Summary: This film by Toyin Abraham tells the story of scorned woman seeks revenge on her ex lover.
Let me start by saying this movie is one of Toyin’s finest productions. It was obvious that she wanted to give us something different from her usual kind of movies but unfortunately, it did not quite work out that way because Ijakumo – the born again stripper was nothing to write home about.
What worked in Ijakumo?
To be very honest, the movie started well. I liked the cinematography, I liked the movie setting. I really liked the church scene, they had the crowd, they got the vibe so it look very realistic.
Acting and casting worked. Nothing outstanding but Kunle Remi was quite good and Sharon’s delivery at the beginning of the movie was not bad as well. It was nice to see some of our old time Nollywood stars like Bimbo Akintola, Segun Arinze and Antar Laniyan, although they were not properly utilized in this movie.
I must mention that Toyin’s acting did not work for me. She delivered her role from the beginning to the end looking distressed like someone who swallowed something bitter because I did not get her facial expressions, her movements, her outfits, the way she moved, the way she spoke…the worst scene was the point where she was screaming “i am proud of my tribal marks, i am proud of my culture.….she looked constipated.
This movie is rated 18 and since stripping is fundamental to the story, the movie was quite graphic. While this might not appeal to everyone, I am glad that they did not shy away from doing this as it made those scenes look more sultry and more realistic.
What did not work? Everything else.
The first problem was the story itself, it was very weak and not properly thought out. Most Revenge movies are satisfying because the audience is invested in getting justice for the wronged party but in this case, even though we saw what Jide did, we were not really outraged, we were not invested in Ashabi’s mission, there was no feeling of satisfaction after she accomplished her mission of taking his money or even after she killed him, i did not care. Infact, I was irritated by the entire approach.
Ijakumo was a lesson in confusion. I had so many questions, my head was spinning:
- If Ashabi was so powerful and she knew all about him and his business, she knew what his house looked like, what the thumb drive looked like, why did she not just look for Jide and punish him by herself? Why not just appear in front of him and drive him crazy slowly? Why wait for 20 years? Why did she need a stripper? Why not appear in the room and steal it herself?
- What is the syndicate? A cult or a money laundering organization?
- If the syndicate was not a ritualistic group, why were they always in a shrine surrounded by candles and people wearing red and black?
- Since it was revealed that Jide did Jazz in order to build his church, why exactly was he calling Bimbo Akintola his God
- Why did the syndicate keep all their money and secrets in a single flash drive with Jide of all people?
- How come Sharon was able to find the drive so easily? Why did Jide keep such an important item carelessly in an open box?
- Issues oporrrrrrr, i could go on and on!
This is one of the most incoherent films I have seen in a while. This movie offered so little in the way of dramatic momentum or entertainment and it is more likely to put you to sleep than thrill you.
Plot progression did not make any sense, there were too many loopholes that they did not address even till the end of the movie. Such as who was attacking the syndicate? What is the story behind the “new chronic Kidney disease” that they discovered?
There was no correlation between the movie and its title because the story was not even about the stripper, she was just a tool.
This movie took us back by over 2 decades by showing us a conversation that happened in the sky (this was very common in old Nollywood movies), but that’s not the issue, the issue is the fact that Ashabi’s father had leather chairs, a lantern and water jug in the heavenly realm, why? They drink water over there?
I did not like the Makeup and costume. The fake injury around Mary’s eyes was not properly done, I particularly hated Ashabi’s hair. Not only is it implausible that her hair grew that long in 20years, the hair looked very tacky, and the way she was always carrying it around and flipping it stressed me out! Plus I did not see its relevance to the story.
What else did i not like? The adverts. Toyin has still not mastered the art of doing it subtly. It was a little too much.
When I thought the movie could not get any worse, the end was even more disappointing.
First, the twist about Sharon having a twin was sooo unnecessary. The surrogacy story was very silly. It was too circumstantial that the stripper Ashabi hired for this project just happened to have a twin who was also a chorister in the same church. So who was actually singing? Did they know about Mary before they developed the plan to impersonate her? Make it make sense!
There is nothing I hate more than a film that tries to insult the intelligence of its audience. That twist was absolutely not necessary.
Meanwhile, Sharon should have returned to Uganda, so how was she kidnapped? How did they know about her? What happened to her Wakanow flight?
Ashabi came in to rescue Sharon but they entered the building firing shots that could have killed the person they came to rescue, what kind of rescue mission is that??
I won’t talk about the poor action sequences that we had to endure in that final act, I won’t even talk about the red mood lights everywhere or the fact that Wale and Jide did not sustain any injury all through this battle (not even a scratch or a stain to their clothes). The main thing I want to talk about is the special effects. Did you see how the bullets stopped on the screen in front of Ashabi???? If I was a cursing woman, I would have said that the editor will c***ble but thank God I am not, so all I will say is that God is watching everyone that was involved in that.!
Finally, even though Ijakumo does not work as a thriller, it is good for some head-slapping and incredulous laughter. Because you’ll just find yourself laughing out loud, shaking your head, clapping your hands and saying what do these people take us for????!!!!
I had to pause the movie at some point to check the name of the script writer. The story was written by Kehinde Joseph. I don’t know who he is but I’m sure he was going through something when he wrote this script because what kind of story is this?
Overall, Ijakumo (the born again stripper) was not a good watch for me. It was very Illogical, tension-free, it lacked a coherent narrative and it was filled with cut-rate special effects. This movie squanders a good premise and gives us an ineffective thriller – poor script, uninspired performances and weak directing.
Rating: 2.3/10
