MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Jolly Roger’ promising movie almost marred by predictable storyline

Movie Title: Jolly Roger

Runtime: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Cast: Kunle Oshodi-Glover, Kunle ‘Frank Donga’ Idowu, Toyin Oshinaike, Daniel Etim Effiong, Deyemi Okanlawon, Tope Tedela, Toni Tones, and Tina Mba

Director: Walter ‘Waltbanger’ Taylaur

Release Date: 11th March 2023

Since the inception of Nollywood, Nigerian films have always been a medium to spotlight various societal issues.

Whether 2018’s Oluture, which explored the theme of prostitution, or 2023’s The Trade, which is based on actual incidents about a famous kidnapper, these movies have become a prevalent trend among producers.

The latest addition to Nollywood’s socio-centric catalogue is the 2022 Nolly Noir crime thriller Jolly Roger, directed by Walter ‘Waltbanger’ Taylaur, the creative mind behind the popular comedy and crime movie Gbomo Gbomo Express.

Jolly Rogers is similar to the storyline for the American crime thriller trilogy John Wick. The film, recently released on Netflix, follows a man, Brume (Daniel Etim Effiong), who sets out to kidnap two corrupt police officers, Flexi (Kunle ‘Frank Donga’ Idowu) and Yaw (Toyin Oshinaike), with the help of his best friend, Dammy (Deyemi Okanlawon). So, he dresses up as an internet fraudster, goes to a checkpoint, and eventually manipulates them to go home with him. Upon arriving at his place, the officers were drugged.

The subsequent scenes show the police officers getting tortured alongside flashbacks about the events that led to the present. It is revealed that Brume was married to the love of his life, Najite (Toni Tones). Unfortunately, her inability to get pregnant and the interference of Brume’s mother (Tina Mba) cause a rift among the couple. Things soon become optimistic as she becomes pregnant. A happy Brume is heartbroken when she later reveals that he is not the father.

The Night of the Revelatory is when she gets killed by the two police officers taken hostage by Brume.

A few minutes into the movie, Jolly Roger can quickly be described as your typical cliche revenge storyline. We watch a man who hopes to avenge the death of his wife. While the effort to use a relatively new narrative to explore the central theme of police brutality is applaudable, it wasn’t enough to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

The plot elements were predictable, including the surprising twist that Brume’s best friend and accomplice was the man his wife cheated with. To be sincere, things would have been more interesting if the writers had included jaw-dropping spins. For example, we could have had an alternate storyline where instead of Dammy impregnating Najite, it was one of the police officers who raped her a few months ago. Najite would be unable to recognise his face until the night she and Brume meet, and then, with her last dying breath, she would make the shocking revelation to Brume. This offers a gasp factor and makes Brume’s motive more intense and justifiable.

There also needed to be more varied delivery of lines and downplaying of characters. A few lines from Brume lacked weight; they failed to portray the strong effect the writer probably intended. In terms of downplaying, the portrayal of the police officers as villains was unbelievable. They could have gone in a more ruthless and unsympathetic direction. It was hard to pity or hate them because they were underdeveloped, and this, in a way, reduced the stakes.

Another characterisation done wrong is that of Dammy, Brume’s best friend. The introduction and a few flashbacks show him as a good friend. Suddenly, we are expected to believe he is someone who betrays his friend without a good reason or easily caves with a solid logical thinking process when offered a whopping sum of 50 million by the captured officers.

All of the above doesn’t take away from the excellent casting choices. Tina Mba, the educated yet ignorant mother-in-law, is great, Toni Tones as Najite is a breath of fresh air from her badass roles, and Daniel Etim Effiong as Brume is spot on.

To wrap things up, what sets Jolly Roger apart from other films is the choice to tell police brutality through a romantic lens.

Final Verdict

6/10. It’s somewhat original and had a few scenes that piqued my attention.

Jolly Roger is now streaming on Netflix.