I give this a 9 for a Nigerian movie, and a 4 for an International movie. This is in some ways a compliment as one often doesn't bother to even rank a local movie using an international eye, and one doesn't bother to spend time to write a review.
A great attempt by Kemi Adetiba as this movie raises the bar for other Nigerian filmmakers to do better than the typical ancestral curse movies or the numerous bland movies lacking a plot that you switch the TV to just to create background white noise when working on your computer.
To be more specific, I liked:
- The acting especially that of Makanaki (Reminisce) and Eniola Salami (Sola Sobowale),
- The localized take on the Godfather
- The depiction of the relatable corruption prevalent in Nigeria
- The subtle infusion of humour in Odogwu Malis (IllBliss) character
- Some of the character dialogues (e.g. scenes with Eniola and Aare Akinwande, scene with )
I didn't like:
- Poor editing. Several scenes were either overly long and seemed to be dragging e.g. some of the policeman's scenes, the Makanaki/Eniola religious prayer scenes etc, or not even required at all e.g. the Music performance near the start of the movie
- The long running time (especially as it could easily have been avoided in this instance)
- Unnecessary wailing and screaming by some of the characters (especially Eniola Badmus, that is her acting trademark, but the director should have caught that as it was out of character for her role)
- The product placements were too obvious especially for Brabus
- Some of the Godfather comparisons were getting obvious (still liked that though)
- The particular scene where a particular character was shot, and we the audience was misdirected, could have been better directed. The camera angles and actors' body postures gave it away.
- The practical/special effects in the prison scene can be improved upon, there was no fire in the prison, minimal smoke, etc.
All in, it was a great movie for a Nigerian movie and can be improved upon
