With yet another movie outing, legendary Nollywood actor, Odunlade Adekola, continues his pursuit of greatness in the movie industry.

He released Lakatabu (The Monster) to cinemas nationwide on June 21, 2024, after premiering it the week before. The movie, which has already raked in over N50 million at the box office, boasts of a star-studded cast, with popular actors such as Lateef Adedimeji, Adunni Ade, Ibrahim Chatta, Akin Lewis, Bolanle Ninalowo, Yomi Fash-Lanso and Adebayo Salami all featuring.

Adekola’s Lakatabu comes after Orisa, which earned the movie star an impressive N127 million during a run which started in July 2023. Considering that Orisa came fourth on the list of the highest-grossing movies of 2023, the actor and producer will be aiming to snatch the top movie of 2024 with Lakatabu.

Synopsis of Lakatabu (The Monster)

Lakatabu (The Monster) tells the story of a state-empowered armed robber who relies of magical powers to wreak havoc on the society. The lead character, Lakatabu, played by Adekola himself, started out working for a prince and politician (played by Akin Lewis) before he went solo and made money through mass abduction and attendant ransoms. The story got more interesting when Lakatabu faced opposition, starting with his former employer’s son, to a mercenary hired by the same former employer before he was finally rattled and unseated by an unexpected wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Review of Odunlade's Lakatabu (The Monster)

Lakatabu (The Monster) is an improvement on Orisa in terms of Odunlade’s overall acting and dialogue. He used to come across as a brilliant actor who ‘overacts’ because of an apparent lack of script. This extemporisation often comes as a blot in what would have been a wholesome experience. The improvement has been slow but has become obvious in Lakatabu. While the star-studded cast impresses with their performance, the plot could have been stronger with more convincing motivations for the actions of the characters. We know nothing about Lakatabu’s life before his gangsterism and his reason for venturing into it. Rather, viewers are left to try and make sense of the temperamental, smoke-heavy and sex-loving character, Lakatabu. The lampoon of corrupt, power-mongering politicians and the complicity of security agencies in the raging insecurity is commendable but there is no lesson to bring out of it in the end, yet.

The fact that Lakatabu didn’t die suggests that the movie will have a sequel, and hopefully, it will come with more answers than questions. The codeswitching and codemixing between English and Yoruba in the movie felt somehow. While Ibrahim Chatta’s attempt was an obvious play at humour, Adekola’s didn’t appear so, and made the film have a sort of linguistic crisis.

It’s not an epic movie like Orisa or Jagun Jagun, but it could have been more Yoruba-heavy than it is, as the linguistic adulteration was more of a put-off than a positive point.

If Odunlade Adekola wants to achieve the heights of Funke Akindele in the movie industry or at least crack the top 10 of Nollywood’s highest-grossing movies, which it is safe to assume he has at the back of his mind, the first step is to present an impressive plot accompanied by remarkable dialogue that will have people wanting for more.

It’s a 5/10 from here.

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