This is unlike the film reviews I have been making, so rather than just being analytical in this film, I am going to be focusing on the legend and his impact in the film. Nonetheless, we'll talk a little about the film for context.

T'challa is dying from an illness, and since Erik Killmonger destroyed all the heart-shaped herbs, Shuri tries to synthesize a new one to help with his recovery. However, she fails to do so, and T'challa passes on.

A year has passed since the passing of the king and protector of Wakanda. Pressure increases as the world seeks to obtain some vibranium, and to further protect Wakanda, they press harder to continue trying to synthesize the heart-shaped herb to create another Black Panther.

The U.S. military found a way to detect vibranium with a machine invented by a college student and locate some vibranium beneath the sea. They embark on an expedition to find this vibranium, but they accidentally disrupt an underwater nation of water-breathing superhumans led by a mutant named Namor.

The water-breathers annihilate the expedition team, and the U.S. military takes them to be the Wakandans. This brings problems for the Wakandans, but not as many as Namor brought for them.

Namor wants to wage war on the surface and urges Wakanda to join him, but threatens to destroy them if they refuse to do his bidding. This stirs up ill feelings between both nations, and hysteria ensues.

The biggest reason I wanted to see The Black Panther years ago was because it was going to be centered around an African culture. As an African, I was excited to see the film. At that time, I didn't know much about Chadwick Boseman. The only time I had seen him was in the Civil War, and he seemed pretty interesting there.

What I then found was a beautiful representation of African culture, which was refreshing to see, but what was more interesting was the lead actor. There was more to his acting than just the scripts; there was depth.

Black Panther is a film that goes beyond superpowers, villains, and heroes, and mere stories about saving the world. It is more of a depiction of Africans' perspectives, culture, and value for their culture. However, with a twist to it all, a superior technology was attributed to this kind of story, and what we see now is an intriguing synergy of this tech with mundane concepts.

The sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, was initially meant to be a story with Chadwick as the lead actor, but since his passing, the story had to change. And rather than changing the story just to fit in for continuity's sake, it was made as a tribute to Chadwick Boseman.

You see, Chadwick had been dealing with colon cancer for years. And, despite his battles, he was able to bring us many of our favorite films, including Da 5 Bloods and Black Panther. And in the middle of production on Black Panther 2 and other films as well, he passed on.

One aspect of the film, Black Panther 2, that I particularly enjoyed was how it reflected what had happened in reality into its plot.

It began with a portrayal of how T'challa had been terminally ill, and then with all the advancement Wakanda had, they still couldn't save their king.

As usual, there was a story to be told, but what it was going to be was unclear at first until the story picked up its pace early enough to introduce the big bad for the story.

I appreciate the approach they took with the film as regards this story with the villains. There was emergence of a new set of people, the sea dwellers, with stories dating many centuries back. Although it did not seem like much of a new concept, as it had been somewhat seen in DC comics with Aquaman, it felt interesting to have a story like that in Marvel.

Regardless, it didn't appear that the ideas they could come up with for the sea dwellers were inspired by previous work, but rather that there was a fresh touch to the whole thing, making it look new again—I liked that.

One other interesting aspect of the film for me is that it's action-packed, along with the great storylines and all. There are many fascinating parts of the film where the action felt more immersive than just seeing it off a screen—you could get into the moment, feeling on edge about just how it's all going to pan out.

There are many plot twists too. One wouldn't particularly be able to picture how things were going to fall into place, and then, with every unfolding of the parts of the film, I felt a surge of intrigue that kept me glued to every single moment.

Ryan Coogler (the director) did really well in the first part four years ago, but this time, he sure did go all out with his creativity to bring us something befitting of a tribute to a king.

One of the many things that makes this film, Black Panther, stand out is the effort, time, money, and love poured into the visual representation of the story. It is not just about the pretty tech we saw, but more about the ingenuity in delivering some concepts in non-conventional manners.

I mean, we are talking about Marvel here; there's always an insane amount of CGI (computer-generated imagery), but here, unlike many of their works, they are actually fascinating and enjoyable to watch.

Speaking of the action-packed scenes, I especially enjoyed them all, particularly because of the amazing cinematography in this film. I felt completely immersed in it because the lighting, camera angles, movements, and visual effects were all executed exceptionally!

Unto the music: I cannot even begin to fully express how perfect the songs in the film felt for me. The same applies to my friend (whom I saw the film with).

We had some of our amazing artists from Nigeria feature their songs made for Wakada Forever. It was thrilling to hear our very own sing to us in such a production. Other than those songs, every other thing we heard seemed perfectly timed.

My favorite song in the film is the one by Rihanna. It is so because of its application in the film. Now, whenever I listen to it, I remember Chadwick.

The film, Black Panther 2, was more of an emotional rollercoaster ride for me, not just for the aura of T'Challa's (Chadwick Boseman's) demise alone, as the film was not just all about that alone, but for every other thing Wakanda went through in the sequel. Emotions like despair, resentment leading to retribution, pity, fear, love, and compassion could be read and felt right off the screen. And it is owed to the amazing actors in this film.

This sequel, unlike the first, had a certain aura that gave the actors a certain drive. Chadwick's passing was heavy for them, and so therefore, this film meant so much to them.

I'd like to believe that the emotions, especially the ones of grief, came from broken hearts. Their tears, especially those of Letitia Wright, felt more real than they should have been.

A story and its characters can only come alive if the people playing the roles are actually effective in doing their bits of the whole job. So emotions aside, I'd say that Black Panther is what it is: an amazing film because of its incredible actors and their impeccable performances. But before I sign off, I'd like to appreciate the work of a true legend, Chadwick Boseman.

You see, I had seen Chadwick in films before Black Panther, but it took Black Panther for me to fall in love with him. I saw how he'd poured his heart, mind, and soul into his work. And when he passed, I went on to indulge myself by admiring some of his works once again.

Because of him, movies like 21 Bridges, Da 5 Bloods, and Message from the King will always be special to me. It seemed as though he knew he didn't have much time, and so for that cause, rather than letting the hands of time just make him fade away, he made sure to leave a mark in history as one of the most amazing actors to walk this earth. And so, until his last breath, he gave his all to everything he laid his hands on.

I originally thought there'd be a double of Chadwick used in the film, but after seeing it for myself and finding none, I realized it only made sense not to, as that could agitate certain groups of people that loved Chadwick, particularly his family, and me. No one can be like Chadwick.

As a matter of fact, I take it to be that the Black Panther character is an identical representation of Chadwick's personality, especially in light of how he fought in silence all these years and yet managed to make much of an impact in the film industry.

A king has transcended, and it shook the world. Hearts have never remained the same since the passing of Chadwick Aaron Boseman. And to pay a fitting tribute to him, the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was produced in order to commemorate a king, legend, mentor, brother, and friend.

Despite the purpose and emotions behind this film, the filmmakers were able to deliver an unforgettable film that not only reflects on the love for a lost friend but also delivers entertainment on a whole new level.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a priceless film to me, and there is no rating I could give that would do justice to my appreciation for a job well done.

This is my tribute to Chadwick Aaron Boseman.