TURN OFF YOUR NETFLIX SUBTITLES. When the first line of Igbo was spoken, subtitles recognized it as Hausa. I thought I imagined it until I saw it again and got disappointed because for such a huge movie, this was a terrible mistake. (And yes, I could have rewound to confirm but why go through all that trouble really?) However, this issue really is an easy fix because the movie comes with its own subtitles and those provided by Netflix are unnecessary. Just a disclaimer, I am slightly biased to Genevieve and I am always rooting for her to win. In this review though, I have tried to temper my adoration with level headedness, and I hope that comes across.
Lionheart has a running time of 95 minutes (1hr 35 mins) and is Genevieve Nnaji’s directorial debut. I don’t know how realistic the first scene is to be honest; Genevieve’s character, Adaeze stops a scene with a little speech about Nigerian solidarity. However, it does hold a certain magic that can only be found in a perfect world, and how else can that be represented except through a movie? If you don’t want any spoilers, stop reading right now. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. There is so much to unpack, and this is my first written movie review so bear with me.
This movie is so star-studded that for the first half of the movie I all but squealed with a new introduction of a Nigerian icon (Onyeka Onwenu?? OMG fan-girl moment). From the very first scene you can tell Kalu Ikeagwu plays a character who is bound to be evil so his character development should not come as a surprise to anybody who has watched it. Samuel Akah (Ikeagwu) spends almost all his scenes throwing jabs at Adaeze, but for some reason his presence is tolerated even though it is clear nobody in the Obiagu family likes him. Nkem Owoh plays Godswill brother to Chief Obiagu and was brought in to serve as acting Managing Director of the company when the Chief is put on bed rest due to illness (what exactly was his ailment? Old age?).
Honestly when Nkem Owoh showed up, I thought the tired trope of ‘family member destroys the company’ was coming to play but I love Genevieve, so I powered on. I am glad to tell you that was not the case. In fact, Uncle Godswill was very instrumental in restoring Lionheart to its former glory while teaching his niece life lessons along the way and serving as her advocate in some instances. Character development for Adaeze is obvious and Ernest’s goal to teach her a life lesson about having to work for things we deserve in life was achieved- the movie is now on Netflix so watch it to know more.
From the beginning of his career till date, Nkem Owoh has always held a magic that I do not believe can be replicated by any other actor in Nollywood. He brings an effortless lightness to each scene he appears in without overpowering anybody else in the scene. He was a delight to watch and he played a major role in my desire to watch the movie a second time. Pete Edochie has a voice that is made for speaking; I don’t know how else to describe it but hopefully you understand exactly what I mean. The man has a certain regal air about him, and I guess that is why he has been typecasted as a leader in almost every role he plays; this is not necessarily a bad thing because it works for him. Other character worthy mentions include Peter of P-square, or was it Paul? (I’m joking, it was Peter Okoye); Phyno who plays Adaeze’s brother and is ironically a struggling artist and Kanayo O Kanayo who is a shrewd businessman and the antagonist but not nefarious enough to do any blood rituals that we know of.
The movie subtly touched on issues of sexism as well as varying levels of corruption that exist in society that have become our norm; our protagonist was even inclined to offer bribery mere moments after chastising her uncle for doing the same. I do not know much about business, but I thought it was very odd that Chief was able to borrow 950 million naira without anybody noticing until it was too late. However, should I really be surprised? I’m not sure, let me know in the comments. This review is getting too long so I’m going to end it by saying I loved the aerial shots of Enugu and Kano as well as Adaeze’s wardrobe. My best part of the movie was the natural transition between Igbo and English; this was so important and depicts typical Igbo relations and I was impressed it was incorporated into a project this huge. So so beautiful. 9/10. Would recommend.
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