The Sweet Spot
It is a complex story and that’s one reason it nibbles my heart. It seem disjointed in the linear storytelling approach at some point but the movie makes up for that with some really good plot twist and climatic crisis. The resolution feels good and I wonder if Kenny Bankole became a brainwashed zombie or a hybrid robot, or maybe a clone of her former self. I’m sure looking forward to that.
Tina Mba is a just Tina Mba and that ending scene that has Tina Mba, Kenny Bankole and Kate Henshaw in one frame gave me the ‘WaWu’ moment. Think back to Avengers End Game when Cap finally said: “Avengers Assemble!”, this was it for me in The Set Up 2. Add Jim Iyke to that mix, they are by far the best performant in the movie.
A Score from the future
By score, I mean the soundtrack. It’s the best I’ve experienced in a Nollywood movie. The collection was exquisite and I wondered if original songs were among those. Whoever was in charge of the music and/or sound mix deserves some recognition. I Stan.
The Adesua Effect
Reprising her role as Chike, Adesua is the on screen superhero in The Set Up 2. Like in my previous review on Elesin Oba, I am not what you will call a big fan of the lead actor in this one either. Like Odunlade, Adesua is yet to win me over. I think she’s more of the classical actors if I’m not mistaken and she just seem to lose me on screen. Or maybe it’s me losing her, either way, I’m yet to fall in love with the Adesua way. In all sincerity, I believe Adesua can be the Nollywood Charlize Theron. There are similarities and Adesua has the potential to be even better. I haven’t seen many Nollywood actors, particularly females, who are willing to take up that challenge in action movies. Kudos to her!! Maybe she just need to redefine her art a bit if you agree with my sentiment. Or what do I know! But there’s a world rooting for her out here and I’m one at the very least.
Then there was this frequent shift in the accent of Adesua too and it become disturbing for me. I think Nancy Isime did that as well. So maybe that’s more on the directing side and one thing the director has to lookout for in a next project.
The Breaking Point
The critical breaking point for me would be the fighting sequences. I think the industry’s choreographers and stunt persons need to step up. They let down this particular movie and it hurts. There is only so much the actors can do when they do not have the right professionals to guide them. Even the Nancy Isime on steroids wasn’t even spectacular. Maybe we should have a real life duel some day soon Nancy. What say you?
Another let down were the locations, and the location manager or who ever was making those decisions for the movie. The sole purpose of a safe-house is that it remains anonymous and possibly off-grid. Who came up with the idea of having a safe-house with patrol officers in front? And who came up with the idea of meeting with Chike on the hill of a dumpsite. Were Ultor and Usi not supposedly wanted by the intelligence agencies? What makes an overly exposed position discrete? I sincerely don’t get that part.
Then who’s Igwe Machitosh again? He’s skillset and lordship bothers me for most part of the movie. For his boxing arena, I would have found an underground rogue community more satisfying.
To Wrap Up
This is probably one of the most complex movie I have seen come out of Nollywood in recent years. Storywise, it’s daring. Narrative-wise, it’s like breaking the fourth wall of filmmaking. I can’t even imagine the kind of preproduction that would have gone into this; like the storyboarding of the action sequences for instance, and even the lighting setup for a good number of the scenes. I wonder what inkblot has up next in their sleeves.
Lastly, I’ll just mention a few downsides and wrap this up.
There were quite a few jump cuts here and there that wasn’t so nice but I can live with most. The part I struggled with is why handheld shots were used for most part of the movie. Obviously with steadicams and similar but my point is, cinematography should not just capture the moments but also add meaning to the moments by visualising the state of mind of characters, the scene and even the subtext and emotions. A great cinematography should contain that and more.
There’s no need for a shaking shot when the scene or your character is calm, nor is there a need for moving shots when your characters are statics until there’s a moment within the frame. Then there’s a thing about geometry, coverage and blocking; for a number of times the blocking were not so great.
In all, a good movie by director Chinaza Onuzo and it can only get better from here. Kindly recommend more of his projects with similar themes with me if you’ve seen them. He’s a champ and I think he has come to stay.
