Hooray for Nollywood
Gangs of Lagos (2023): 7 out of 10: is a gritty, action-packed crime thriller that plunges viewers into the turbulent and often violent world of Isale Eko, a densely populated area of Lagos, Nigeria. Directed by Jade Osiberu, the film attempts to blend the raw energy of street life with a by the numbers narrative about friendship, loyalty, and the cyclical nature of violence.
The story centers on Obalola, played by Tobi Bakre, and his two best friends, Ify (Chike-Ezekpeazu Osebuka) and Ganiyu (Olubamidele Adeyinka). They grow up in Isale Eko, a place where gang violence and political manipulation are deeply ingrained. Obalola, in particular, is haunted by the legacy of his father, a notorious gang leader.
As children, they witness the brutal realities of their environment, where powerful political figures exploit the vulnerable and violence is a means of survival. They are drawn into the world of gangs, initially as a way to protect themselves and their community. However, as they mature, the allure of power and wealth becomes increasingly tempting. (So yes, a very standard plot.)
The Good
The Good: I have mostly seen older Nollywood films (with certainly tighter budgets) so this was refreshing. The camera work is excellent. The atmosphere and depiction of the chaos and actual street life of Isale Eko is incredibly entertaining and enlightening.
Gangs of Lagos does not shy away from the sex and violence of such a genre. There are wonderful set pieces. The filmmakers take a few ideas clearly from a Bollywood influence that causes some of the larger gang fights to be more cartoonish and less gritty than they could have been. But overall, the effect is excellent.
The acting overall is also very good with standouts being Adesua Etomi-Wellington channeling Trinity from The Matrix and Tayo Faniran and the “good guy” gang leader who takes in our hero and bluntly should have been that protagonist of the film.
Also, a special shout out to our bad guy, Olarotimi Fakunle. He hits the perfect notes of quiet evil and honestly is another nominee of mine for someone who should have been the protagonist of the film.
The Bad
The Bad: When Walter Hill adapted The Warriors for the big screen from Sol Yurick’s 1965 novel, he had to make a few changes. The best of these (that even the author had praised) was that all the gangs have a giant meeting opening act to set up the action.
If you have read the novel, you might notice one other change. The gang is a lot less rapey. One of the major plot points of the book is when the gang betrays and gang rapes a Puerto Rican girl who helped them through enemy gang territory. (Our heroes ladies and gentleman.)
There is a difference between “good guys” and “protagonists.” Walter Hill felt if The Warriors gang raped woman as a bonding exercise during thier trip to Coney Island they may lose the audience. I am not here to argue the point. Hollywood films have been guilty of this obvious whitewashing of criminal protagonists since before sound. (Though I would note that Michael Corleone had no issues killing a hooker to gain an influence hook on a Nevada Senator and the less said about his dad’s equine actions, the better)
So how does this relate to Gangs of Lagos? Well, our protagonist Tobi Bakre gives a speech in a parked car to the daughter (Bimbo Ademoye) of the “bad guy” gang leader Olarotimi Fakunle AKA “The Butcher”.
Tobi Bakre has two basic strikes against him. One, even though he is (unconvincingly) working on the same beard as good guy gang leader of the first third of the film Tayo Faniran, he simply does not have the charisma to pull it off.
Second, he is an idiot. Remember that speech America Ferrera made in Barbie that brought that movie to a dead halt? Kind of like that speech. He complains that The Butcher recruits young people from the street to fight his wars for him and shakes down local businesses while giving the money to politicians or keeping it himself.
Tobi, what the hell do you think a gang leader in Lagos does? You realise being a criminal gang leader is going to involve some crime, yes? In a crime film, I would rather have my protagonist be evil and clever than dim. Tobi is dim.
The Ugly
The Ugly: Gangs of Lagos’s first third is focused on the childhood of our three main protagonists. While watching it, I felt it was going a little long (I could see where this was going). In retrospect, the movie seems to lose it’s a way a bit once it jumps to modern times.
I can’t put my finger on any one thing. The plot seems complicated with reveals and turncoats, but in reality it is all by the numbers. I love the Butcher in this. I wish we had more of him. (He reminds me of Ewan McGregor in Birds of Prey of all things). But unfortunately the three leads as adults don’t seem to gel like thier childhood counterparts. None of the plot reveals are that surprising or interesting and the entire enterprise simply slows down to a crawl in places. (Lots of wailing mothers.)
For a variety of reasons, I was checking my watch in the last half of the film.
In Conclusion
In Conclusion: I enjoyed Gangs of Lagos. It does not stick the landing mind you and despite being located in a foreign culture brings nothing new to the table in the by the numbers criminal climbs ranks of crime gang narrative.
Entertaining for what it is with some superb acting and set pieces.
