Don’t misconstrue me, it’s not all doom and gloom. At best, Odunlade Adekola finally won me over in a role that isn’t his stereotypical character. It’s a pity the story’s characters arc were generally poor, it would have been good to see Odunlade in a new light. The story feels compelling enough to keep me at my screen for the movie’s duration but could obviously had been better told.
The story has the element of being a great Epic with a few adjustments here and there going forward and I hope the producers would tow that lane if there’s going to be a sequel. I just don’t think the movie performed well enough to deserve one. Then again, I might be wrong. Okay, let’s break it down as I normally would folks….
The movie started off in the present, told in the first person narrative by a reincarnated Segun Arinze, and ended on the premise that the protagonist (who also happens to be the antagonist) would return when he, Femi Adebayo, senses some sort of injustice in the land. Yeah I know, that was a mouthful.
My point is, the story should stay Epic. It has been a while we saw a great good budget epic movie in Nollywood and personally, the battle scenes brought back memories of Ogbori Elemosho, Sango and similar epic tales. Not just time pieces, those movies were classics.
I have to applaud Femi Adebayo’s personification of Agesinkole, the lead and bandit lord. The character lacked a great story arc but that’s no Femi’s fault. In what he brought to the screen however, it’s the pure genius of a Yoruba veteran. I’m a big critic of fan-favourite Odunlade Adekola and it has never been personal. I always thought he was stereotypical and maybe that isn’t just his fault after all. Odunlade offered something fresh from his arsenal when given a different role as king of the troubled town of Ajeromi in the movie, and I actually almost admired him. Huh…. About time.
Other actors in the movie are Toyin Abraham, Adebayo Salami, Lateef Dimeji, Dele Odule among others.
The movie had some really good camera movements. There are times one would feel like the cinematographer actually knew what he was doing. Then shortly after that, you would see some weird camera angles and you’ll be like… Common man…! I’m convinced the cinematographer did better on days he had good local dishes as lunch, compared to days he had noodles…. No pun intended.
The story feels like a two act structure; if there’s anything like that. There was a middle and there was an end, and that’s about it. Even what appears to be the antagonist’s motivation coupled with the flashback sequence happened beyond the climax…. and still feels as part of the denouement. Screenwriters and novelist would be familiar with the phrase start late and exit early; King of Thieves is exactly how not to do that.
The climax, face off between Ibrahim Chatta’s Oguntade and Femi’s Agesinkole, was however quite intriguing and it was reminiscent of classics I grew up with. It felt like deja vu. Both men know their onions, and much kudos to how they played that out.
I am a terrible video editor but I appreciate good value when I see one. I’m convinced the better part of King of Thieves was the editing. And I hope the editor wasn’t the colourist, which can sometimes be the case in Nollywood movies, else he/she should just as well throw my honourary encomium into the ocean. No jokes, the editing was great… and as was the music too.
Never have I enjoyed a movie soundtrack like I did in months. King of Thieves got that right, and indigenously so. It almost made me forgot how terrible the colour grading was.
So I said the editing was great yeah? But on a second thought, I no longer know what to make of it. I’m not saying it’s now terrible, but…. there are times the sequences felt kinda rushed; with the story forcefully putting disjointed pieces together to help the pacing. I didn’t think it helped though. Then again, that isolated scenario in terms of the editing might not even be the fault of the editor but rather that of the director, producer or even the footages he had at his disposal.
Another thing I had an issue with was the contrast ratio in a few scenes. Sometimes I felt the hard lighting, or stark shadows, as the case maybe is irrelevant and creatively draining.
If Broda Shaggi and Mr Macaroni were brought in to provide comic relief, the story did a poor job at using their talent. And how was Lateef Demiji’s character introduced again…. Yeah, you guessed it; outrageously unsatisfying.
In my perspective, I believe the major issue with King of Thieves as a whole is lack of creative license; or rather the lack of the use of it. The art department encapsulated that. Nothing memorable with the production designs, set construction, nor even the slum they called a palace. I took a re-look at the Sango shrine and it looks like a ritualist hideout. And the so-called King of Thieves that have been robbing people of their valuables, and collected tributes, lived like a popper. The kingdom of Ajeromi was never really established; neither was the audience appeal.
Do I need to mention the VFX…. Hmmmm, let’s live to die another day.
See you soon!
A storyteller and film enthusiast. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @ebakintunde, make we relate further.