Ordinarily, this review would be a juxtaposition of both parts of the Omo Ghetto movie, but for the sake of the distance in time between the both of them, this would be an independent review.
One thing Nollywood producers (especially the mainstream/high-end ones) never fail at is hype. The promotions about a movie before its actual release can sometimes give one mixed feeling because you wonder if it’s not just all hype at the end of the day. This movie can literally pass as the most hyped for 2020. Now the question is, is Omo Ghetto The Saga worth the hype???
After unfazed anticipation and a well-spent 2hrs 50 minutes (approximately), we assert that the answer to that question is all shades of Yesssss!!!!!
We know Funke Akindele Bello to be good at what she does. Her growth from just a character to a producer, and constantly being involved in relatable stories is one thing that has won her a battalion of very loyal fans. It is this same dynamism that we see throughout this production, where she acts as two different characters: Lefty Omoghetto (christened Shalewa), the one who doesn’t do anything right because her name is Lefty, and Ayomide the one who is probably right. Lol. We also see her ability to sew together pieces of different stories in this production; love, heartbreak, loyalty, comedy, and war.
In the beginning, we see Lefty helping a little child escape the police because he has just been caught with illegal drugs. She seizes the drugs from him which incurs the wrath of their gang leader—Mogambo(played by Yemi Alade), who is apparently a highly dreaded yet conservative character in the ghetto. We see a display of loyalty as her friends from the “askamaya bees” Nikky, Chomichoko, and Busty come to fight in her defense. They are however overpowered by Gambo and her gang. But thanks to Femi Stones and his gang, they get rescued. From there we see the romantic side of Lefty thanking her lover Femi for rescuing her—a damsel in distress.
Moving forward, we see her in the family scene. Her mother Mrs. Benson is complaining about her not wanting to settle down and “be useful” with her life. Her twin sister Ayomide is a motivational speaker who seems to have it all together—a husband and two kids, the perfect definition of “usefulness” by her mother we suppose. Lefty isn’t by any means fazed by these pressures from her family. She believes she knows what she is doing and that she is on the same page with her lover. But we later see that the relationship doesn’t mean the same for both parties. A couple of times, Femi would get into trouble and we would see Lefty on her toes trying to do everything possible to help out. Then the one time she gets arrested for a crime Femi committed, he is nowhere to be found. She keeps reaching out yet he doesn’t flinch. We also see that officer Dede, Femi’s ally is the head of the police station where Lefty is arrested yet the only person Femi moves a muscle for is his fellow culprit and that is because she threatens him. How wicked right???? The ruthlessness of the character Femi is quite evident throughout the plot. Apart from being an internet fraudster, he invites a white lady to Nigeria only to take advantage of her. It is this same unrepentant ruthlessness that starts the war between the two parties—Askamaya Bees and Femi’s gang, after Femi kidnaps lefty’s sister for “closure”.
Throughout the movie, we consider some scenes as highlights and here are some of those.
The first would be the way characters are introduced to our screens, a really impressive feature. For example, Aza Dollars played by Zuby Michael had a legendary introduction. It had the whole cinema screaming. Eniola Badmus—Busty being in her room singing when Mogambo’s gang bursts in, requesting for Lefty, driving Busty to say “even if you check inside my breast, you no go see Lefty”.
Another thing is the Askamaya bees theme song and how it featured unsparingly throughout the movie. It even has a special dance that Lefty has apparently indoctrinated her brother-in-law into, her niece and nephew. The Askamaya bees greeting is about the next thing that catches our attention—”happen; shell”. Still on Askamaya Bees, their confrontation with Ojuna boys was a highlight too. How they chant their leader Tambolo and we expect the big guy in front only to see a smaller person emerge from their midst. That’s about the most ironic scene because he tries to prove his worthiness by even cutting his arm yet, he and his gang get beaten and humiliated by the Askamaya Bees. Except for Busty of course who always runs when it’s getting hot “Lefty, o por o!!!”
The next best scene we would say is the party. Where Mrs Benson’s friends get high from eating Chomichoko’s special fried rice unaware that it is weed that makes it “special” and they make a great fool of themselves. Literally, Party Scatter!!! Also, when Ayomide gets kidnapped, Lefty crying and regretting how little she knows her sister yet it is her issues that got her kidnapped. Again, Lefty’s constant back and forth with their house aids Amaka and Dafe. Pure cruise!!!!!! Looool.
Mario!!! His Royal Highness Sir!!! We hail o. It’s his constant highness for us though. Him adding sprinkles of humor to the whole production does it for us, really.
Now for the most epic sets of highlights, thier proverbs!!! “Na over confidence kill February naim make am no complete. ” “God slap you, you dey look up, you wan slap your own back?” Loool. It’s how they even come up with these proverbs that’s more intriguing.
Nah, this movie’s story and plot execution was great!!!
Characters?????
Nahhhh, best cast ever!!! If you are a Nollywood fan, you would realize that there was a merging of different categories of actors. Something we barely see, in fact, we dare say that there has never been such a co-production, where the mainstream actors that mostly feature in Africa magic epic and the other regular cinema actors feature in one production, and in such a dynamic way, even from the music industry. From Yemi Alade, to Zuby Michael, to Nosa Rex, to Nancy Isime, to Eniola Badmus, to Chioma Chukwuka, to Bimbo Thomas, to Timini Egbuson, to Deyemi the actor, down to every single person who featured in that production, we say we stan!!!!, restan and over stan!!!. We stan!!!!
The picture quality, costume, make-up and picture display, the realistic crafting by the make-up artists, the lighting being at the appropriate angles and degrees, the sound being in correspondence with actual actions, and being able to deliver suspense and make the action felt. In every part of this production, it’s evident that attention was paid to details and we commend that.
All in all, Omoghetto the Saga was a great production. About the best of late 2020. We say Kudos to Funke Akindele Bello and JJC Skills for an amazing production!!!
Thank you for staying with us till the end of this somewhat lengthy review(could have been longer but we considered the interests of our esteemed readers). We hope you are having a very jolly time with your loved ones. Till next time, stay jiggy, stay blessed, Merry Christmas xoxo.
