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Blood, Violence And History: A Review Of The Woman King

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Blood And Violence: A Review Of The Woman King

Inspired by actual historical event, The Woman King is a well-crafted African epic battle movie. It is filled with actions, violence, thrillers and mammoth of bloodthirsty crowd and characters. Set in Dahomey, present day Republic Of Benin during the 19th century, the movie is about an all-female unit of warriors known as Agojie (Dahomey Amazons or “bloodiest bitch”) who are all out to protect the Dahomey Kingdom against the larger Oyo Empire of Yorubas whose sole aim is to capture and enslave smaller kingdoms and also fight the Europeans who are slave traders. This movie seeks Africa as a continent that is filled with so many histories and complications.

The Woman King, though, the cast were largely Hollywood actors and actress, the movie was still able to talk about culture and gender difference. General Nanisca (Viola Davis) who happens to be the leader of the Agojie warriors sees King Ghezo, the ruler of Dahomey Kingdom as someone who is very soft-spoken and gentle. In fact, General Nanisca forced the king to give her the authority to go into war.

The main reason why this happened is because the General’s perception of the king is someone who is weak or perhaps fearful of the implication of war. For example, in one of the scene, the following dialogue erupt:

King Ghezo                            

Nanisca, you are asking me to take women to war?Nanisca? War?

General Nanisca:

My King, some things are worth fighting for!’’.

Being the leader of the Agojie (Women Warrior), General Nanisca uses the powerful language to motivate and inspire her warriors. She has a very powerful use of language. Perhaps that is her most powerful weapon in the movie beyond the strength and valor. For example, while talking to her warriors she said:

“You are called to the king’s guard. We fear no one. We feel no pain. We fight or we die”

This is definitely the motivation and inspiration they need to go to war and defend their kingdom against any impending doom.

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Movie Reviews

REVIEW: Femi Adebayo Beats His Own Record With Jagun Jagun (The Warrior)

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Femi Adebayo Jagun Jagun review

The most-talked-about movie right now in Nigeria is Jagun Jagun (The Warrior) by Nollywood actor-producer Femi Adebayo. Read on to see my review of the movie, released Thursday, August 10, exclusively on Netflix.

The Synopsis

Centered on betrayal, envy, struggle, love, and pain, Jagun Jagun tells the story of a courageous young man named Gbotija who has lost his beloved father to some group of invaders and resolves to avenge him by learning the ‘work of war’ under a notorious warlord called Ogundiji. The army Ogundiji commands is very gritty, and Ogundiji himself is a powerful fighting instrument used by influential men to destroy their antagonists.

Soon after Gbotija gets to Ogundiji’s camp, and joins his army, he meets the beautiful Kitan, and both of them fall in love. Gbotija is so brave and strong that he stands out in Ogundiji’s army in a short period of time. His fast-rising popularity piques the attention of his master, Ogundiji, who cannot stand an ‘ordinary soldier’ receiving praises under his watch.

Therefore, he puts Gbotija to a series of dangerous tests in order to get him killed, like facing Gbogunmi in a combat. It’s during the tests that his lover, Kitan, loses her life and he finds out Ogundiji is the one he has been seeking to take revenge on.

The Review

Femi Adebayo is changing the narratives about Nollywood, and turning it into an industry that Nigerians can be proud of and one that can compete with the best in the world. He has found a way to tell African stories, particularly Yoruba stories, in a way that resonates with the people—even those who are not of the culture.

His previous movie Agesinkole (King of Thieves) was such a great one that it seemed to people, including myself, that there wouldn’t be another Femi Adebayo’s movie greater than it. He himself was evidently aware of this burdensome esteem in which viewers held, and many still hold, Ageshinkole when, in his first social media post introducing Jagun Jagun, he stated: The dream was to surpass Agesinkole in every ramification. It almost seemed impossible because people kept asking ‘what else could be bigger than Ageshinkole’?

As a producer, Femi Adebayo is in his own league, on a different creativity level; and he, clearly, should not be compared! Don’t take this as meaning his works are perfect, without any flaws. No work of art, as the popular saying goes, is perfect. But, I must point out here, Jagun Jagun’s possible flaws are overshadowed by its storyline, educative, informing, entertaining, but also emotive; by its star-studded cast who masterfully protray their characters; and by its cinematography that’s nothing like I have seen in Nollywood before. If it is safe to say, Femi Adebayo has beaten his own record!

The script is fascinating; the story is straightforward, with great lessons taught; the acting is a master class, as expected of a movie with some of the best in the industry; the effect is virtuosic; and the stunts are top notch. This is a movie you want to see, I assure you.

I give it a 9/10 rating.

The Cast (Main Characters)

Femi Adebayo – Ogundiji

Lateef Adedimeji – Gbotija

Bukunmi Oluwashina – Kitan

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Ibrahim Yekini Itele – Gbogunmi

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Movie Reviews

Shanty Town Review: A Tale Of Crime, Deceit And Dark Politicking

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Shanty Town Review: A Tale Of Crime, Deceit And Dark Politicking

Shanty Town: A Tale Of Politics, Crime And Deceit

The series starts at a brisk speed and from a powerful position, establishing tension from the opening scenes. We see a ghetto or community being overrun by gunmen; smashing people’s head, shooting sporadically with no mercy while an odd upbeat war song play in the background.

Shanty Town is about a group of female sex workers (Mercy Eke, Nancy Isime and others) who are trying to escape the slum of the Shanty Town in Lagos, where they are subjected to the brutal rule of a kingpin named Scar (Chidi Mokeme). Scar, though, won’t give the girls up so easily as they are part of his money making machine.

Just like the ladies, Scar is not a free man. Scar is subservient to Chief Fernandez (Richard Mofe-Damijo), a wealthy politician whose run for governor necessitates the suspension of some of their unlawful activities. And if that weren’t enough, Scar also has to deal with Dame Dakota (Shaffy Bello). And she’d like to be governor, too. So, using the Chief’s own son, Femi (Mr P), as bait, she forces Scar to join her in bringing down the Chief.

Shanty Town tells a story about human nature by weaving a story of lies and deceit within a story of crime and romance. It shows the Nigeria political scene and many wild things happening underground.

The series makes use of good cinematography, however, there are too many unnceccesary fighting scenes. It is good that Nollywood is leaning towards making crime thriller but Shanty Town relied so much on monologue than dialogue, especially its heavy repetition, makes for a tedious viewing experience.

At the end, Shanty Town still remains what it is. Nigeria is still “Nigeria”.

Rating: 7/10

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