The Trade (2023) impressed me.
No fancy stuff like crazy stunts, martial arts, or other things that Nigerian criminals don’t do. It was practical.
My three words to describe it are: relatable, reasonable, and believable.
There was a story to be told, and the story was well told.
Let me keep it simple, and state the few scenes and things that fascinated me.
I’m a believer that the first two to five minutes of a movie should show you what the movie is all about. There should be no confusion. So when the movie started off with a car chase and kidnap attempt. I was hooked. The car chase was good, the near accident was well done, and it was nice to see the bullets ricochet off the road. However, why were there no bullet marks on the G Wagon SUV? Even if it’s bulletproof, the fact that they shot at it means we should have still seen marks on it. No budget/ insurance to cover damages to the G Wagon?
How do you reveal a villain? I think this was well captured in this movie. That moment where we see the transformation from victim to villain was enjoyable to watch, “me likey likey.”
It was good that they didn’t try to paint our Nigerian police force as Super Detectives. We all know what is obtainable. Yes, we have smart and intelligent officers, but the system is currently structured to frustrate them. So tell it as it is, we know “wetin dey sup.”
The sex scene was unimaginative and uninteresting. In the words of George R.R. Martin “…If it’s a sex scene, I want you to be hot and bothered.” I was not hot, I was not bothered. The scene was unmemorable.
I liked what I saw on the whiteboard in the background when Bukar was with Charles and Amina in his office. It was the name of four places in Lagos — Isolo, Ketu, Ikeja, and Festac. If you were familiar with the actual event this movie mirrored, then you will know those were the places of known, actual events. Not forgetting that the movie also had the owner of a transport company as one of the victims.
The kidnap scene of Doris reminded me of a scene in the film Sicario (2015). The way the roads were linked and the helicopter view of the two vehicles as they moved on parallel lanes. Nice, very nice.
But, how can you shoot the “robocop” up close and personal (with an AK47), and not have blood splatter? And I don’t understand why the SUV turned right, drove down, and turned back onto the road it was on before. Was it due to a bad portion of the road? Or Doris wanted to buy something by the roadside e.g. corn? Surely, the reason could have been communicated by merely adding it to what we saw in her routine.
My favorite scene has to be where Eric “poked” Sunday. The Blood spurt was bloody and beautiful. And I smiled when I saw blood on Eric’s cheeks as he left the place. The respect for and acknowledgment of blood splatter (in this scene) was appreciated.
The accident scene where the car flipped over was good. Not the best I have seen in Nigerian movies. Nevertheless, it was good enough.
Even better, was the death of a character we had started to like and root for. I would have wanted a more brutal death just to drive home the pain. Maybe seeing him as he bled out or something more distressing might have helped. A single bullet was too quick and too easy a way to die.
As regards the last scene, the wound/ scratches on Eric’s head showed continuity. But did the policemen behind Eric realize their guns were trained on Bukar? That was overacting.
Lastly, I think the Igbo accent was overdone in many places, and it started to sound forced.
Overall, it’s a good movie. I enjoyed it, and you would too.
Signed
Olumide Holloway (King Olulu).
