This is a quick update!

Did I like anything at all? Yes

I thought Timini’s acting was really good. Personally, I thought Timini carried this film. He had most of the serious lines too, and he was the only sensible person in the whole family (both families combined). He did not do too much but carried the elder brother role really well. He even spoke Yoruba..even though he struggled a lot, he tried.

So what were the issues?

I thought acting and casting really suffered. Tomike as the lead actress was a no for me; she is obviously not an actress, but it was really painful watching her try to make it work. I like Mike Afolarin as an actor, but he looked bored all through. When you take the combination of ‘i’m not actually an actress Tomike’ and ‘I’m very bored and I don’t really want to be here Folarin’ what do you get? A mismatched on screen couple. No connection, no chemistry, even the proposal scene was flat. It was a big NO for me. Bolaji Ogunmola should not have bothered with this film; she struggled in every scene. She was supposed to be best friends with the bride, but then again, they did not even look like they knew each other, talk less of being friends.

Next, I did not like the story, neither did I like the storytelling. The big issue or the main conflict in this film seemed quite silly to me. It’s bad enough that I’m watching a film about Magun in 2025, but the fact that there was just really nothing to see was a let down. They were just dragging it. They had nothing interesting to do or say, so they just kept going back and forth. They even brought in Lizzy Jay to do her usual routine. It was exhausting to watch.

I thought there were so many things they failed to address, so many angles they could have explored, such as Dapo’s parents and what actually went wrong with their marriage. Being together in the same space should have been an opportunity for them as a family to address things and start healing. We saw bits and pieces from the children’s perspective, but the main issue was never addressed; it was just this big elephant in the room. I don’t think Yemi Solade and Ronke Oshodi Oke had any actual conversation in this film, and that was ridiculous to me.

I know they explained at the end that inviting all of them to stay in the same house was the Muyiwa Ademola’s idea but but it seemed lazy and pointless to me because…the man was hardly even there to see anything. I doubt they were all ever in the same room at the same time. So what was the point?

I had so many questions while watching. Aunty Yetunde mentioned that since she married her husband, he has never touched her, and everyone just moved on. Why? Was he impotent? How long were they married for? 2 months? Years? It was never addressed. He even went to the wedding, and we saw the both of them flirting and dancing. How? In what world?

The Herbalist came, and the two adulterers told him they had sex in multiple locations. How was that possible? If you think about it, once he entered Aunty Yetunde, he was stuck. He should not have been able to remove his penis, and they should not have been able to move from one position to the other. Because are we to believe that the Magun allowed them to try multiple styles, positions and locations before it decided to do its job? 

Speaking of the herbalist, why couldn’t he come into the house through another door? It’s a petty reason, but I hated that this film seemed to assume there was only one door in that house. Because I had no business watching that scene where Itele was supposed to be pretending to be a pastor. Don’t get me wrong, Itele’s performance was not bad; it was just an unnecessary scene.

I won’t say anything about the fact that it seemed the film kept on alternating from day time to night time. I won’t say anything about Baba Latin’s appearance and disappearance, I won’t say anything about that ambulance scene and the ridiculousness of it all but when I thought the film was over, and the Owambe party was a good note to end things while enjoying great music, they stopped the live band and introduced LAX. Why? Surely they must have noticed that the transition was so bad. I mean the change in tempo was quite jarring and disappointing because who asked them?

I have never taken movie hypes seriously; I always wait to see for myself, but I was really looking forward to this one, but I hate to tell you that Ajosepo’s trailer was more exciting and entertaining than the film itself.

Have you seen it? Thoughts?

Rating: 3.5/10

Read the review of The Herd. 

We have a fun and vibrant community on Instagram and Twitter, you can also join the conversation there or Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!