If you follow me closely on my social media, then you know how much I couldn't stop raving about Dare Olaitan's 2017 film, "Ojukokoro" (Greed). It's one of my favorite Nollywood films and I kept looking out for his next project. I wasn't particularly excited when I saw the trailer for Knock Out Blessing, It looked really plain and it didn't make me enthusiastic but I went into the theater with so much hope in Olaitan's filmmaking skills and I wasn't disappointed.
knock Out Blessing follows three girls, Blessing (Ade Laoye), Hannah (Meg Otanwa) and Oby (Linda Ejiofor) who are searching for ways to escape poverty and achieve their dreams. Their search leads them down a criminal path and they end up intertwined in a dangerous political situation. I loved Laoye, Otanwa and Ejiofor as the protagonists of this film. They did an amazing job with their characters with Otanwa being my favorite. It was interesting watching how the story unfolded and how we got a mini flashback of Blessing and how she ended up in the big city. Although, the circumstances surrounding her exile from the village are questionable. She was an avid boxer and she punched someone who ended up dying. I did a little research and it turns out someone can die from one punch to the face but its mostly possible when that person falls flat to the floor and probably hits his head. Blessing's punch was intense but the person she punched didn't fall to the ground so I was a bit skeptical about that entire plot line and I wish she probably kept on punching him non stop to make his death seem more believable. Either ways, I went with it hoping that the point was to make the viewers see how dangerous Blessing's fists were. There was a scene at the beginning of Knock Out Blessing where Madam Tina threw Oby, Hannah and their new friend Blessing out of the house and immediately they left, all the other girls started jeering at them. That scene looked extremely fake and not properly choreographed.
The Crime Comedy was funny without trying too hard. I couldn't get enough of Dagogo (Bucci Franklin) and Otanwa. I couldn't stop laughing out loud at the scene with the "native doctor" and the senator. Knock Out Blessing looked good visually and the soundtrack was perfect. I loved how they explored some realities of the society we live in today. Some men think they have a right over your body just because you dress a certain way. Ibrahim could't understand why Hannah said she had clocked out for the night and was unwilling to go with him to his hotel. She was a prostitute so he expected her to say yes to him which led him to attempting to force her to go with him. The police officers didn't believe Ibrahim's story when he said he was robbed by a group of girls because the society has made women look so weak that it's hard for some people to fathom the fact that a girl could give such a hard punch that'll knock you out or probably send you to your grave. When Blessing's grandfather told Akin's father that his son tried to rape Blessing, it was dismissed simply because there were so many other girls that were gawking over his son which made it impossible for him to want to rape Blessing. This particular scenario is what a lot of people go through in our society. Rape is dismissed simply because some people are seen as saints or even when they are not, the incident is hidden so it won't bring 'shame' to the family.
The politicians are involved in a lot of crazy things and when things start to go wrong, the citizens think it's just an incident or just another robbery but most of the time, these attacks don't take place without a go-ahead from the top. In Knock Out Blessing, a series of events took place that could easily be dismissed as a regular robbery or shoot out, but they were already approved by the President. There were a lot of hidden messages in this film and I'm glad I was able to catch a few of them. I genuinely enjoyed watching Knock Out Blessing from the beginning until the credits rolled. It was so entertaining and hilarious. It's so refreshing to see how Nollywood filmmakers keep stepping out of the box and giving us movies that won't be forgotten in a long time. Although, I was very confused with the ending but Olaitan may be hinting at a sequel. If there is, I'll be looking out for it. It'll be interesting to see how Blessing's story ends. Hopefully, she'll be able to go for the tournament she always dreamed about and maybe form some sort of alliance with Gowon. Olaitan has proven yet again that he's just not your regular Nollywood filmmaker and I'm really looking forward to his next project. Knock Out Blessing is still showing in cinemas nationwide.
RATING 8.5/10
DIRECTOR Dare Olaitan
WRITTER Dare Olaitan
STARRING Ade Laoye, Linda Ejiofor, Dare Olaitan, Bucci Franklin, Gbenga Titiloye,
RELEASE DATE 28th November, 2018
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