The Black Book

This Nigerian Crime Thriller sees its lead character, Paul Edima, on a revenge journey against those involved in the unlawful killing of his son.

As with many blockbusters that Nollywood has been churning out in recent years, The Black Book is star-studded, from the insignificant to the important characters. This helps the movie maintain a firm grip on the performances from the cast, but Ade Laoye and Bimbo Akintola (even with her limited screen time) deserve praise for their portrayals.

The Black Book starts with a simple plot, and the first quarter is backed by its emotional core. But as the movie unfolds it becomes complex, and the twists employed don't always help the story's progress. Some relationships are glossed over, and some characters are unimportant.

Even though the plot needs refinement, the cinematography is beautiful and elevated with its choice of locations and set designs.

The Black Book can best be summed as Nigeria's answer to the American John Wick.

6/10.

This is the first time I have ever watched in Nigerian movie but I have felt immense joy and thrill throughout this movie. Nigerians are hatred cross the world for their hacking cheating what not! But god bless Nigeria. They have plenty of talent the world has ever seen... I would like to dedicate this to all the movie lovers across the world. You will need to watch this Epic tale of a movie. You will need you will need to understand how a country like Nigeria can produce a movie like that. And you will be wondering how creativity can overcome economic in capabilities and political instabilities.. Love Nigeria from India.

I'm a Nigerian so it'd be shocking for some to hear that most of us do not bother watching a Nollywood movie. In fact, it's been over 3yrs since I watched any and that's because you already know what to expect. From the weak storylines to the unimaginative use of CGI.

However, The Black Book caught my attention on Twitter because i saw what Editi is trying to do in Nollywood. Still, I tried to be open-minded and not pass any judgements before watching the movie.

Having said that, I was really impressed with how the movie started. The visuals/sceneries were carefully selected. The casting was near perfect, "near" because Denola Grey didn't fit that role. If you're going to kill someone that was behind 8 coup d'etats and has done some of the things Pablo has done in the past, you'll think of someone muscular, a real badass. Someone that LOOKS the part but that's just me.

Towards the end though, the movie sort of drifted apart in dialogue & continuity. How did Big Daddy suddenly appear at the church after Vic's kidnap?

I enjoyed the action scenes, and kudos to RMD for pulling his weight cos that did not look easy at all. Vic Kalu got on my nerves more times than I could count but I guess that proves how good of an actor Ade Laoye is and I'll look out for more of her movies.