Gangs Of Lagos: A Review

3 Things I Liked About Gangs Of Lagos.

1. The story
   For a very long time, I have been intrigued by the Lagos Island life and how people survive in that part of town. I also like to follow stories of how street kings rise and fall across Lagos. This movie satisfied my curiosity to a very large extent and it was an enjoyable watch from start to finish.
2. The casting
   I liked the diversity displayed in the casting for this movie. In a way, you can call it star-studded, but it’s also not so star-studded. This movie had representation from various sects of nollywood and the entertainment sector. From Yinka Quadri to Yvonne Jegede, Chioma Akpotha to Black Kamoru, and Zlatan Ibile to the young lad from Ikorodu Boys who would later transform to Tobi Bakre. The casting director deserves extra payment. 👏
3. The fight scenes
   Nollywood is getting better with stunts and this movie shows us that we can do it at our own level also. I saw street fights like we know it to be on the streets, not the unrealistic Kung Fu or Taekwando fights. In this movie, you will see how people use axe, bottle, plank, machete, and even spade to kpushikamu another human being. If you don’t have the mind to see a person’s belly ripped open to let off his intestines, just forget about watching this movie. 😂

What I Didn’t Like.

1. The story rush
   As much as I liked the story, I feel it was rushed. This is a good story that could have been told in a calmer, and more measured way for us to grow with the characters and feel the emotions with them. For me, they missed the chance to turn this into a series. I would have loved to see Obalola’s dad, Nino’s influence, how Kazeem groomed Obalola, Ify, and Gift; most importantly, I needed to see the evolution of Ify’s music career for me to understand why his death had to be painful. It also felt too easy to have gotten to Eleniyan at the party. For a man with such powers, we should have seen some hard work that went into trapping him.
2. The lack of consistency and continuity issues
   This one dey vex me sha. In an earlier scene, London (Pasuma) was attacked with an axe, but the weapon bounced off his back like rubber, which looked to me like jazz (and that’s not out of place cos he is supposed to be a strong man in the hood). Imagine my surprise when it took only two bullets to end him later on. Did they forget that he had jazz?
3. The sparse use of language
   For a movie about Isale Eko, the yoruba spoken was too watered down. They all sounded like butty children learning to speak Yoruba for the first time. Even the slangs you will typically hear among Lagos Island guys were missing. The best they could come up with was “omo aye o ki n je oju aye” – and even that was overused at some point. For a film like this, casting directors should either use actors that can speak the language or ensure that those they are using take language classes.

Bonus: I just want to beg writers, producers, and directors to stop killing Chike in movies. My heart can’t take it anymore. First, he was killed gruesomely in Battleground, and I just saw him die another horrible death in this movie. Kilode nauuu!!! 🥲

The next time this happens eh, Nollywood no go sleep!!!

In all, #GangsOfLagos is an 8/10
Brotherhood remains the undisputed champion.