Son of the Soil review bone-crunching Lagos revenge thriller with bruising swagger
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Son of the Soil review  bone-crunching Lagos revenge thriller with bruising swagger
"You have to respect an action film that has its protagonist stagger out of the intensive-care ward into an open-air street market in a backless hospital gown, his tackle whacking conspicuously against the fabric. Star Razaaq Adoti can't blame his agent, as it was the actor himself who scripted this Nigeria-set revenge thriller, in which his former special forces soldier makes a Jack Carter-like return to wreak havoc on the mean streets of Lagos."
"Time for Zion to dust off his particular set of skills. These turn out in large part to be him walking obliviously into ill-advised locales and getting an absolute beating. But despite Zion's boneheaded brand of heroism, a lot of plot-facilitating character choices and outbreaks of ripe Nollywood acting, British-Chinese director Chee Keong Cheung delivers a pretty satisfying and fleet-footed ride here. All the more so for going fairly skimpy on the characterisation in the manner of 80s action flicks: Zion gets a cute street"
Zion, a dishonourably discharged ex-special forces soldier, returns from the US to Lagos after his sister Ronke is murdered and framed as a fentanyl victim by Dr Baptiste. Zion embarks on a revenge mission that features him repeatedly walking into dangerous situations and suffering brutal beatings. The film adopts 1980s action-film brevity of characterisation, adding a street-urchin sidekick and an alliance with albino ganglord Jagunlabi. The director deploys colourful handheld camerawork and frenetic pacing, evoking City of God while overusing Dutch angles. The film delivers an energetic, violent ride with ripe Nollywood acting and inventive set-pieces.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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