A legendary deity who defends the poor squares off with a ruthless police chief.
Kesari (the king) is a story of a powerful god who reincarnates as a crime boss devoted to wealth redistribution.
- Length: 1h 40 mins
- Directors: Tope Adebayo and Ibrahim Yekini Itele
- Streaming site: Netflix
THE PLOT
ACT I
“Kesari (The King)” begins in early times with Aronimoja (Odunlade Adekola) overrunning a village.
When Aronimoja demands Aribidesi’s only daughter, Wuraola, Aribidesi refuses. This eventually led to Wuraola’s terrible death at the hands of Aronimoja.
Aribidesi is then confronted by a man who had previously agreed to provide enslaved people and children every six months in exchange for settling in the land.
Distressed, Aribidesi brings his daughter’s body to a sacred tree. That tree is thought to be the deity Kesari and there, he begs for revenge.
After overcoming Aronimoja, Kesari leaves the tree and withdraws into the mountains.
ACT II
The focus of the narrative switches to Iya Abiye, a pregnant woman, and her spouse Ifadowo.
Ifadowo gives her a leaf and tells her to give it praise so that she can deliver the baby safely.
As she does, the god Kesari enters her womb and becomes their son Ifadola. This is Kesari’s rebirth, however Iya Abiye passed away during his birth.
The messengers of Orunmila, the gods, foretell Ifadola’s greatness at birth. However, they caution Ifadowo against ever touching his head out of rage.
Ifadola grows up and falls in love with Amoke, who encourages him to go to school but he refuses.
Ifadola is easily enraged and will use his powers to harm anyone who offends him. He unintentionally kills one of Orunmila’s messengers in one instance.
Ifadowo strikes Ifadola in the head out of rage after reprimanding him. This causes the disappearance of Ifadowo and turns Ifadola into the god Kesari.
When Ifadola’s head turns gold and starts to float in the air, criminals and law enforcement take notice.
Act III
Sky, Internet, Coaster, and Water are part of a gang of thieves who plan to take the floating golden head. The head disappears and reverts to Kesari during their attempt.
Kesari later resurfaces and takes over as the gang’s leader. He is infamous for robbing the wealthy in order to aid the underprivileged.
The authorities become aware of Kesari’s activities. They become embroiled in a struggle to apprehend him and his group.
KESARI (THE KING) MOVIE REVIEW
I love that the movie highlights traditions, deities and ancient beliefs. But, the movie in itself was quite disappointing.
The film included star-studded actors like Itele, Odunlade Adekola, Deyemi Okanlawon, Bolaji Ogunmola, Dele Odule, Yvonne Jegede, Femi Adebayo, Kelvin Ikeduba, Lateef Adedimeji, Mo Bimpe, Yinka Quadri, Mr Macaroni, Yemi Elesho and many more.
With this outstanding cast list, one would expect a phenomenal movie. The reverse was the case.
The film’s attempt to blend supernatural elements with a Robin Hood-inspired narrative also falls flat, as there are little or no actions that justify it. Poor storyline, poor visual effects, poor acrobatics and many more.
Kesari is an example of what a mystery crime thriller in Nollywood should not be, even if that’s its intended direction.
From the outset, there’s a glaring lack of attention to detail. Scenes purportedly set in ancient times betray modern elements in costumes and settings.
The storyline was very confusing and hard to assimilate at some point. Kesari’s transition from his past to present was not clear at all. It seemed like there was no time to look through the movie before being released.
Generally, I’ll rate the movie a 4 because it highlights tradition.
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