Wednesday night, a couple of us went to see the first movie production of EbonyLife Films, the highly talked about Fifty at the cinema. A bunch of media enthusiasts and professionals who volunteer at the media department of Africa's fastest growing church with arguably the most up-to date media equipment, exposure and team in Nigeria, we were not the average cinema goers last night.
So, whilst we wanted to have fun, it was obvious most of us were going to be dissecting the movie from camera angles to lighting, to editing and more! We wanted to see if Fifty was worth the hype.
Here's what 2 viewers from our team had to say after seeing Fifty:
"Staging, costumes, sets and cinematography is definitely the best I've seen in any Nigerian made movie. The plot and twists are extremely rich. Lighting was very good but just slightly dark in the outdoor scenes. Excessive use of the Lekki Ikoyi bridge for landmark shots. This has got to be the best Nigerian movie I've ever seen and can be sold as a movie shot outside Nigeria if not for the obvious landmarks used. Definitely well thought out and executed. The closing scene was a bit of an anti-climax but still had the required punch"
– Ope Olomo, Movie Addict & Sound Engineering Expert
"Well, what can I say? It's obvious meticulous planning was done from pre-production, production to post-production. The script is simply not normal Nollywood. From the twists and plots. Nothing predictable at all. Cinematography was on fleek, lighting and sound was super"
– Ayodele Ajayi – Entrepreneur & Vision Mixing Expert
Fifty, regardless of the individual or organization who reviews it, should never get a bad review. Worthy of note also, is the fact that the movie celebrated Nigeria and Africa at large from music to landmarks and language. Throwing the spotlight on prevailing issues in our society that people would rather sweep under the carpet and portraying the age fifty in a whole new appealing light are other major scores for the movie.
The Verdict: Fifty gets a solid 8.5/10 from us and yes, it is worth the hype. Go see it for yourself and come back to tell us what you think.
