Gangs of Lagos is a movie about love, pain and revenge. It’s a movie that highlights the realities of the underground life in Lagos state, Nigeria. The storyline follows A young boy, Obalola, who steals a bag from a woman stuck in traffic. He steals it with the help of his friend, Ify. Because of this, he revives a summons from the king of the streets, known as “Eleniyan” or “Owner of Men”. Oba is shocked to receive praise for his confidence and ability. ‘Nino’ (played by Tayo Faniran), a gang leader who is impressed by his intelligence and bravery, expresses interest in him and almost right away adopts the role of a father figure for him. But Nino wants him to go to school and achieve greatness in life Eventually he becomes a father figure to Oba’s two best friends as well. Ify and Gift. Sadly, Nino is eventually discovered dead, taking with him the dreams he had for Obalola, his companions Ify, and Gift as the group starts to work for his colleague Kazeem a vicious and greedy boss. They join the gang Nino never wanted them to be a part of. With the start of election campaigns, and truths they never thought they would find out, the three friends are drawn into gang wars that drive them to fulfil their destiny and/or revenge.
I felt very apprehensive about watching this movie. I didn’t have high expectations but neither did I have low ones. I’ve come to expect sub-par work that I automatically think is good enough simply because it is a Nollywood movie and I haven’t seen any better yet. I didn’t want to have to ‘settle’ because I didn’t expect to love this movie and I didn’t but I also had hope that I would at the very least like it-I did(sort of) but I also had a lot of thoughts on it. The film has a strong(ish) plot, however, some of the scenes seem implausible and unnecessarily theatrical. Some sequences could have been better executed, and the script could have been refined.
Keep reading to get my entire thought process while watching the movie.
- Shitty Transitions: This was one of my first thoughts. The scene where Nino gave young Obalola some money after the whole stealing a woman’s bag fiasco. Please, where did Obalola’s mother come from? That was a pretty open street, even if Obalola was too distracted to notice her walking towards them, how didn’t we see her? Is she some sort of spirit that just magically appears?
- I’m actually quite impressed by the children’s acting skills: Now I’m not a great fan or watcher of Nollywood movies but the many I’ve watched over the years have taught me to expect the worst when it comes to child actors. They’re almost never good. They count their words and it’s always more than clear that they need more acting lessons. However, these kids made me smile. They were not perfect but they did a pretty good job. On many occasions, I found myself thinking, ‘Not bad!’ Especially at the child that played young Gift(Adesua ). It felt authentic. She was ridiculous and you could kind of ‘see’ her acting but there is something she brought to the character that made me want to keep watching her.
- Disgusting. Completely and utterly disgusting: The scene where Oba’s mother tried to tell him that the abuse she was putting him through was for his own good was the most irritating thing I’ve watched in a while. A lot of people use religion to cover up a lot of horrible and heinous activities. This was the equivalent of that. I couldn’t stand it.
- Erm too fast?: When Oba ran to Nino to seek aid because he was scared and tired of his mother hurting him all in the name of averting a prophecy, I thought it made sense. I saw it coming but did I see it coming the same day they met? Nope! Did I see him claiming him as his son that same day? Nope!! Everything that happened with Nino’s partner accepting Oba as her own as well made sense too but the timing!!
- Fighting for the boy when his mother came, I got what they were trying to do but ermmm after a day ???? The day after Oba runs away from his mother, she comes looking for him but Nino and his partner wouldn’t let her take him. It makes sense. This young boy comes to you with bruises and makes it mostly clear that he no longer wants to be with his abusive mother so you protect him but I felt everything before this was so rushed, I couldn’t enjoy this bit of solidarity and care. Everything just seemed so intense, too fast.
- The scene between Obalola and Teni when he first moved into Nino’s house…Ermm weird: I’m not sure what it is. Maybe the way her voice was projected or how they made it seem like she was outside his window like on the floor or something not in another building so close to his. Weird.Weird. Weird.
- When Nino took Oba to where they were torturing a man and Oba was in the car and told not to leave; what was that pathetic excuse of a scream?
- The Strippers at London’s Club: Best representation I’ve seen in a Nollywood movie.
- Those fight scenes- the one after Nino and Ify’s death: I don’t know if that was meant to be intense and like cool but I laughed so hard my ribs hurt.
- I felt in some ways that the beginning was rushed: They wanted to give us a backstory to the main plot. They needed us to fully understand the bond Oba had with Nino and Teni and how he ended up being raised by Kazeem. That backstory was the backbone of the main plot but if that was their intention, I feel they shouldn’t have rushed how Oba came to be in Nino’s care. If you’re going to do something, do it right.
- Oh No! They’re going to kill this boy!: When the machete or axe(I’m not entirely sure of what it was)hit the back of Ify’s leg I was so upset! He deserved so much more! He did a shitty thing with his baby mama but in his own way, he stepped up and even though he didn’t, he didn’t deserve a death like that. He was too innocent. It wasn’t in any way fair and I was truly heartbroken.
- I felt bad for Oba when he started ranting to Teni about his own dreams and visions for his future. He truly did deserve so much more.
- What was that accident between Oba and Teni?: Oba had so much time to stop that car. It was pathetic but I wasn’t surprised. I get what they were trying to do but the execution…
- Where did Teni pull that gun out from, please?!: After the accident, some men try to pull Teni away and she pulls a gun on them. Very cool scene. I even screamed, ‘Come on’! but immediately after I laughed. Teni was wearing a body-con dress. She left her purse behind when she was pulled out of the car, so please, where did that gun come out of? Her lace wig??😂😂
- Why didn’t we see Teni and Oba together again after they had sex?: I fully understand that he would have wanted space after Ify’s death. I also understand him avoiding her after finding out that her father is the reason Ify and Nino were killed BUT what about Teni? Where were the scenes where she tried to comfort him or get him to talk to her? Why didn’t we see her try to grapple with the fact that her father caused all these deaths? Why didn’t we see her choose who she’s really loyal to? Why didn’t we see them interact after her father was killed? Cliffhangers are nice and all but only when they’re done right! This wasn’t a cliffhanger. It was a subplot that was thrown away. This is such a common concept in Nollywood movies.
- Please can I see more sorrow on your face Teni? Your father just died: She screamed quite well. There was a lot of screaming but I didn’t see true pain in her face. Especially after she saw the boy she’s supposedly cared about for many years and her best female friend on the roof she saw her father ‘fall’ from.
In all, I enjoyed the movie to an extent. It gave me exactly what I was expecting. Sub-par cinematography, plot, scene transitions and to an extent, acting. Gangs of Lagos offers a window into the Nigerian underworld and is a passable film overall.