Ramsey Nouah has put together an action movie set in Nigeria and topped it with a stellar cast list.
The cast list which comprises Gideon Okeke, Norbert Young, Chidi Mokeme, Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi, Darasimi Nadii, Chibunna Stanley, Majid Michel, Adunni Ade, and others delivered an awesome performance in the film Tòkunbò which paints the picture of a typical Nigerian society while telling a story of crime and betrayal.
Released in August, the film was directed by Ramsey Nouah and produced by Joy Odiete and Chris Odeh.
Film’s Plot
Tòkunbò Adesanya( Gideon Okeke) is an ex-car smuggler who smuggled cars into the country through the Seme border for his boss Gaza (Chidi Mokeme) to avoid paying the ridiculous amount of import duties imposed by the government.
From his driving skills which give a mini-version of fast and furious one can tell that Tòkunbò has been in the smuggling game for a long time and he’s a pro at it.
After a successful car drop-off, Tòkunbò tells Gaza that he is ready to put an end to this type of life. His wife has just given birth and he is about to start a family.
Even though Gaza wasn’t happy with Tokunbo’s decision, he couldn’t hold him against his will so Tòkunbò drew the curtain on a life of crime or at least that’s what he thought.
Eighteen months later, Tòkunbò is an Uber driver and his son Chris needs 9.5 million naira for a heart transplant. Not having that kind of money, Tòkunbò solicits help from family members and friends but nobody could come through.
Torn apart not knowing what to do and afraid he is about to lose his son, his friend, Chukwudi(Chibunna Stanley) advises him to seek help from his former employer, Gaza, an idea a mutual friend of theirs Iya Mulika (Adunni Ade) frowns against, her reason being Gaza is like the devil, he blesses and adds more sorrows. She also affirms that she is currently living in one of those sorrows, being a recipient of his help.
Tòkunbò goes back to hustling as an Uber driver until he gets a phone call from his wife reminding him that they cannot afford to lose their child. Tòkunbò finds himself back at Gaza’s workshop to ask for help, promising to pay back every dime and offering his car as collateral pending when he completes the payment.
Gaza tells Tòkunbò that he doesn’t have money to spare, and the economic situation of the country is not favourable hence he cannot help him.
Back in his car, Tòkunbò notices a cell phone which he presumes must have been left behind by a passenger. A text message comes in instructing the recipient of the message to deliver a package and receive payment of a hefty sum. In desperate need of money, Tòkunbò goes on the errand and then another similar errand and makes 350,000 naira as payment.
Happy with his progress, he agrees to another delivery for 10 million naira oblivious of the package to be dropped off. When the package arrives, it is none other than Nike (Darasimi Nadii) the daughter of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Nike has been kidnapped and Tòkunbò has 3 hours to take Nike to the Seme border, a border he is very familiar with.
Not wanting to be involved in the crime, Tòkunbò tries to opt out but he is blackmailed with pictures of the first two deliveries which turned out to be delivery of illegal packages and also he is threatened with the life of his wife and sick son.
The Governor of The Central Bank of Nigeria, Folashade Balogun-Smith (Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi) had plans to implement a policy that would place sanctions on crypto trading companies as a way to ensure the growth of the naira and transform Nigeria’s financial industry.
This policy of her’s had made her an enemy of many and some were ready to go the extra mile to ensure the policy never saw the light of day. One of the enemies is Raymond (Majid Michel) the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Surprisingly, he is also one of Folashade’s closest friends. Together with Folashade’s P.A., Aziba orchestrates the kidnapping of Nike.
As the news of the kidnap spreads, Raymond under disguise places a call to Folashade to demand that she doesn’t go on air with the planned press statement establishing the policy in exchange for her daughter’s life. Meanwhile, the police are doing everything they can to get Tòkunbò, the alleged kidnapper.
Tòkunbò tries different routes to escape police checkpoints but ends up getting caught and a chase begins. In the heat of the car chase, he gets a call from his wife who informs him that their son, Chris has passed away. Heartbroken Tòkunbò crashed the car into the railing of a bridge and he and Nike barely survived.
Seeing as his son has died and there’s no need to continue with the deal, Tòkunbò takes Nike to Iya Mulika while he figures out his next plan. But Gaza gets to him first. At this point, we find out that the Gaza works for Raymond and he was the one who placed the cell phone in Tòkunbò’s car and got him involved in the operation.
Accusing Tòkunbò of ruining the entire operation, Gaza plans to finish him but Tokunbo asks Gaza to drop his weapon and engage him in hand-to-hand combat, a fight that leaves Tokunbo at the brink of death. An unexpected turn of events sees Iya Mulika shooting Gaza and police officers running to the scene.
Review
While it can’t be ranked as a 10/10 action movie, the movie did its best incorporating action scenes into a regular everyday Nigerian film storyline. What makes this film stand out is its ability to tell a familiar story with gripping action scenes that will get you hooked to your seat.
Here are a few parts of the plot we loved
Brilliant Car Races
At the beginning of the film, we see Tòkunbò escaping from customs officers. The pattern with which he drove and the speed has a striking resemblance to a scene out of a Hollywood movie. It was unexpected and brilliant.
The Drowning Scene
When Tòkunbò was informed that his son had died, he crashed the car carrying Nike and they both fell into the water. The next scene showed us how the damaged car was removed from the water.
It was real, it was believable. The film didn’t infuse any theatrical magic nor did it try to exclude that part as most Nigerian films have done in the past.
Chris’ death
If you are used to Nigerian film cliches, you would have thought that somehow Chris, Tòkunbò son would survive. You perhaps would have thought that later on in the film Tòkunbò conscience wouldn’t allow him to go through with kidnapping Nike. Then he would have reunited her with her parents and as a reward they would pay for Chris’ transplant and they all lived happily ever after.
But Chris died, while it might be sad, it is glad to know that the film’s end wasn’t predictable and that is a win for the director, the producer, and everybody involved in the film’s production.
You can watch Tòkunbò on Netflix.
Rating: 8/10
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