Suky is one movie that tries to push the boundary of filmmaking in Nollywood with its good cinematography and storyline.
Suky is the gripping story of Olasunkanmi “Suky” (James Damilare Solomon), a young man whose life takes a turn for the worse after witnessing his father’s murder at the hands of a gang leader. Twelve years on, Suky is falsely accused of robbery and thrown into one of Nigeria’s most dangerous prisons, where survival is a struggle in itself. To survive and seek justice, he must endure the brutal world of underground fighting as well as contend with a corrupt system hell-bent on destroying him.
The casting in Suky is impeccable with actors like James Damilare, Tobi Bakre, Femi Adebayo, Bimbo Ademoye, Olarotimi Fakunle, Ibrahim Yekini, and Boma Akpore.
I like it when a movie ensures that the young version of a character bears a striking resemblance with the old version. Suky did that, and crowned it with flawless switch between the two actors.
James Damilare delivers a stellar performance, ably shouldering the weight of his character’s tribulation. The scene-stealer for me, though, was Marshal, Olarotimi Fakunle. He was just as intense as he was in Gangs of Lagos, and he lent a raw, threatening aura to his character.
The action sequences are another plus. The fight scenes are gritty, with well-choreographed punches and kicks that make you wince. You can see a lot of effort was invested in making the combat brutal but realistic-looking. The cinematography is solid, with good camera angles and lighting that fit the dark mood of the story.
ÀThe color grading didn’t serve justice to the cinematography of this movie. However, I like how the colorist gave the film a dark tone, instead of blowing out the highlights and gamma.
And also, there was a continuity problem, particularly with makeup. There’s a character, Ijaya, who has a very realistic scar on his face early on, but later it starts to resemble poorly applied makeup. Those sorts of things have the effect of taking you out of the experience.
Then, there is also the prison setting. The movie has problems with realism in the way it presents the prison environment. To begin with, ropes instead of real handcuffs were lazy. And the vehicle used to transport prisoners was not official-looking. And what’s up with Ijaya—why is he a prison warden? His entire presence was off, and some plot points related to him made no sense. There comes a point when a doctor tells him he will organize a lawyer for him, which is less explanatory than confusing. If the prison was illegal or underground, why on earth would a lawyer even be an option? Those inconsistencies made some of the film feel forced. I must say the prison scene made me recall that the directors borrowed a page from the Spartacus hit television series.
One thing I can always count on is Ibrahim Yekini (Itele D Icon) giving some quotable lines. He has this manner of delivering dialogue that sticks with you, and he did not disappoint in this case. He’s one of those actors who can bring character to any scene, even a serious movie like this.
Suky is a riveting action movie with strong performances, especially from Olarotimi Fakunle and James Damilare. The action scenes are well executed, and the film does well in showing the struggle of a man against a corrupt system. The film has its flaws, though—some questionable plot choices, inconsistent makeup, and some small production errors that ought to have been prevented.
That being said, it’s still worth watching, especially if you’re a fan of action films with a vengeance twist. Although not without faults, Suky demonstrates that Nollywood is still developing, producing tales that keep individuals glued to their seats. It gets a 6/10.
