Lisabi: A Legend Is Born is the sequel to the hit movie Lisabi: The Uprising by Nollywood actor Lateef Adedimeji. It tells the story of legendary folk hero Lísabí Agbongbo-Akala and his effort to save the Egba people from the high-handedness of the Oyo Empire.
The prequel told the story of how Lisabi and his people were subjected to all manners of oppression and pushed to the wall until they couldn’t take it anymore. Then arose Lisabi with an inspirational speech that motivated the people to revolt against the Alaafin of Oyo.
The sequel stars Lateef Adedimeji, Adebimpe Oyebade, Ibrahim Yekini Itele, Olarotimi Michael Fakunle, Gbenga Okanlawon, Olumide Oworu, Olayode Juliana, Boma Akpore and Gbenga Afolayan, to mention a few.
While I enjoyed the prequel, I struggled through this latest edition. The producers should have merged both movies instead of splitting them into parts. This is because the tempo created by the first was already down before the second part was released.
One noticeable flaw in Lisabi: A Legend Is Born is the use of what looked like a diaper on the baby playing little Lisabi. That was too awkward for an epic movie since diapers were not around then.
Also, the swords and cutlasses used in the movie looked very blunt. This is in addition to the lacklustre fight scenes I saw. However, I must commend some of the fight scenes because they looked believable.
Lisabi: A Legend Is Born came with much of the CGI we saw in the prequel i.e. humans transforming into werewolves and birds, and also the sky at the battleground becoming cloudy.
Some scenes dragged on for too long, making me almost reach for the remote control to press fast-forward. An example is the scene where Lisabi was embracing the corpse of his fiancee who was killed by his friends. I wonder why the directors allowed Lisabi to hold on to the corpse for too long while crying. If that was done to evoke emotion from viewers, then it didn’t work for me. If those scenes were scrapped, then what would be left of the sequel could be inserted into the prequel to prevent us from having this jamboree called Part 2.
Lisabi: A Legend Is Born stole a concept of a scene from a very popular Bollywood movie, Bahubali. I couldn’t help but feel I was seeing Bahubali when I saw the scene where Lisabi’s mother was carrying baby Lisabi while fleeing from some soldiers who killed her by a river. That scene is very similar to the scene where Bahubali’s mother carried him as a baby while fleeing from soldiers who killed her by a river. The imitation is too alarming.
One thing Lisabi: A Legend Is Born got wrong is making the Alaafin of Oyo see dead bodies. In Yoruba culture, a king does not set his eyes on a corpse. It is taboo for such to happen. I think the Theater Arts and Motion Pictures Producers Association of Nigeria (TAMPPAN) needs to start gatekeeping movies before they are released to protect Yoruba culture from being misrepresented.
Is Lisabi: A Legend Is Born recommendable? Yes, but to those who want to see what eventually became of Lisabi after his victory over the Ilari Oyo soldiers in Part 1. However, I think Part 2 is not all that necessary. It didn’t impress me, though it is not bad. It gets a shaky 6/10.
