ALUU 4 1,2,3&4

Rating:

© 2013

Synopsis: Based on a true life story, The lead actors 'Zubby Michael, Paul Sambo, Johnpaul Nwadike & Junior Omoigbaele' played the roles of the four Uniport students that were brutally murdered by a notorious vigilante group in 2012. The storyline showed the lifestyle of the boys, which included a great unyielding passion for music, and life in general.. Until that unprecedented tragic and horrific incident occurred after the boys were wrongfully accused of stealing laptops and phones. There is a lot of twist to the story, as it was indicated that one of the four boys had previously loaned his friend a lump sum of money before, which was one of the key factors that led to that horrific incident.

Also Titled: Four Boys

Runtime: 4:24:04 (four parts)

Genre: Drama 

Directed By: Morgan Ukaegbu

Written By: Sylvester Obadigie

Language: English

Trailer:

Cast:

Chiwetalu Agu as Vincent          Angela Okorie as Serena

 Ruth Kadiri as Vivian                Paul Sambo as Ugwunna

Johnpaul Nwadike as Ekena      Onyii Alex as Jessica

Zubby Michael as Mikel             Junior Omoigberale as Chidi

I was extremely disappointed at the way they portrayed such a sad, touching, controversial Issue that caused an uproar in Nigeria. I expected something better from Nollywood. The movie was supposed to the touching, inspire Nigeria to stand up against Injustice. Instead it was more of a mockery of their story and the challenges. I did not like it one bit. I mean did they involve their families to accurately portray their lives? Did they do enough research? Or did they just go off what the media reported and pure speculation. There are lines and this movie crosses them all. It just showcases how far Nollywood has yet to come.

Breaking it Down!

Chiwetalu Agu:

I miss his traditional movies, and of course his catch phrases. Which i would write but i'd probably just butcher it. It was nice seeing him in a sort of traditional role again. 3.5/5 stars

Paul Sambo, Johnpaul Nwadike, Zubby Michael, Junior Omoigberale:

Their potrayal were not exactly on point, but they can act (except for the rapping parts). Their last few scenes were just unbelievable. I was speechless. With a few extra lesson on their acting though, they should be among the next generation of Nollywood actors 3/5 Stars

Ruth Kadiri:

Nice acting. Towards the end i just felt pity for her character. Kudos to her and her constant improvement. 3/5 stars

Angela Okorie was her regular crazy, hyper, man obsessed self, while Onyii Alex irritated me with her constant moaning.

Audio/Visual/Casting:

-The Audio was nice, Very clear. The sounds of the beatings took away from it but the brutality was something serious. Reminded me so much of the real video.

-The Visual was also nice and clear.

-The casting could have been better. As a true story, a well known cast could have brought the needed audience for this movie. However, i still liked it because i could see resemblance between the boys.

Drama:

The movie centralizes on the true life story of #Aluu4 (I will post a link to the real story below.) But it was the violent vigilante murder of four boys who were accused of stealing (with no evidence). A video surfaced showing the killing that absolutely shattered anyone's heart who watched it. It just reminded me of how wicked humans are. Even typing this is emotional. Anyways, I don't feel that the movie caught their lives at all. Yes there was drama, but i think it was more around the atrocities in the village than it was their life.

Memorable Quotes: 

"So are you telling me that as we speak this guy is at your crip?"

*you mean Crib?

"Who is my wife. I married her, she is Under me."

* Na so? Ahhh Naija man mentality.

"Must you rub it on my face"

*English is hard oo

Memorable Scene:
The kidnapping scene when she finds out who kidnaps her and all of a sudden she turns from being scared to challenging them.

Goofs:
-During their singing contest. I mean you could clearly tell that they were lip singing. ( i know my husband's voice anytime i hear it..btw it was psquare). Anyway the judges were there scoring and approving the singing. And there were moments when they would stop moving their lips and the song would continue..As in ehhh.
- Chidi asks Mikel how is Serena? I thought Serena liked Ugwunna? How did they get involved? What?
-The boys walked about with beats earphones through the movie, Just because you are a musician does not mean that you walk around with earphones


NR Says:
-After part 1 i was like, WTH is going on?
-Their Rapping Sucks. Hands down! Horrible. Goodness gracious. I did not understand why? The movie is scripted. So why couldn't they write them better raps? Or the boys practice better?
-Even though the story did not capture the Aluu boys much, it did bring about some touching Issues like Jungle Justice. I almost cried during the Nate scene because it just reminded me of how many innocent people have died from being wrongly accused of a crime in Nigeria.  I mean you could be walking on the streets and all of a sudden find yourself convicted of a crime and condemned to death.
-The brutality of the beating scene...if you watched the real video, it will be a reminder and you might cry.

Would i Recommend it?

I went into this with high expectations of being inspired. I went it knowing i would cry but it was a bit disappointing. I think the movie was more generalized than it was of pinpointing the lives of the Aluu boys. Also, i feel although the writers intentions might have been to tell their story, it was also to sell movies than to keep their legacy going.The movie should have been only one part.

I would recommend watching the last part of the movie just to further the cause of their story . Which is Aluu 3 and 4 or End of Aluu 1&2. But skip the first two parts. I only recommend those parts because that's the touching part. I did tear up towards the end (just a little..from the corner of my eye, if i turn my head water for drip). lol. But seriously, as a whole movie it did poorly, and all they did was to act out the video scene. It was like random, then they hit you with one last sensitive scene in the last 20 minutes of the four and a half hour movie. Any one can reenact a scene, but it takes true talent to capture the whole story. 

Meet the Real Boys

Never Forget. Rest in Peace 

You can read it HERE, HERE, HERE (Some graphic photo at the beginning), and HERE

There is also a video but i will not put a link to that. It is way to disheartening so watch on your own risk. 

"We Must not take laws into our own hands." - The movie