Nollywood gets a 78% score for producing Hakeem: Seeking Justice. It was an interesting watch, full of action and intrigue, with superb plot twists and storytelling.
I knew I was in for something awesome the moment I saw the movie poster, which looks professionally done and could be mistaken for a Hollywood project.
Hakeem: Seeking Justice stars Ali Nuhu, Bolanle Ninalowo, Chioma Chukwuka, Deyemi Okanlawon, Gabriel Afolayan, Liquorose, Regina Daniels, Skales, White Money, Zubby Michael, among others. The movie was directed by Director: Abdulrasheed ‘JJC Skillz’ Bello.
Hakeem: Seeking Justice tells the story of Hakeem Balogun (Deyemi Okanlawon), an army captain whose life took a tragic turn after leading his men on a mission that resulted in their deaths. Relieved from service, Hakeem is left to struggle as a taxi driver, a job that compounds his back pain problem. With money for surgery needed, Hakeem took up a dangerous job that led him down the rabbit hole of organ harvesting and gang violence.
What The Producers Got Right
The storyline of this movie is awesome, and the creators deserve commendation for delivering it in such a way that you won’t see the plot coming. The action is spot on, especially the fight scenes. The use of heavy artillery and the accompanying sound effect made the movie feel lively. I went to the cinema with my review lenses on, but had to take a break from scrutinising for errors when I saw the sports car stunt done in the movie. The stunt was executed with precision and executed beautifully. If that scene were cropped and advertised as a foreign movie, many would believe it.
Another thing that blew my mind away, and that of others in the cinema, was the scene where Hakeem blew a gang member’s head off with a pump-action rifle. When the head was shown, the audience at the cinema shouted in surprise because it looked so realistic. I mean, half of the head was blown off. The directors also did well by ensuring that the shot was very brief, almost as if they wanted the audience to pant for more. To me, that was good makeup. They also did well in the scene where blood was gushing out of the thigh of a doctor after Hakeem stabbed him.
The red lighting in the final scene, in which Hakeem attacked the organ-harvesting gang, was impressive. If you’ve seen the poster for the movie, the lighting of that scene is exactly like the red look of the poster. It added to the action.
What The Producers Got Wrong
Journalist Rebecca (Liquorose) was brilliant in the role of a daring journalist. However, as a journalist myself who has covered Metro stories in Nigeria, police officers never answer questions from the press at crime scenes. Even if you visit a police station to ask questions as part of your investigation into a story, the officers at the station will likely refer you to the spokesperson for the state police command, who is authorised to speak on behalf of the police. So, seeing Liquorose arrive at different crime scenes, ask detectives questions, and get answers was awkward. In real life, the police at crime scenes won’t respond because an answer they give to you at the scene might contradict the official statement released after concluding their investigation. However, this oversight doesn’t take away from the excitement the movie delivers.
I hate it when Nollywood intentionally creates a scene to distract viewers from seeing where the plot is going. When Hakeem’s gang robbed the character played by Femi Branch, the directors made the character shout out loud while issuing a warning to Hakeem and his men that he would find them and kill their families. It was awkward, especially seeing that he was being dragged away by one of his men from the rain of bullets from Hakeem’s men. In the real world, no sensible person faces bullets just to issue warnings to killers about his intention to go after their families, especially when such killers will either gun him down on the spot or ensure their families are protected from his wrath. The Femi Branch warning scene was not necessary, but it was designed to make us think he was behind what later happened to Hakeem’s loved ones. As I mentioned earlier, this doesn’t detract from the movie.
Good Acting
Deyemi Okanlawon delivered strong acting, while Zubby Michael added some moments of laughter that had the audience cracking up. Regina Daniels’ acting was mild, nothing worth mentioning. Ali Nuhu was impressive in the role of a Senator, while Chioma Chukwuka did well in the role of a detective. One actor who was enjoyable to watch was Eso Dike as Tonero. He was a tough guy and a lazy one at the same time.
Hakeem: Seeking Justice deserves an 8.5/10 and could receive a higher rating if I were to watch it again from the comfort of my own home.
