The movie was premiered on Friday 5th September 2014 at the Odeon Cinema Greenwich.
On the red carpet were Florence Okonkwo,Toyin Moore, Nelson Spyk, Ruke Amata, Fatima Jabe Bio, Theodora Ibekwe Oyebade, Collins Archie Pearce, Toksy Bello, Danny Erskine, Feyisara the African Entertainer, Marie Gomez, Tolu Yesufu, Steve Hammond, M A Benson, Kevwe Ogunje, Seyi Akinoso, Fred and Titi Aseroma, cast and crew of the movie, captains of the UK Nollywood industry and members of the public.
Storyline: To me, the movie started abruptly and I tried very hard to find a theme for the whole movie. From what I saw, the movie was about an entangled couple who both had gangs armed with guns. The husband connived and conned £300,000,000 from his wife and this led to a gang war between both gangs. Eventually, the wife used her wits and emptied her husband’s account resulting in him kidnapping his children and threatening to kill them. During negotiations, when his wife pretended to have transferred the money back to him, the child (although we kept hearing children, we only saw a child) was saved and the husband (Mr. T) was arrested. We saw eventually that he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. I concluded that the ethos of the movie was that people can do anything including killing their children just for money.
As a movie reviewer and critic, I like storylines to be believable and realistic. There were a few issues in this movie. I was shocked that $300m could fit into such a small bag. If the bills were in $100 notes, that would take 30,000 bales which cannot fit that small bag and while the audience kept seeing dollar bills, we were told the money was £300m. I was confused whether the money that caused all the trouble in the movie was actually pounds or dollars.
Secondly, the movie was shot in the United Kingdom. Mr. T was arrested at the end of the movie and the proper procedure was not followed. If you watch any British soap and someone has to be arrested, you tell them why they are arrested and there is a proper caution. For ease of reference, the arrest should have been something like this:
“Mr T, I am arresting you for the kidnap of ….. You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you may later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence against you. Do you understand?”
In this industry, we need to start paying attention to detail and make our movies such that people from other ethnic backgrounds can watch and understand with ease just like we understand most Hollywood movies. Our storylines should be realistic and such that people can relate with.
For the storyline therefore, I would award a 5 out of a possible 10
Picture Quality: In some of the scenes, there were flurry pictures e.g. in the scene where Collins and Florence were and the guards were asked to leave. I was impressed with most of the cinematography especially where there was a gun battle between the two gangs. However, I saw some funny cinematography e.g. boats dancing, was that one of the cinematographer’s idea to create effects? For most of the movie, the cinematography and pictures were great.
For the picture quality, I would award an 8 out of a possible 10
Sound: Generally, the sound was good, but there were instances where there were issues. An example was where the 3 ladies were discussing about the £300,000,000. The sound was also up and down in the scene between Florence and Collins. In some cases, the sound was low. Not much to say on sound. For sound I would score a 7 out of a possible 10.
Cast: This movie had some know actors and actresses who put their experience to play. Noticeable were Chinwe Owoh and Collins Archie Pearce. Casting them brought the much needed balance to the movie. Upcoming actors like Kevwe Ogunje although he only spoke once also brought balance to the cast. I would like to commend Florence Okonkwo. She played a lead role and this is the first movie I have seen her play lead. Although she was not perfect, for a first lead Nollywood role, I think on the balance of probabilities, she did well. Her command of the Igbo language worked well where she had to speak Igbo. In some scenes, I was impressed with her, but in some scenes, it was as if she was struggling to get her lines and act at the same time and as a movie reviewer, I saw that. I think she would get better and better with more roles and if she remains focused, she may become one of the upcoming Nollywood actresses.
Some of the other cast members showed that they crammed their lines and did not really act and this showed in the movie. Their acting did not flow naturally as it should. I would like to give some examples and I do this as a positive criticism so they can look back in their next movies and do even better.
I commend Steve Hammond that in spite of his busy schedule has shown interest in the Nollywood industry. I know he has done some movies, although I have not been priviledged to lines not clear, lines too quick, seems review any of those movies. However, in this movie, I think he rushed his lines, did not fall in character and was talking more than he was acting. I think he should pace his speech and put some passion into his acting and he would do great in the industry.
Abby Fatty in my view started calm, cool collected but eventually acted as if she had crammed her lines. Overall though as a new comer in the industry, I think she did well. Chinwe Owoh made an impact. We saw her in a different kind of role from what we are used to. Like I said earlier, she lifted the movie.
For the category of cast, I would award a 6.5 out of a possible 10
Overall performance:
The movie had its issues and if we took away the title of the movie, people may not have understood what the whole movie was about. When watching a movie, in the first ten minutes, one should have an idea of the direction of the movie. In honesty, I think this was missing in this movie.
I commend the Director for spotting and using new talents and a balance of the experienced although I believe most of the cast need to continue to improve themselves.
In totality, I would award this movie in its current state a 3+ star out of a possible 5+ stars.
