Action King

Just when you think someone on the other side must have also realized by now that Nollywood has exhausted all possible ‘royal’ movies, they come out with ‘Action King’.

The dominant question while watching this movie is ‘why’?

Why did this movie need to be made? Why do you feel compelled to make yet another copy of an overly notorious storyline with the same cast as every other version with a heavily pregnant Mercy Johnson and extras that are barely capable of holding their own on screen?

Action King, like you’ve probably guessed by now, is about a king who is determined that his son marries a governor’s daughter so as to solidify his political ties with the governor. However, his son has his eyes set on a (read this carefully because this part is very original) poor, helpless, fatherless girl.

Again I ask, why? When you don’t intend to lend any originality to an all to familiar movie, why remake it?

But since the deed has been done, no need crying over spilt milk, it’s best we address the ‘movie’.

There were really only five actors in this movie, everyone else was mainly filling space and fighting over the title of who-can-make-you-pull-out-more-of-your-hair.

Mercy Johnson, though heavily pregnant, was effortless in her character. Then again she has only played the same role a dozen times in the past 3 years. Kenneth Okonkwo, paired beside Mercy Johnson (for the gazillionth time) as the prince (for the gazillionth time) also did his role justice.

I don’t understand the logic behind casting Kenneth Okonkwo as Jibola Dabor’s son, shouldn’t they be brothers? But whatever the case, Jibola and Chinyere were effortless. Chacha had her moments but was able to hold her own for the majority of the movie.

There were a couple unexplained scenes here and there like what happens after Mercy’s friend poisons her? Was that even poisoning? And how is she back alive in the next scene and together with her friend without explanation?

There are way too many overly prolonged scenes. I’m tempted to say the movie needn’t have been that long but I’m still trying to wrap my head around why the movie was made in the first place.