Movie Review: Jagun Jagun (2023) on Netflix is a solid epic production

Synopsis: What is the movie, Jagun Jagun, about? A young man determined to become a mighty warrior joins an elite army, encountering the wrath of a maniacal warlord and the love of a woman.

The Cast 

• Femi Adebayo – Ogundiji
• Lateef Adedimeji – Gbotija
• Bimbo Ademoye – Morohunmubo
• Fathia Balogun Williams – Erinfunto
• Bukunmi Oluwashina – Kiitan
• Ibrahim ‘Itele D Icon’ Yekini – Gbogunmi
• Adebayo ‘Oga Bello’ Salami – Oba Alayaki
• Odunlade Adekola – Jigan
• Debo ‘Mr Macaroni’ Adedayo – Moyale
• Kola Ajeyemi
• Adeniyi Johnson
• Muyiwa Ademola – Oniketo
• Yinka Quadri
• Dele Odule
• Peju Ogunmola
• Aisha Lawal
• Aliu Oladele Gafar
• Kunle Afod

The Crew

• Produced by: Femi Adebayo
• Directed by: Tope Adebayo Salami 

Jagun Jagun: The Review

To truly understand the majesty, wealth, and powers of old Yoruba warriors, Jagun Jagun is the movie for you. This movie throws you amid the shenanigans of the old kings, how they used the powerful warriors to terrorize their people, but inadvertently make the warriors very wealthy and powerful. 

From the opening montage, the beauty of the rain forest is evident. The casting director deserves an award, every single character is well chosen for their roles; anyone who is anyone in the Yoruba movie industry plays a part in this movie. Some have no speaking part, but they play their roles to the T.

Femi Adebayo has always been excellent in his movies on the small screen. With the King of Thieves, he showed us he is the king of the large screen too. With a stellar cast, Jagun jagun leaves everything on the screen. The plot twists are unexpected and they leave your jaws on the ground.

Lateef Adedimeji is a king of the screens. Yes, we can have several kings, but no role is too small for him. And he brings his excellence and attention to detail in performing this role hre. 

Bukunmi Adesina leads as the female character and I love how she is not immediately introduced to us. She just shows up with stealth and then captures the whole screen every time she shows up. The twist about her origin, her role, and how Ogundiji uses her is one that is fascinating and captivating.

The storyline is well-researched, all loose ends are tightened, and there is no boring scene in this movie. Every scene has a connection to the larger story, and even the montage scenes are properly connected to the whole story.

The battle scenes are well choreographed, such that you can almost feel the travails and pains that the warriors are going through.  This movie employs a lot of SFX, but the beauty is that you don’t know where they are; that is how good the SFX is, making you believe you are looking at the real thing.

The soundtrack for Jagun Jagun is well chosen, not intrusive, but lending the right atmosphere to the scenes. I usually don’t watch the credits of a movie, but I watched the credits for this one because I was so captivated by the production. I was hoping there would have been extra scenes like we get treated to in Marvel movies. Oh, well.

The introduction of a main character in the last scene makes you wonder if there will be a sequel, but it does not make you think the movie is unfinished. It is concluded but leaves room for more, in a good way.

I almost have no criticism for Jagun Jagun. Perhaps I am biased, but the one criticism I might have is that in the opening scene, a warrior dies by a single cut to their hand, but my head has me explaining that the battle-ax may have been steeped in poison. 

Jagun jagun is an epic movie in the true sense of epic movies, with one or two sprinkling of current slang, but artfully employed to provide some comic relief. However, there is nothing comedic about this movie; it takes you by the jugular from the opening scene and does not let go till the last scene.

NollyRated Score

Score: 5/5 (Outstanding Movie)

NollyRated uses a 5-level scoring system, as follows:

1. Poor
2. Sub Par
3. Okay
4. Great
5. Outstanding

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