The highly anticipated ‘Gangs of Lagos’ movie, produced and directed by Jade Osiberu, is now showing exclusively on prime video, and trust Kemi FIlani to bring you a review of it.
Gangs of Lagos is co-produced by Kemi Lala Akindoju and stars Tobi Bakare, Adesua Etomi-Wellington, Pasuma, Chioma Akpotha, Bimbo Ademoye, Zlatan Ibile, Iyabo Ojo, Tayo Faniran and musician-turned-actor Chike.
You see, we had high expectations for Gangs of Lagos, especially, following how Jade Osiberu keeps breaking the records with the kind of movies she churns out, from Isoken to Sugar Rush, the Trade, and Brotherhood, but Gangs of Lagos didn’t exactly meet the standard expected of it, for us.
Even though the characters brought in their A game, Gangs of Lagos felt like a toddler crawling behind the Brotherhood movie, which so far is still the best action Nollywood movie.
Gang of Lagos revolves around a group of friends, Obalola, Gift, and Ify, who each have to navigate their own destiny, growing up on the bustling streets and neighbourhood of Isale Eko, Lagos. They grew up on the rough and vibrant streets of Isale Eko, Lagos.
We see the effort put in to take a closer look at thuggery and politically affiliated gang culture in Nigeria, exploring backstories that many have historically overlooked; however, it requires the viewer’s patience to sit through till the end.
The story wasn’t exactly grip-worthy from the beginning, which started with a narration showing the three friends from childhood, and how they matured. It dragged and was hard to keep up with.
As the story evolved, around the last 30 minutes, Gangs of Lagos turned out to be a gritty and compelling watch, which is why it really requires the viewer’s patience to sit through.
Meanwhile, we weren’t impressed with Adesua Etomi’s Yoruba; her younger version’s Yoruba was more fluent so we wonder what happened to hers after she grew. Kudos to the child actors on “Gangs of Lagos” by the way, they are so so good.
And that church scene with Chioma Chukwuma was really heart-rending, we felt her emotions!
From us at Kemi FIlani, it is a 6/10 for its striking and hard-hitting visuals, production, and relevance to the recent goings-on in Nigeria’s 2023 presidential and gubernatorial elections; how street urchins are used to kill and carry out dirty games for the kingmakers who wine and dine with their own kids having the best life.
