A promising young footballer must choose between following his dreams of becoming a professional player or accepting a scholarship opportunity to study in Cyprus.
When I saw the trailer of this film, it reminded me of another sports-themed movie that I saw earlier this year—Onyeegwu. In fact, when I saw that they even cast Zubby Michael to play a very similar role to the one he played in Onyeegwu, I was worried and hoped they would at least learn from their predecessor and not fall into the same pitfalls.
I can categorically tell you that the makers of When Love Strikes did not learn anything from Onyeegwu. They repeated the same mistakes. When Love Strikes is as uninspiring as Onyeegwu. It tries to differentiate itself by introducing love and romance, but that did not really do much for the story.
What worked?
The sports commentary by Jimmie Akinsola and Suo Chapele was not bad at all. They sounded professional and looked good too.
I liked the fact that this was not a comedy, and as such, we were spared the headache of watching skit makers pretending to be actors.
The football pitch looked good. The bleachers and football fans did not look too bad either.
What were the Issues?
The story was not really my cup of tea. While sports films are always a good idea because they have the potential to inspire very strong emotions, the approach of this film was neither new nor exciting. The stakes were just too low, and the story did not resonate with me at all because it felt like I was watching Onyeegwu part 2.
The acting and casting did not work for me. In terms of acting, none of them were terrible, but there were no standout performances, so I won’t bother talking about them one after the other. I’ll just say that I was really rooting for Natse Jemide, but his performance was just there. He could have benefited from better directing. I did not understand the rationale behind casting Zubby Michael in this film. He did not do a fantastic job with the last film, so why cast him to do the same again? Also, I just could not see him as Ngozi’s father. It was weird all through. Even the parts where they tried to have father-daughter moments felt off.
Moving on, I did not like the storytelling; it was very bland. I was so bored. Again, the stakes were too low; there was nothing to really focus on. I did not care for any of the characters, nor did I care about the outcomes. Whether Ibukun Saka won the MVP award or decided to take the scholarship, it just did nothing for me.
I don’t think they were able to tell a compelling football story. Even when they scored goals, I did not feel any excitement. I think the essence of the sport was missing. The grit, discipline, sacrifice, and teamwork that define a sports film were missing. Except for the side talks with his friend Ebuka (played by Chuks Joseph), Ibukun had no serious interaction with his teammates or his coach throughout this sports film. Even the rivalry between him and Jason Okpara (played by Vine Olugu) was weak.
There were no inspiring moments, no defining moments in this film. Even the major revelations fell flat. For example, the night when Ngozi (played by Sunshine Rosman) opened her big mouth and told Ibukun about his father. The revelation came from nowhere, and Ibukun’s response just didn’t seem quite right. I mean, a random girl who barely knows you says something about your father—a man she never even knew or met. You don’t just believe her immediately. You look at her like, “Is all well at home? Do you need to lie down? Are you okay?” You laugh, tell her to take a deep breath and explain things. You’d go through so many emotions at once—shock, disbelief, denial, disappointment, then anger. We needed to see those conflicting emotions in real time, but we got nothing. He just took her word for it and flared up immediately. I felt that whole scene should have been more powerful, more nuanced, but it was just bleh.
Another thing I didn’t like was that there were too many awkward scenes. Every scene where Zubby and his daughter pretended to be knowledgeable about the game and the players was bad. Bimbo Akintola was supposed to be a strict and angry…
Nigerian mother—I could see it, but I couldn’t understand or appreciate it. The scene where Ibukun and his real father met and spoke looked so random, it could and should have been more but unfortunately it wasn’t. The entire dinner event scene was off. There was one moment that almost shined (the point where Ibukun and Ngozi were talking at the dinner event), but before it could land properly, things switched again.
The worst scene in this movie in my opinion was the part where they tried to make us believe Ngozi played football with those street kids. I was so embarrassed on their behalf because it was not okay at alll. It was not giving what they thought it would give. She did not even break a sweat. It did not look real, it was not exciting, it was not warm, It was not cute. I felt like looking away.
Let’s talk about romance in When Love Strikes. If you promise us romance, please give us proper romance and stop wasting my time! I was looking forward to seeing them masterfully weave together the worlds of sports and romance. They tried with two couples but failed on both counts and I was so disappointed.
Tinuke (played by Osas Ighodaro) and Teejay (played by Ademola Adedoyin) were one couple. I understood what they were trying to do with this subplot, but it just did not work. I didn’t feel like watching them.
As for Ibukun and Ngozi, two BEAUTIFUL people, but there was just no spark. I wanted to watch their relationship deepen. I wanted to see the moment when genuine romance began to blossom between them, but there was no such thing. The eventual kiss and declaration of love just came from nowhere. “The romance didn’t romance at all.”
Finally, I did not like the final match or the ending in general; it was underwhelming. Ibukun won, but I couldn’t cheer for him. The whole disappearance act, the graveside drama—everything was just not compelling. The beauty of watching a sports film is that rewarding feeling you get when you watch an athlete win a game they’ve poured their sweat and blood into, a game where a lot is at stake. But with this film, I could not relate. One thing I agreed with Zubby on was the fact that Ibukun was not a serious person. He did not deserve the award; he did not deserve the win because, at no point, did he seem like he was taking the whole thing seriously.
Overall, it was not a good watch for me. Don’t go into this one expecting one deep love story or fireworks. The only thing that strikes you while watching When Love Strikes is the realization that once again, you are wasting hours of your life you will never get back watching a poorly made film. When Love Strikes gave us an unconvincing sports story with no heart, no special moments, little to no entertainment value, poor performances and poor production quality.
Have you seen it? Thoughts?
My Rating: 4.2/10
Have you seen the movie, please share your thoughts with us in the comments below
Read the review of Onye Egwu.
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