Brotherhood

Brotherhood‘s release in 2022 was arguably one of the moments in nollywood history that will be looked back on as a groundbreaking moment. Similar to the release of Kemi Adetiba’s King of Boys in 2018, Brotherhood marks the beginning of nollywood’s exploration into serious modern action films.

The movie tells the story of twin brothers Akin (Tobi Bakre) and Wale (Falz), who find themselves on different sides of the law after a series of unfortunate events. Akin is in and out of prison and upon his recent release he entangles himself with the most dangerous gang on the streets “Ojuju Boys” and convinces them to take on even more daring and high-profile jobs. On the other side, Wale joins the prestigious SWAT team of the Nigerian Police Force and tries to make a name for himself while slowly developing feelings for the daughter of his team’s lead.

Production. Casting and Performances. While there are many groundbreaking and spectacular aspects of this film, these are the three most unforgettable ones. Unlike your typical nollywood foray, it’s clear that finances are not the limiting factor in the production of this film. Scene to scene, it is evident that investments were made into big things and little things alike. Ranging from the choreography and staging of the action scenes to the intentional lighting of every single scene that adds to the general mood and feel of the film.

The casting decisions here are intensely original and considerably intelligent especially when compared to a typical ‘new’ nollywood flick. One of these is the decision to cast Tobi Bakre who is relatively new to the scene in a lead role for a genre that is mostly under explored in the industry as opposed to the typical nollywood move of choosing an established lead star. And then the decision to use the more established actors like O.C. Ukeje, Sam Dede, and the likes to support him was a brilliant gamble that paid off. As Tobi embodies the grit and rawness of Akin without being encumbered by the weight of some previously attained ‘star boy’ status.

Falz the Bahd Guy (Folarin) as the actual ‘good guy’ in this movie was possibly the riskiest bet of them all. As we have only gotten to see the unserious side to Folarin, the choice to cast him in a serious and weighty role was truly adventurous in and of itself. However, the intentionality shows forth in his very first scene with just in the character’s dressing alone. All the big and hefty clothes that have somehow added to the personification of the “Falz” that we have come to know and love are left behind. Folarin is broken down to his simplest with these form fitting shirts that truly reveal his ‘regular-ness’ and as such make it easier to see him in a new light as Wale.

Much more kudos are in order for so many other casting decisions and the performances from Toni Tones to Jidekene Achufusi, to Sam Dede and O.C. Ukeje who truly embodied the role in a way only a true thespian like himself can. However, if we were to go into detail for each actor this already protracted review would be even more endless. But I would be amiss not to mention Basketmouth who plays the leader of the gang in this film. It is one of the most shocking and questionable casting decisions yet the actor was able to delete all doubts from the audiences’ mind in no time.

The movie was not pure perfection though. The actual storyline behind the action scenes in Brotherhood is grossly under-fleshed. For a movie called BROTHERhood, there’s not enough indulgence into the emotional ties between the brothers for the audience to develop a solid investment in them. Characters go in and out of the scene and instead of the emotions staying with you it’s simply the swagger of the characters that remains. And while that is great, it does not last long enough to create a movie that is unforgettable.