Gangues de Lagos

Let's talk about Gangs of Lagos, a new Nigerian movie that have got the whole country talking.

I've been a long standing critic of the Nigerian movie industry, noticeable, is the fact I still don't refer to the film industry as "Nollywood", that's a conversation for another day! But Greoh Studios though cliché in their story telling, have made a name for themselves in the Action Genre. What a man can do, a woman can only try, right?

Just two major movies down and the nation is already overwhelmed (Brotherhood and Gangs of Lagos).

The only thing I see lacking from this studio is attension to detail, little errors that could be avoided but if you ain't detailed yourself, you may not even notice those errors. Considering the budget for the movie, the production came out great, mark my words; only few Hollywood studios can make a movie this good with the same budget.

Gangs of Lagos tells a Nigerian story in a brilliant way, bringing a blend of western story style with Nigerian tradition. The originality, costume, less use of English, Action choreography(5.5/10 and this is the best I have seen a Nigerian movie do). The pictures and sound were great, the sound particularly for me...

What made the movie great also was even though I knew I was seeing regular gang movie clichés, I was still glued to my screen and I enjoyed every bit of the movie.

A recommended watch for every lover of good movie.

I watched this as a Westerner - imagine the experience might be different for those versed in Nollywood.

The first half of the film is solid - a brothers-from-the-streets tale of organised crime of the kind that you've seen a dozen times before, but the Lagos setting and solid performances (at least from the leads) help it stand out. The second half limps home though. As the action ramps up the plot becomes increasingly threadbare, as it seems does the budget. It's telling of this decline that - bizarrely - a large chunk of the final showdown is very obviously greenscreened, despite just having a generic rooftop background. Without the grounding in the Lagos streets that carries the opening, the latter stages just feel like a very low budget US action flick.

I am reviewing this with a balanced view of Western & Nigerian enthusiasm - this is the best Nigerian movie I have watched in a decade. Follow me...

THE STORY I spent my early years in Lagos (born and bred) and could see the realities portrayed in this masterpiece. I often left the comfort of my safer part of Lagos to visit the parts of Lagos (Isale Eko, Mushin, Oshodi), where you can see the hustle and bustle of those that lived the lives portrayed by this movie - the story, the language, mannerism and style of fight is accurate. In my teenage, I had seen a couple of 'Ify's' collecting 'illegal' tax from market women while maintaining a level of 'law and order' the Nigerian Police could not keep in those localities.

THE ACTING This is a Nigerian movie that was as close to accurate as it gets in portraying how a Nigerian would walk, talk, think and fight. This is on point. Trying to overdo the choreography would have taken the originality away.

THE MESSAGE The message of how some people grow up in such tougher parts of Lagos and get to embrace that life without necessarily trying to escape the dangers is real. The political exploitation of those foot soldiers is as accurate as it gets as well - 'touts' and 'area boys' as we call them fighting for 'leaders' and 'political parties' they have been told to believe in. The influence cannot be overemphasised.

Well done to the cast. I have ensured no spoilers are in this review so that can go and watch it for yourself.

What can I say. I seen this advertised as a must watch film. Advertised as English language so much to my surprise when it was barely 10% English but I thought ahhhh still looks good so I'll stick it out

For the best part it's a very strong storyline, the characters are believable. Some of the fight scenes are so bad they're good like they flip over and fall without any impact whatsoever which makes me think of old school Japanese movies.

A few plot holes and some characters not really developed enough to really understand the anger but overall a very enjoyable film.

Only gripe I have is some of the dialogue was a bit fast on the subtitles so I found myself pausing to read or rewinding to catch the full statement because it was being done at the same time as an action sequence that I also wanted to watch.

Gangs of Lagos is a Nigerian gangster crime thriller film that was released on April 7, 2023, as the first Amazon Original Movie from Africa1. It is directed by Jade Osiberu and stars Tobi Bakre, Adesua Etomi, Iyabo Ojo, and many others. The film is about a group of friends who grew up in the Isale Eko area of Lagos, Nigeria, and became involved in crime and violence. The film follows their lives as they face challenges, betrayals, and revenge. The film has received positive reviews from critics and audiences, who praised the film's authenticity, action, and performances23. The film also sparked some controversy over its portrayal of the Eyo masquerades, a cultural symbol of Lagos.