DEADLY MISSION
Producer – Zeb Ejiro
Director – Andy Amanechi
Actor – Kate Henshaw Nuttall, Robert Peters, Benjamin
Joseph, Bruno Iwouha, Tony Aleg, Gogo Ombo Gogo and others.
Whoever saw a female detective of Nigerian extraction
demobilize a hunky male suspect in a manner only a Bruce Lee can? Here comes
Rocky, the only lady in a team of three detectives sent on a mission to track
down a notorious assassin. The Efik Princess on the movie run way Kate Henshaw
Nuttal plays Rocky. She is in a lead performance in this racy (by industry
standards) dramatic offering, which smacks off suspiciously as a remake of some
of these cheesy American detective flicks with action sequences.
Here is the plot. A minister of an unidentified republic was
reportedly assassinated and the police are after the assassin. They come close
to tracking down the prime suspect but an unknown person shoots him in the
process and he dies instantly. But later on in the flick, a bearded fellow
walks off shot after laughing heartily suggesting that he may be behind the
whole crime. The movie ends suggesting too that there would be a sequel to this
political drama from the stable of Zeb Ejiro and movie land productions.
This loose but gorgeously looking Nigerian retelling is a
joy to watch and the pure joy in this movie is in the lead characters-Kate
Nuttall (Rocky), Robert Peters (Meche) and Benjamin Joseph (Dotun) who showed
that they were not a bad pick for their individual roles. But it was Joseph as
Dotun who held the movie together. He bursted into most frames sounding
confident at every point.
This has a fair share of remarkable assets and a staying
power that is likely to place the audience in a mood of heightened
expectations. But it is marred by a number of improbable scenarios and poor
lighting too. That fight scene between Rocky and a fellow in one of the scenes
where a lady was nearly murdered is likely to leave viewers torn between
irritation and anger. It nearly stained the credulity so well established by
Henshaw’s earlier accurate performance. Indeed future film students would find
that scene a case study of how not to sequence a fight scene. Find ‘Deadly Mission’. It’s a satisfying fare.
.
IMPATIENCE
Producer – Theodore Anyaji
Director - Theodore
Anyaji
Actors - Georgina Onouha, Bob Manuel Udokwu, Amaechi
Muanagor, Emeka Onyiocha
Izu (Bob Manuel Udokwu) heads to the city in search of
greener pastures. He has his mother Mama Izu (Chinwe Owoh) and a village
beauty Abigail (Chidi Ihezie) his fiancée to cater for. Predictably providence
brings Izu before a ‘money miss road’ ala an elder Jennifer played by the fast
rising actress Georgina Onouha. In “Impatience” Jennifer is portrayed as a
desperate whore who is in search of a chap with Izu’s description. Well
Jennifer says she is simply “a liberated woman” and her understanding of
liberation is to flaunt wealth at a stranger and force him into a relationship?
Though tales abound on such occurrences but this was cheaply interpreted.
Anyway from here one thing leads to another and they are soon in love. Izu now
comfortable cuts off all forms of communication with his mother and Abigail. He
returns to the village much later with a shocker for Abigail who though stunned
like most members of Izu’s family accept her faith. The end of the road for Izu
was when he discovers later after they have been joined in holy matrimony with
Jennifer that she was a wolf in sheep clothing.
This looks so much like a story that has been over flogged.
There are a number of movies with this tale about people heading to Lagos and
jettisoning their vows. There are still a dozen others that make real the
popular saying that “all that
glitters is not gold”. So the movie “Impatience” is not new at all. But there
is an Anaemeke Okoro who is laying claim to the story when the major difference
between this version and its predecessors is the treatment. In fact what
Theodore Anyaji and his sponsors have merely done is to rehash and re-title one
of those accounts, this time relying on a splendid cast that include Emeka
Anyiocha (Osita) and the ageless actress Franca Brown (Mrs Ibekwe) of the Behind
of the Clouds fame.
Those who have not seen a movie of like theme would find
this a joy to watch. Theodore’s interpretation was refreshing but he was
“Impatient” so played blind to some details, which left some of the scenarios
illogical and fabulous. The acting was plausible save for this skinny fellow
whom Anyaji always throws up to provide some form of comic relief. The lady who
had a cameo as Dull Baby (she was not listed on the credit lines) provided an
‘annoying relief’ instead of the intended “comic relief”.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment