By Naomi Salami
Movie Title: Gangs of Lagos
Release Date: 07, April 2023
Runtime: 2 hours 4 mins.
Director: Jadesola Osiberu
Producer: Jadesola Osiberu
Background
The much-anticipated movie, Gangs of Lagos was released on Friday, 7th of April, 2023 and it’s safe to say that it meets viewers’ expectations. The action-thriller echoes the effects of moral decadence which has eaten deep into the fabric of the nation, and is being notoriously promoted by corrupt politicians and their lust for power which seemed to foster organised crime.
The movie dwells on the lives of our protagonist, Obalola, played by former BBNaija housemate, Tobi Bakre and his close friends, Gift (Adesua Etomi-Wellington) and Ifeanyi (Chike Osebuka); and their rat race in the heart of Isale Eko, also known as Lagos Island where cult rivalry and street fights are common features. But they were all able to carry on despite all odds.
The Plot
Welcome to Isale Eko, also known as Lagos Island, which is arguably the first developed and civilised Lagos metropolis. It is also native to Lagosians. The movie did an excellent job of capturing the regular hustle and bustle of the streets of Isale Eko, where the notorious mantra of the survival of the fittest rules. It started off by showing the city’s region in all its glory, swamped with traffic and for anyone who lives or lived in Lagos, this is very relatable.
We saw two boys, young Obalola (Maleek Sanni) and young Ify (Oluwanifemi Lawal) who mugged a woman (Eniola Badmus) and made away with her bag. We needed no soothsayer to tell us that Oba was our main character because of the fire he had in his eyes at the moment. He excellently played the character. As the movie progressed, we got to see that no matter what you did in that part of town to survive, be it illegal gambling, drug pushing, stealing from containers to pick-pocketing, you had to give a share of your proceeds to the Eleniyan in your area, which means the owner of men. The Eleniyan at the time was known as Alaye Bam Bam played by Ayo Lijadu, who happened to be a notorious gang leader in his youth. Although he was retiring, he still had a few instructions to give to Nino (Tayo Faniran) about the upcoming elections and what they needed to achieve. And just like in real life, elections were a do-or-die affair in that part of town and it usually ended in bloodshed.
Nino turned out to be an important factor in the life of Oba, who saw him more like a father figure, especially after he took him in or rather, saved him from his mother (Iyabo Ojo), who did unspeakable things to him all in the name of casting out demons and saving him from the devil. Oba’s insistence on staying with Nino pushed his mother to disown him and she refused to see him even when he called her a few years later to talk to her. The scenes involving Obalola and his mother were few but very emotional.
Unfortunately for our protagonist, his time with Nino was cut short due to betrayal and jealousy but we didn’t know that at the time, we thought his death was caused by a rival gang. And just like Obalola said in his narration, “Kings are never buried alone” and his death sparked rivalry and battle between the two gangs which resulted in the death of over a 100 men. His death caused a drastic shift in the life of Oba and his friends and their dreams of becoming more than street thugs were almost lost.
Credit: Prime Video Naija
The Casts
Let’s talk about Adesua Etomi-Wellington’s riveting performance as the character Gift. The audience was in awe of her daring acts, courage, and outstanding elegance. As she transitioned from diplomatic and peace-loving to the notorious, outspoken, and worthy opponent to the men in the movie who had nothing on her. Adesua became a very different person from the one we may have come to be familiar with and her hairstyles in the movie would undoubtedly create a fashion that may have since been forgotten.
Without praising Chioma Akpotha for her outstanding portrayal of Ify’s mother, this review would fall short. Although we had previously seen several of her masterpieces, this was quite different. Particularly during the wake-keeping moment of Ify in the film, her emotions were felt strongly. Tobi Bakre, who plays the main role, Alabi Pasuma, Bimbo Ademoye, and Damilola Ogunsi all had strong performances as well. This just proves how much some of our actors have been holding back from us. We can’t wait to see more of these performances in the near future.
Drawbacks
It was hard to notice any drawbacks in this movie because of the relatability, plot twists and suspense but we couldn’t help but notice a few. Some of the fight scenes felt dragged sometimes, which made some scenes longer than they should have been. And we couldn’t help but notice that we knew nothing about Gift’s (Adesua Etomi) background in the movie. Was she homeless, did she have parental issues or dreams? We understand that she was just a supporting character, but we would have connected more with her if we had been given a glimpse into her world at one point or another. Perhaps, we would have understood how she turned out to be who she became later.
Opinion
Kudos to the creative team behind this project because we could tell that a lot of work must have gone into it to make the movie a productive and commercial success. The locations were spot on, the camera angles, the lighting of each scene, which gave us different emotions at intervals and the costumes. We might as well be expecting an Oscar anytime soon for the director, Jadesola Osiberu as her works just keep getting better each time.
If you haven’t watched Gangs of Lagos, it is currently streaming on ‘Prime Video’ and it is a blockbuster you need to feast your eyes on.
Naomi Salami is a Content Manager with Meiza Nigeria.
