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Cast: Ayo ‘AY’ Makun, Deyemi Okanlawon, Regina Daniels, Shaffy Bello, Bucci Franklin, Williams Uchemba, Sunshine Rosman, Uzee Usman, Daniel Lloyd, April Chidinmа, Anthony Offiong Edet, Toke Makinwa, Boma Akpore, Rahama Sadau, Chris Аttoh, Obi Ken, Anita ‘Real Warri Pikin’ Asuoha, Ebiama D. A., Kunle Remi, Momo Bassey Jesse, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Brain Jotter, May Edochie
Director: Toka McBaror
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Streaming Platform: Netflix
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In recent years, activists who seek a better life for “the people” have challenged the Nigerian political and government scene.
While some question the individuals involved for their political leanings, source of wealth or affluence, what is indisputable is the ever-depleting standard of living.
But who is to blame when a group of heavily armed individuals decide to take matters into their own hands?
Review
The year is 2024, exactly 10 years since Akpos (Ayo Makun) first found himself in Atlanta and then in Sun City, South Africa, among other exotic locales.
Akpos now lives in Abuja and is still the mischievous character we all know him to be. On his way to work, he foils an attempt to kidnap him.
It’s his first day at the very popular Krystal Valley Hotel. At the same venue, the Minister of Poverty Alleviation, Okon Edet (Shaffy Bello), is expected to hold a grand event.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck when Tonye Bright (Bucci Franklin), together with his heavily armed team, hit the hotel, taking everybody hostage.
Akpos, along with Femi (Deyemi Okanlawon), the hotel’s Head of Security and Idara (Regina Daniels), a hotel staff member, manage to free themselves.
It’s up to the trio to quell what was fast becoming a revolution.
A quick backstory, as captured by the opening scene of the movie. Many years before the events that took place in ‘The Waiter’, a team of armed soldiers was ambushed as they set out to release hostages from terrorists.
Tonye, a Captain in the army at the time, was presumed not to have made it out alive. As he puts it, he is now back from the dead to reform a pervading disorder.
What was supposed to be a simple operation turned into a bloodbath when the police tried to breach the perimeter.
Review
‘The Waiter’ is a movie designed to prompt viewers to think deeply about the nation’s state. However, the writers seem overwhelmed by the weight of the movie’s sub-themes.
‘The Waiter’ is another Nollywood action film with heavy gunplay without the heart-thumping effect or visible damage.
As Akpos continues his heroics, driven by mischief, the suave Superintendent Winston (Kunle Remi), a hostage negotiator more interested in the glamour of his office, is on the other side.
One thing the movie has going for it is Akpos’s brand of ‘Waffi’ humour, as well as the many fight sequences.
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Other than those, the attempt at special effects, what movie lovers call “film trick”, falls flat.
The overused Robin Hood style of stealing from the rich, in this case, the government, to give to the poor, mocks the movie’s original theme.
Verdict: 6/10
