In recent times, Nollywood has taken a turn for the better as filmmakers have been consistent with making blockbusters; this is of one such movies.
Brotherhood is a movie that tells the story of two brothers (twins actually) Wale and Akin who encounter a gruesome experience that leads to the death of their parents on a night that is supposed to represent joy. This is the introductory scene, next we see that the boys have grown into young men with very different life paths. Wale is now a police officer while Akin is an ex-convict who still continues to get into trouble. On the Day of Akin’s release, he hears about the notorious armed robbery group known as The Ojujo Boys, and on the same day, his path crosses with them and a partnership is formed. This is what makes for the rest of the plot.
Some of my favourite things about this movie include the story, casting, costuming, song choice, attention to detail, and humor. The movie is star-studded but there is a balance since the plot is rich, and the actors are given roles that they execute so excellently. Typically when Nollywood films are star-studded it is to distract from the bad plot. This is one of the few star-studded movies that have been able to achieve this in recent times. The costuming and CGI were really impressive. The gunshot scenes were in sync, injuries were believable, and little details were accounted for most times. Their robbery scenes, the attaching of plate numbers, disposing of the dispatch boxes, and the other extra additions made it brilliant. These details could have been easily done away with but the fact that they got added makes the film more A-list. I enjoyed watching the wedding scene. I liked the colour theme car-dressing thing- even though this was obviously what would give them up; because omo, you are either a mechanic or a baller. Lol. I enjoyed the scene where Wale used money to shut Akin up. In their shootout with the police, I noticed the difference in ammunition- this too was quite believable. It’s an unfortunate portrayal of the reality of our security bodies in Nigeria, but let’s not get into that. And the highlight for me was the scene where Wale fell from third mainland bridge. That scene was done so well! So much so that if the producers show me a bts that shows that he didn’t really fall in and it was all green screen, I would argue with them. Lol.
Indeed, the movie ticks a couple of boxes for a good one, someone in the cinema even argued that it was the best Nollywood action film ever made. But it was not without flaws, and some of these I believe could be avoidable.
First, it is too fast-paced. The story was rich but the progression moved along with the speed of light. Akin had just met Kamsi and the next thing, she is pregnant for him. I mean, one would expect that the discouragement given by Akin’s colleague was some form of foreshadowing as to what would happen in his pursuit of Kamsi, but it wasn’t so. We do not see any form of resistance. Next thing, they are getting married. Like why are you running? We see this again in the first heist. Wale is just talking about the guys he knows and the next thing they are introduced to our screens and we are at the scene of the robbery already. Maybe a little more story should have been built around that.
Another thing I noticed was that some characters didn’t meet up to expectations. Like First lady given to Toni Tones. I expected her to be a lot smarter than joining them in their stupid decisions like the wedding show-off. I can’t remember other examples of this right now. Also, was I the only one who saw that Toni Tones was the same person used as bait for the robbery that killed the parents of Akin and Wale in the very first scene, yet she was present in their adulthood as a young girl? Please someone explain this to me and tell me I’m wrong.
Finally, I loved Wale’s comeback at Izra. Izra’s death was definitely the most exciting thing, next to Wale’s ‘them never see me coming‘ call to Akin. There were tears in my eyes as he said “Olopa”.
At the end of the day, the movie proved that family can be the most annoying part of your life, but you always share an unbreakable bond.
Overall, it was a good movie. I suspect there will be a sequel about Shadow’s death (and particular happenings of the last robbery) because he was too big a character to end that way.
I’ll rate this a strong 7.5/10.
