Movie Review: Criminal
Runtime: 1hr 26mins
Where to watch: Prime Video
Year of Release: 2024
Produced by: Victoria Akujobi
Written by: Niyi Akinmolayan
Directed by: Dolapo Adigun
Genre: Action-drama

How far can you go to secure a release for a loved one who ab initio had been convicted of a crime, serving jail term or awaiting trial? Is it better to leave them to face the full wrath of the law? Or would you pull some strings at your disposal to get them released with the hopes that they’d turn a new leaf upon gaining their freedom?

Don’t mean to exaggerate but this movie had me sit at the edge of my seat from the start. It was nerve-wracking, adrenaline pumping, heart palpitating…like gbim-gbim gbim-gbim!!! Ewo Chimooo! Egbami…Kai 

Been a while since a Nollywood film had me like this! The opening scenes were really fast-paced and I loved it!

Synopsis:
Fighting for his life having sustained gunshot wounds, Uzor (Uzor Arukwe) together with his three-man gang rushes his brother Chima (Austine Onuoha) to a nearby hospital (Greenleaf Hospital) owned and run by Dr. Amara Nwachukwu (Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi).

The entire staff, in-patients and visitors at the hospital which hitherto had been overwhelmed by the influx of victims from a nearby ghastly motor accident scene would then be held hostage by Uzor and his gang demanding that Chima ALONE be treated at all cost, threatening thunder and brimstone if no one does their bidding.

Racing against time and faced with a medical dilemma, Dr. Amara would then be forced to make a difficult decision, the oath she swore by virtue of her profession staring her in the face.

Save a dying pregnant woman who requires an urgent Caesarean Section to give the baby a chance at survival on one hand, and/or save a ‘criminal’ at the verge of death who has already lost so much blood, on the other hand.

How will these play out? What becomes of all the victims/patients? What happens to Uzor’s brother? Did he eventually die? Will the pregnant woman and/or her baby survive? Would Uzor and his friends Ekene (Bryan Okoye) & Obi (Chuks Joseph) be able to escape the police?

Why not grab your popcorn and/or movie pal and treat yourself to this masterpiece 

My Take:

This hostage action-drama sort of left no stone unturned as the producers and directors utilised all the arsenal within their reach to execute an incredible story giving viewers an unforgettable viewing experience! THIS, this is what I’m talking about!

I particularly loved the strong use of flashbacks and even flashback-in-flashback in the storytelling. It made for a really tight plot for the most parts answering questions that had already built up in one’s head – the suspense cleared out quite naturally. All the actors aced their performances in their own ways.

A great lesson to learn here is “…don’t judge a book by its cover!” Dr. Amara already condemned Chima to be a criminal without prior knowledge of the true situation of things. I guess she tagged him cos of his brother Uzor and his demeanour. Named and shamed by association!

The display of fierce leadership by Dr. Amara needs to be studied. Exactly what we expect of our political leaders. She stood up to the CRIMINAL gang, fearless, astute, bold, courageous yet professional!

A special applause for Funlola she embodied that role…like she took it personal.

I appreciate the subtle mention of Chimamanda Adichie’s “Purple Hibiscus” That was clever 

This movie was absolutely incredible and interesting to watch. Amazing cinematography, believable injury details, great sounds and props. However, to be brutally honest, I didn’t like that hair on Dr. Amara on her first appearance.

Uzor’s performance felt a bit underwhelming in some of the scenes. What was all that F-ing about? 

In my opinion, the F-word was used excessively and was as unnecessary as it was mechanical. It seemed forced…like must he use the F word? And some of his lines sounded repetitive.

Nevertheless, he did manage to pull off his role especially when he got really emotional. He gave us the Uzor-effect. I just love his persona! Not me picturing Zubby Michael playing that role, tho! That dude go add jara 

Furthermore, for a case of that magnitude (hospital hostage), one would have expected the press and bloggers would have flooded and mounted their cameras and all outside of the hospital for all full coverage to update online users to reflect this social media era. Outside of the hospital was dry with just a handful of people doing God-knows-what!

The scene showing how Uzor ended proved some porosity in the plot. He had already been injected with a ‘fast-reacting paralytic’, why the excessively sporadic shots by the police special force? Why did they follow him all the way down the stairs and outside only to unleash millions of bullets on him?

I was thrilled to hear Veteran actor Segun Arinze speak the Igbo language in this film as he played the role of the Police Commissioner Okafor. It’s a similar role to the one he played in Stan Nze and Alex Ekubo’s “Afamefuna”.

I however was expecting to see him again at the end of the movie to see his reaction for how Uzor ended up mostly because of the instruction he gave to his men. Or did I miss it 

Be that as it may, this movie is well worth the watch and was an absolute piece of art! Weldone to all the cast and crew!