Summary: This movie tells the story of 3 friends as they navigate life on the bustling streets of Isale Eko, Lagos.
What I liked
Gangs of Lagos was quite an entertaining watch. I honestly cannot say the story is original because we have seen other movies that explored the same sordid underbelly of Lagos politics and it’s street gangs, however, in light of the current happenings in Lagos and Nigeria following the last election, it would appear that this movie came just at the right time.
Gangs of Lagos shines in many areas; amazing setting and set pieces, stunning cinematography (there were so many brilliant shots) and very moving soundtrack. I liked the storytelling. One one hand Gangs of Lagos is very gritty, bloody and fierce and on the other hand, it is so emotional it almost brings tears to your eyes.
I liked how accurately they were able to capture the hustle and bustle of Isale Eko, it couldn’t have been an easy feat but they made it work.
I liked the special effects; the cuts, the blood – I liked every gory detail. The action sequences were well executed.
I liked the themes addressed in this movie. I liked the fact that it sheds light on how these political God fathers exploit young people for their own selfish gains but send their own children abroad and out of harms way. If this movie does not do anything, it should at least show young people that there is no point in dying for any politician.
Let’s talk about acting and casting. The child actors were quite impressive. The adult actors also delivered although I felt like some of them were not the best fit for the roles they were given. Tobi Bakare owned his role, I am extremely proud of how much he has honed his craft over time. Chioma Akpotha is a fantastic actress, that church scene gave me goosebumps. In terms of casting, I must mention the striking resemblance between the young Obalola and the adult Obalola, very nice touch.
What did I not like?
Character development was good to an extent but it could have been better. Let’s talk about language as a tool for character development. These characters are supposed to be razz, local, and uneducated gangsters but the only person that actually sounded and looked the part was Terrible, (played by Black Kamaru). I was not expecting all of them to sound the same but I would have liked to see some nuances in the tone, their facial expressions and their personalities that was in line with the characters they were playing. Meanwhile, Terrible passed the vibe check – he was the only person that called Kazeem “Kassim” if you know you know.
All of them sounded and looked too refined. Have you heard MC Oluomo and his guys speak??? If you saw The Trade, you’d know exactly what I mean in terms of language, attitude and how they inform how authentic a movie is. Even Kazeem – the Eleniyan did not get the speak correctly.
You might not agree with me but I believe Bimbo Ademoye should have been Gift, she definitely knows how to switch up the razz side when she has to and Adesua should have been Kazeem’s privileged abroad baby. That would have ensured that no romance would happen between Obalola and Teni because let’s not romanticize things, in the real world, no abroad babe is coming back to fall in love with a thug.
Ify’s role (played by Chike the musician) should have been given to an Igbo person who could actually speak Yoruba fluently. It defeats the purpose of saying he was born and bred in Isale Eko amongst thugs and if he could not speak and act the part. Ify and Gift looked, walked and sounded like “boti” kids.
Ekun (played by Damilola Ogunsi) as a gang leader just seemed like a joke to me with his tie and dye top, his palm slippers and fake beards. These things affected the authenticity of this movie.
If we talk about the crux of the story itself, we did not see much in terms of Gang rivalry, we did not see much about the election, we did not see much of anything really, it just seemed like Kazeem was fighting with himself.
Moving on, I’ll like to mention that there were quite a few continuity issues and it started from the scene where Kazeem killed Wemimo. Kazeem was wearing glasses with clear/transparent lenses but by the time they entered the butchering area, his glasses had changed to dark lenses…..tiny details
When Kazeem and Ify went to the barber’s shop, Ify drove the car and it was just the both of them in the room when London was killed but as they ran out of the building, there were 2 extra guys with them carrying guns, where did they come from?
Don’t forget that the entire street was bubbling when they got to the barber’s shop with people drinking and gisting but by the time they came outside, the whole street was empty, almost like they shot that scene on a different day and were unable to get the same set of people.
The night Ify was killed, his hair was different when he went to Obalola’s house, in the next scene, that same night, his hairstyle had changed to braids.
Attention to details was also not at its best. When Ify was killed, he was attacked by about 5 men with machetes, hitting him furiously and continuously, his body should have been dismembered but that did not happen and I don’t know why. Ify’s burial looked so inauthentic, like something out of a Hollywood movie. Typically, if a young street person dies in Lagos, they would organize a candle night procession, nobody is sitting down in a cathedral wearing black and matching shades. They even had a funeral wreath (the flowers with his name)how?????
Obalola’s gunshot scar (position- upper right shoulder on his back) disappeared at some point towards the end of the movie, I could actually go on and on but let me stop here
I felt the final battle was too convenient. Obalola invaded Kazeem’s secret hideout, stole his weapons and killed his men. Obalola gathered thugs from all across Lagos, he was not even being discreet about it, that was a declaration of war!
How come Kazeem and Olorogun were unaware? How come they did not do anything? They now gathered for one yeye party and got ambushed in broad daylight??? Naaa, it was too weak in my opinion.
I was hoping that Gangs of Lagos would not only build on the well-established crime film tropes about Lagos but that it would also spin into something fresh and in the process become a film that’s very influential itself but it unfortunately, it was unable to say anything new about the topic it explores.
Overall, Gangs of Lagos was not a bad watch. Despite the above stated issues, the movie still manages to entertain you thanks to a dynamic storytelling technique, effective use of effects and action sequences, some outstanding performances and excellent production values.
P.s: There was one guy following Gift around, wearing suit and turtleneck what was his purpose? To occupy space? He even carried a shovel to battle..
Rating: 7.8/10
