A Lista da Vingança

The Black Book

This Nigerian Crime Thriller sees its lead character, Paul Edima, on a revenge journey against those involved in the unlawful killing of his son.

As with many blockbusters that Nollywood has been churning out in recent years, The Black Book is star-studded, from the insignificant to the important characters. This helps the movie maintain a firm grip on the performances from the cast, but Ade Laoye and Bimbo Akintola (even with her limited screen time) deserve praise for their portrayals.

The Black Book starts with a simple plot, and the first quarter is backed by its emotional core. But as the movie unfolds it becomes complex, and the twists employed don't always help the story's progress. Some relationships are glossed over, and some characters are unimportant.

Even though the plot needs refinement, the cinematography is beautiful and elevated with its choice of locations and set designs.

The Black Book can best be summed as Nigeria's answer to the American John Wick.

6/10.

We clap for Editi Effiong👏🏾 The Black book was a breath of fresh air and a beautiful production!

Only wished the film had kept the same vigor that it started out with😔

DELICIOUS

-The cast was a nice fusion of older generation (RMD, Sam Dede, Alex Usifo) and the newer generation (Ade Laoye, Denola Grey, Olumide Oworu)

-Big shout out to the production crew! Impeccable the sound quality. Yinka Edward, as always, nailed the photography. And the set design adequately suited the rough and tough ambiance

-It was obvious the movie wanted to encourage the people to rise up and act against the framing and killing of innocent young men: 'Silence is the enemy'

BLAND

-The film started on a powerful note with a vigorous altercation between police and armed men, later the momentum increased more when deacon Paul's son was framed.

Then about the time Shaffy Bello was introduced, the pace started slowing down. The dialogues became plain and the scenario casual, without creating any suspense or excitement

-Alex Usifo, Sam Dede, and Shaffy Bello, though playing notorious roles, delivered a theatrical performance.

Plus, the level of violence/fighting choreography was low and the screenplay became predictable

-The absence of symbolism failed to intensify the meaning of the story or help the audience relate to deacon Paul and his pain...

This is the first time I have ever watched in Nigerian movie but I have felt immense joy and thrill throughout this movie. Nigerians are hatred cross the world for their hacking cheating what not! But god bless Nigeria. They have plenty of talent the world has ever seen... I would like to dedicate this to all the movie lovers across the world. You will need to watch this Epic tale of a movie. You will need you will need to understand how a country like Nigeria can produce a movie like that. And you will be wondering how creativity can overcome economic in capabilities and political instabilities.. Love Nigeria from India.

I knew about Bollywood, Indian cinema where there's always a bit of choreographed dancing and singing, but never heard of Nollywood, Nigerian cinema. So this was a first for me, and most probably a last if they all are going to be of this quality. The story could have been something but it was just badly written. The acting was so-so. Some actors were okay, others were below average. Bad articulation from some wannabe actors. I'm sorry but extras also have to be good otherwise the quality of a movie goes down. The cinematography was just okay, nothing mesmerizing here. At the moment no Nollywood for me anymore.

It is quite appealing that this movie is a showcase of reality as something similar to this movie has in recent times,occurred in Nigeria. From police harassment, unlawful killing, injustice to corruption. Kudos to the director and the actors because they know their onion well and fully delivered. I had an emotional breakdown when RMD wasn't allowed to carry his son to bury framing him father of a criminal to say that this movie is heartbreaking. This movie came with a lot of suspense and cutting of scenes which left me wondering what happened in the background and I really wished they showed us more without withholding the action part. Nollywood is yet to reach its peak, getting better and better and with that the shortcomings in the movie are not an issue for me as the main focus of the movie was established.