Movie Review of LION HEART

It was a very busy and exciting festive season with loads of interesting movies to choose from. “Lion Heart” happens to fall under the interesting category of movies. We all know that Geneviève Nnaji has got a huge fan base, fans that would go to the cinema even if it’s just to watch a one0minute film of hers. I strongly believe she is really good at what she does and deserves all the accolades; although we haven’t seen her in any movies for the past few years, her come back with this one was quite wonderful!

I must also commend the publicity for this her movie which kicked off in October 2018; from BBC to CNN and then the Netflix deal. It made Lion Heart the first Nigerian movie to be signed on to the movie platform. I really enjoyed the movie not because I am a great fan, but because it was a well told story.

This movie had a very simple yet amazing storyline, maybe because of the numerous A list actors who transformed the simple movie to something fantastic and interesting. The movie featured actors like Onyeka Onwenu, Pete Edochie, Kalu Ikeagwu, Nkem Owoh, Kanayo O. Kanayo among others.

I loved how most of the actors didn’t get to play ‘typical’ roles like being a wicked uncle or a ritualist or what not. It was also good to see “Phyno” the popular Igbo rapper act in this movie. We seem to be seeing a lot of musicians take up key movie roles and they are not doing badly at all. This movie showcased Enugu city and a bit of Kano city beautifully. The cinematography, crew, soundtracks and transition between scenes were onpoint.

The movie started by showing us the strong determined nature of “Adaeze” (Genevieve Nnaji), she was the first and only daughter and apparent heiress to her dad’s empire. She showed loads of concern for her dads business and hoped that one day when he decides to retire she could run the entire business as the Managing Director/chairman.

Her brother “Phyno” wasn’t in any way interested with taking over the business, as he had better worries to think of with his ambitious music career. So Adaeze was left alone with her dad to take “Lion Heart” business to the next level. They needed to bid for a BRT contract with their foremost competition called ‘Igwe Pascal” who owned another big transport company in Enugu.

The movie went on another twist when Adaeze found out their company owed the bank N950m naira which her Dad borrowed to expand the business to enable them win the state contract which didn’t follow through eventually. The company had 30 days to pay back this loan or lose the entire company to the bank. It was time for Adaeze to fight and show what she was made of and she had to do that with her Uncle; together they fought strongly to save the family legacy. Well you will need to watch the movie to see if they did and what they had to do to save the company from going down. I enjoyed the storyline and the end was even better.

Verdict:

This movie deserves an 8/10, in my opinion.

I loved the seemingly perfect cast, production, plus the crew’s attention to detail was top-notch; the location, script, picture quality and storyline con- nectivity were also good.

With all these good vibes the movie exudes, I still couldn’t find that typical Genevieve “Wow” factor, I have seen a bunch of other movies in which she starred in and her acting was perfect, if I must say. She was just there in Lion Heart, maybe it was due to the role she played.

Either way, it is still a great movie. So to the Drama and comedy movie lovers, I would recommend this before the holiday is over and it returns to only Netflix viewing.

Movie credit:

Cast: Genevieve Nnaji, Pete Edochie, Onyeka Onwenu, Nkem Owoh, Jemima Osunde, Kanayo O. Kanayo

Producer: Chinny Onwugbenu

Director: Genevieve

Nnaji

Written by: Ishaya Bako, Emil B. Garuba, C.J Fiery Obasi

Duration: 95mins

Genre: Comedy, Drama Feel free to review any movie of your choice in not more than 200 words and send via mail to linda@ businessdayonline.com

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