To be honest? I saw a clip from this movie on Twitter with a funny caption and I decided to check it out on Netflix. I am glad I did or maybe not because it made me reflect. Apparently, this movie was initially released in 2021 and was only just released to Netflix in September, 2022. This might not be your regular movie review, it’s quite personal for me, as I think it should be for everyone.
This movie is a 1 hour 12 minutes action thriller which is funny because I thought it was very short. It is about a young hustling guy, Mide Johnson, who has a law degree from the United Kingdom but has a strong passion for making music. Mide Johnson is from a rich home with a wealthy father who wants him to practice law but they do not see eye to eye for obvious reasons. However, Mide has a struggling music career despite his burning passion for it. In spite of his career struggles, he was planning to get married in a month to his pregnant lover, Hannah. By the way, I loved how the relationship was portrayed: playful, sweet and typical Nigerian relationship -nothing felt unrealistic.
On the flip side, Magnus is a passion-driven police officer, below average and struggling to provide as little as a simple meal for his family. Having lost a child to sickness, his spouse, Ekaette, was genuinely tired of living poor and raising kids in a terrible environment and threatened to leave him. Due to pressure from his wife and inability to take care of his home, Magnus started considering joining a notorious force that was known for extorting and killing innocent people.
This movie played out in a fascinating way in which Magnus and Mide had an encounter that ended terribly. I particularly loved how we were made to see things from both men’s perspectives: their struggles and their choices. It made me understand how horrible and perhaps, hopeless the Nigerian system is.
It reminded me of the entire fight against police brutality and in particular, the EndSars protests. Definitely not how I thought the movie was going to turn out. The acting, in my opinion, was great. I could feel the emotions and that stood out for me as it depicts a Nigerian’s reality from every person’s perspective. From a struggling musician to a pregnant fiancée to a poor police officer to an officer’s wife to a rich father, every perspective was properly represented.
Now, I am not going to say the overall movie was a 10/10; in fact, it was not exactly exceptional but it was a reawakening call to and for us. One of the things I took away from this movie is that ‘we are not each other’s enemies’. Life will be easier to navigate if we see things from one another’s perspective and respect it. Also, choices always have consequences.
