Nigerian cinema, often referred to as Nollywood, continues to evolve, offering a diverse range of stories that reflect the country's complex social landscape. This article delves into two recent films, "The Trade" and "To Kill A Monkey", providing detailed reviews and analyses.
"The Trade": A Gripping Tale of Kidnapping and Investigation
Inspired by true events, "The Trade" tells the story of a notoriously cunning kidnapper known only as ‘Eric’ who terrorized the southern part of Nigeria for over a decade.
Authenticity and Attention to Detail
The film stands out for its authenticity, avoiding unnecessary action tropes and maintaining a coherent plot progression. Attention to detail is evident, from the makeup and effects to the costumes and set pieces, such as the small GSM phones, which add a nice touch of realism.
The blend of Igbo language and English further enhances the film's authenticity. "The Trade" sheds light on the prevalence of kidnapping in Nigeria today and shows how corruption and the broken machinery that is the police force constantly enables wickedness in this country.
Stellar Performances
Blossom Chukwujekwu delivers a stellar performance in "The Trade". Watching this richly nuanced performance from him makes a compelling case for him as one of the all-purpose leading men in Nollywood at the moment. Character development was really good.
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A Logical Investigation
What is particularly commendable about this movie is that it presents a logical and plausible investigation. They showed us how they got information about their High Net-worth kidnap victims, we saw how they stalked their targets over a period of time, we saw how they hid their victims, how they ensured the victims could never identify them, how they laundered the money received.
This movie was more focused on showing us a logical process of apprehending the culprits than showing us pointless gun fights and unrealistic action sequences.
Critique
However, there are some drawbacks. While Ali Nuhu's performance is commendable, it is argued that he was not the best fit for the role of ACP Abubakar. His character build-up was not robust enough; ACP Abubakar did not look, sound, or act bright, despite being portrayed as a legend in the police force.
Overall Impression
Like I said at the beginning, the trade is a simple movie, it is not fast paced and it cannot be described as a gripping mystery but it has its own thrill and appeal, it is a well written and nicely thought out movie. Overall, it was a really good watch, compelling story and memorable performances were matched by great direction and excellent production values. The life and death of Officer Charles is very symbolic - filled with so much passion and desire for a change, so many young Nigerians get caught in the crossfire and become collateral damage.
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"To Kill A Monkey": A Critical Examination
Kemi Adetiba, again, failed to deliver a punch after clenching her fist so tightly. To kill a monkey is not a day job. It requires smart moves, not fast moves. Just like telling a story about monkeys, or anything at that, and this seems to be what Adetiba missed in her recent crime thriller, To Kill A Monkey, which was released on Netflix on 18th July 2025.
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The film explores societal and institutional failures, portraying the struggles of different social classes, unethical behaviour in professional settings, abuse of power, systemic healthcare inadequacies, and the emotional toll of deceit and unfaithfulness.
Technical Prowess vs. Storytelling
To start with, it appears that the only thing Nollywood has learnt to do better after several decades of existence is cinematography and sound, which is more of what Adetiba fed us, again - a self-acclaimed Bruce Lee of Visuals. But what do I know? The typical Nigerian audience is fine with anything that gives the Hollywood wannabe vibes or just appears with good screen quality; maybe Nigerians only care about cameras, but there is more to storytelling than polished English, good sound, and great camera quality. Not to say these things are irrelevant, but they do not compensate for good storytelling.
To Kill A Monkey comes in a very big container, but the content is small, leaving the audience with multiple disappointments. Should I start with the underdeveloped characters, the wrong narrative being pushed, or Adetiba’s failure to keep to one of the most basic rules of creative writing, “Show, don’t tell”?
Character Development and Narrative Issues
Like some other popular Nigerian films, Nigerian producers hawk underdeveloped characters like Gala and Coke in Lagos traffic. The same trajectory is seen in Lateef Adedimeji’s Biopic, Lisabi (2024), where the eponymous character abruptly transitions from being a peasant farmer to a warrior with spiritual powers. This appears to be one of the pitfalls in To Kill A Monkey. Adetiba missed the key details of introducing not only a character but also a conflict. For every conflict, there is a proper anchor point validating and holding it together. For every character introduced, whether major or minor, there’s a part to be played in how the procession of events is affected.
Teacher’s character (played by Chidi Mokeme) appears to be a failed introduction if one pays close attention. No background story, nothing substantial, just a fast-paced introduction to build a crescendo for the denouement. First, Teacher was introduced as an OG in the cybercrime game, but we do not see any OG level attitude or character. We didn’t even see him or any of his homeboys sweet-talking a client or anything tangible; rather, we’re presented with a wealthy grandfather living large and building love with his grandchild. Again, the 30% cut was ineffective from the start because it wasn’t built on a cogent reason. Take a look at it this way. The regular HK/cybercrime structure would have that play out this way: Teacher is an OG/old taker in the game. To demand a 30% cut must be that he either taught Obuz or given him an update at one point, or Obuz had cast his net and caught a fish/client teacher had been nursing for long. That’s the only reasonable play out for a demand like that. Seems Adetiba needs to do her research properly.
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Speaking of storytelling, the movie opens with a moody, ritualistic prologue, and then kicks on with a voiceover by the main character, Efemini (William Benson), who narrates his trajectory as a poverty-stricken graduate, computer programmer, and as a struggling father who uses his workplace WiFi to sharpen his programming skills. While the movie opens on a good note, we settle into a more fascinating scene and what appears like a turning point for Efemini: a one-way ticket out of poverty. Obozuhiommwen (Bucci Franklin), a long-time friend, offers him a lucrative gig. The catch? It’s cyber fraud. Efe initially refuses, but what use is morals in the face of hunger pangs? Efe returns to Oboz - not just ready to work, but with a proposal. He’s got tech skills. And he believes incorporating his knowledge of artificial intelligence into the game will only make things smooth and yield a larger cashout than Oboz has ever seen.
Adetiba played a smart one with Efe, but didn’t flesh out his character properly. All we got from his buildup were bones, nothing more. She built anticipation and expectations with the whole introduction of AI into cybercrime and catfishing, one would have expected to see this play out one way or another, however small. A bit of action here and there. A big fish getting scammed with the AI and all. Instead, Adetiba takes us four years forward, leaving us to piece together what incorporating AI into cybercrime will look like. All expectations came crashing down.
Then Jericho comes crashing, Efe is caught in the middle of a power tussle he is not built for. Adetiba introduces Teacher, an OG in the cybercrime game, who threatens Efe by locking his daughter in a freezer on her birthday. She narrowly escapes death. What does this OG want to back off? 30% cut in all earnings made by Efe and Obuz. Does he get it? Yes. In the most unexpected old-fashioned way. But that’s not the issue.
"Show, Don't Tell"
One of the basic rules of creative writing is “Show, don’t tell”. Perhaps the character of Efe, Sparkle, and Teacher could have added more flesh if Adetiba ever understood what that means or what good is an eight-episode series if you can’t show us what we ought to see? Perhaps the narrator could have just narrated the whole story from start to finish.
The ending scenes could have helped the climax a little longer if Adetiba had paid more attention. Would it not have been interesting to watch the court proceedings come to life and see all these characters turn against Efe in court, rather than Efe just telling us? Would the court dialogue/ proceeding not have been interesting if Adetiba showed rather than told? These little details may not seem like a lot, but they do the trick.
Authenticity and Reality
For every work of fiction, there’s an element of truth. Adetiba missed out on this, and I’m not surprised that many Nigerians see this as a reality, whether fictitious or not. Little wonder it is rated 6.4/10 on IMDb. King of Boys: The Return of the King got 6.6, and the first part, King of Boys, got 6.3. This shows that Adetiba needs to do more to get past a 6, which seems like a way too generous mark at that.
The HK culture in Nigeria is undoubtedly wild; however, the HK reality and what Adetiba portrayed are on separate ends. HK culture doesn’t include kidnapping young boys into the cybercrime industry. It’s a game of choice. Fake promises? Yes. Kidnapping? No! Then what do we call what Adetiba played at? As Tim O’Brien writes in The Things They Carried, “fiction is the lie that helps us understand the truth,” quite unfortunate, as this rather fights to replace the truth.
Conclusion
Nollywood is moving, but at snail’s pace. And with creatives like Adetiba, we can do better and surely deserve better. On the surface, To Kill A Monkey is a great movie.
