- Tokunbo is a Nollywood crime drama directed by ace actor-turned-director, Ramsey Nouah
- The movie falls short in storytelling with unnecessary scenes and shallow character developments
- Starring Gideon Okeke as the lead, the film offers nothing new except admirable cinematic direction
“An ex-car smuggler must deliver an abducted child to her kidnappers in 3 hours or risk losing his family,” the logline sets the suspense mood. With such stakes raised, curiosity will definitely have the best of viewers.
Stakes in every movie, especially crime thrillers, have a way of igniting suspense and keeping viewers at the edge of their seats. The eponymous film Tokunbo ought to be one of such.
The use of the word ‘ought’ was not a mistake. The movie had the potential despite its cliche storyline. However, the distractions of unconnected scenes, poorly developed characters and unrealistic conversations didn't help.
Plot of ‘Tokunbo’
Tokunbo follows the story of an ex-car smuggler, Tokunbo Adesanya, played by Gideo Okeke. The birth of his newborn was a turning point that required him to abandon his criminal escapades.
Children are blessings from God, they say but I doubt Tokunbo would agree. His life turned for the worse after his son came. The baby had a heart disease that needed N9 Million for surgery. Barely surviving with his new car hailing business, he must find a way to raise the money.
To cut to the chase and avoid spoilers, Tokunbo unknowingly found a way to get money for his child. He found himself stuck with the kidnapped daughter of the first female Governor of the Central Bank, Folashade. For N30 million, he has 3 hours to deliver the girl to the kidnappers.
Character Analysis
These days, characters are poorly developed and made memorable. Some featured actors hardly change their approach from one film to another. They seem to always bring the same energy as we've always seen in their previous works, which sometimes makes it hard to differentiate them in the story. I hate to say this, but I miss the storytelling of old Nollywood when characters had depth and soul.
In Tokunbo, Chidi Mokeme, as Gaza, a notorious car smuggler leader, gives an outstanding and memorable performance. Gideon Okeke also delivers on his role except for some glitches caused by poor storytelling. On a lighter note, Raymond’s voice and conversations before his face was revealed, though disguised, reminded me of Biggie of Big Brother Najia.
I found some character conversations—the white guy, Folashade, and Majid Michel—mechanical and unrealistic in the film. Do people really talk like this in real life? Chukwudi, played by popular comedian Funnybone, excellently gave the film the comic relief it needed.
Cinematic Elements
Aside from storytelling, I commend the camera angles, movements, and cinematic feel of Tokunbo. It felt intentional and added depth to the story. For instance, when Tokunbo was waiting for someone in an office lounge. The camera angle was asymmetrical to signify the instability of his mind. Also, for Folashade, her shot when she was addressing the board members was symmetrical. This reflected her confidence and authority as the Governor of the Central bank.
The color grading of scenes was commendable in reflecting the story world and the genre of the film. The drone shots were beautiful exploring different angles of Lagos not overused in Nollywood films.
Final thoughts on ‘Tokunbo’
The deadline attached to the story raises the stakes higher. Unfortunately, the film spends too much time setting up characters while the expectations for the hero’s journey wane. When it eventually kicked off, disjointed scenes and conversations made it difficult to follow Tokunbo's journey seamlessly.
For instance, the scenes where Tokunbo had to deliver cocaine to buyers didn't drive the story forward. It rather delayed his journey of ‘delivering the kidnapped child to save his son.’ For a cliche story like this, we have seen these times and times again in Nollywood.
The poor man who has to do anything to save his family—very familiar storyline yet the delivery still falls short. Also, for a storyline that is time-bound, I'm sure I paid attention but It is surprising how the time track was almost missing and inconsistent. This made me struggle to stay invested in the journey.
The film was directed by Nollywood actor-turned-director, Ramsey Nouah, notable for his stellar performances in Living in Bondage, ‘76 and The Figurine. It is undeniable that Nouah’s attempt to direct Tokunbo was fair but it speaks volumes to the bigger problem in New Nollywood. The storytelling problem! These days, we see big budgets, sophisticated gadgets and cameras, star-studded line up of actors while the story always suffers.
There is still a lot of work to be done to revive storytelling in Nollywood. Nigerian films shouldn’t just be driven by showing off big budgets, star-studded actors, advanced cameras, and pictures alone. Storytelling is the most crucial part—no story, no film.
Tokunbo is streaming on Netflix.
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