Far from Home

Far from home managed to garner a lot of attention even before it was released on Netflix, so it's no shocker that the young adult series blitzed its way to the top of Netflix's viewership charts, but, is it worth all the hype?

Far from home tries to thrive on the novelty of being Netflix's first Nigerian young adult series, and in doing so, poorly borrows from all the tropes that the genre is known for. The first episode opens deftly, trying to display the background of the protagonist and how he manoeuvres his way into Wilmer Academy (a school for the one-percenters), but everything goes downhill from here. Far from home is unabashedly centred on its protagonist, and seeing the sprawling number of supporting characters, removes the individuality of the supporting characters and doesn't propel character development.

The themes approached by the series are half-baked at best. The plot is messy, convoluted and filled with plotholes, and most egregiously, it builds up to a climax that's rushed.

The redeeming quality Far from home has is in its cast, locations and cinematography. The cast is a good blend of upcoming actors and a-list actors; Far from home also handles its cast carefully, making sure that the renowned actors (which it has a lot of, throwing them into cameos and smaller roles) don't overshadow the newbies. The cast can also be praised for bringing the best out of the poorly fleshed story they had to work with.

In all, Far from home is binge-able and enjoyable but its innumerable flaws would leave a bad taste, especially given how much better it could have been.

For a show meant to appeal to Nigerians, this show whitewashed the culture down to the mere pronunciation of the protagonist's name; Ishaya.

There are lots more things that make the show extremely unbearable to watch such as the lack of proper context of what exactly Wilmer is, the cringeworthy dialogues, as well as the forced accents and the mediocre acting from a vast majority of the cast excluding the portrayers of the Antagonists. Surely there are much more talented actors in Nigeria; the most populated country in Africa yet the ones that make it to the big screen always represent the Nigerian movie industry quite poorly.

The show has flaws that outweigh the good parts, however i honestly couldn't stop until i got the last episode. The show had so much potential and could do better with a lot more brains put into the writing. It's worth a watch nonetheless.

I will play the devils advocate and at least say the series showed moments of promise but never delivered on that promise which was a big disappointment given the strong cast.

The cinematography and production design was the only redeeming qualities. As for the story it was poor, illogical,cringe and hard to watch. The fact that the creators decided to be derivative with the western way of high-school drama made me cringe because we have our own unique stories and experiences that haven't been given chance to flourish on the screen, only when we realise our stories are important can we truly create genuine art that do come off as pretentious.

I think the casting really boosted the series. Great acting skills, they killed their roles and that made the film a great watch for me. Ishaya embodied his role, it was fantastic. The cinematography was great too. I think the storyline was rushed and not so realistic enough. Since it was going to be a series, they would have developed the storyline better, don't see the need to rush everything in one season. We could have had more realistic feel of what living in the slum area of Isale Eko is for a young adult. It was a nice and it's one of those films I'll see again a few more times when I'm bored.

The emergence of the first young adult series from Nigeria to debut on Netflix marks a significant milestone in the country's entertainment industry. However, despite this achievement, certain aspects of the show might raise concerns among viewers, particularly regarding the apparent overuse of adapted concepts from other sources.

One of the noticeable criticisms is the utilization of themes and elements that seem borrowed or reminiscent of existing concepts. For instance, the incorporation of cheerleading, certain hairstyles, and even the uniform aesthetics that resemble those seen in the South African series "Blood and Water" may trigger a sense of déjà vu among audiences. This replication of ideas might detract from the show's originality and leave viewers questioning the creativity and uniqueness of the series.

On a positive note, the series boasts a stunning cast and impressive cinematography, which contribute significantly to its appeal. The visual presentation, combined with the charismatic performances of the actors, adds a layer of allure to the show. Additionally, the plot, while not exceptional, manages to maintain an "okay" level of intrigue, providing enough substance to keep viewers engaged.