Living in Bondage: Breaking Free is the sequel to the 1992 classic Living in Bondage which starred Kanayo O. Kanayo, Bob-Manuel Udokwu, Francis Agu, Ngozi Nwaneto, Nnenna Nwabueze and Kenneth Okonkwo as Andy Okeke. Filmed in Igbo with English subtitles, Living in Bondage was one of the films that set Nollywood on the right track especially in terms of how much it made. The plot followed Andy Okeke, a young man who becomes a member of a cult and sacrifices his wife to become rich and have all the influence and power he desired. The sequel centered on Andy's son, Nnamdi and his quest for riches and power just like his father. He gets involved with "The 6", a very dangerous cult with Richard Williams (Ramsey Nouah) as the leader but he soon realizes that all is not as it seems and he must find a way to escape the evil claws of Richard and The 6.
One thing that truly makes a movie standout is the story line and the trailer for Breaking Free did not give too much away and I wasn't particularly excited after seeing it so I kept wondering what the plot was going to be like. Thankfully, they were able to connect it to the original film and it still made so much sense. The cast which included Nouah, Swanky J.K.A, Shawn Faqua, Eyinna Nwigwe, Munachi Abii, Kenneth Okonkwo and Kanayo O. Kanayo was the perfect cast for the film. At the beginning of the film, I was a bit skeptical about Swanky J.K.A but he delivered a very solid performance and was able to invoke emotion when necessary. Noauh was unforgettable as the villain and he was quite scary too. Although, I felt like he could have done a better job. The only character I wasn't particularly fond of was Uzoma the Blogger/Journalist. It seemed like he was doing to much and may have watched too many Hollywood Police Procedurals.
One thing that truly makes a movie standout is the story line and the trailer for Breaking Free did not give too much away and I wasn't particularly excited after seeing it so I kept wondering what the plot was going to be like. Thankfully, they were able to connect it to the original film and it still made so much sense. The cast which included Nouah, Swanky J.K.A, Shawn Faqua, Eyinna Nwigwe, Munachi Abii, Kenneth Okonkwo and Kanayo O. Kanayo was the perfect cast for the film. At the beginning of the film, I was a bit skeptical about Swanky J.K.A but he delivered a very solid performance and was able to invoke emotion when necessary. Noauh was unforgettable as the villain and he was quite scary too. Although, I felt like he could have done a better job. The only character I wasn't particularly fond of was Uzoma the Blogger/Journalist. It seemed like he was doing to much and may have watched too many Hollywood Police Procedurals.
The soundtrack was amazing and I loved how beautiful it looked visually. We all know how Nollywood films can be when it comes to effects and how weird it can look sometimes but I can boldly say, Breaking Free did an awesome job in this aspect. The first film had a lot of gory scenes that involved blood and there were a few scenes I had to look away from but thankfully, there weren't a lot of that here. There were so many scenes that could have ended up looking super tacky especially the cult sacrifice scene but it looked visually pleasing. I also loved how glamorous the sets were to portray the over the top lifestyles of the members of The 6. Although, there were some characters that had no business being on the poster and maybe in the film. I was also a bit confused with the way Nnamdi joined The 6 and it seemed like they missed one or two scenes before introducing us to his love interest Kelly played by Munachi Abii. There were a lot of scenes I loved especially the scene that involved Nnamdi trying to stab his brother while being controlled by Richard. I left the theater really happy with the way Breaking Free turned out. This was a great directorial debut for Nouah and I'm so glad it turned out even better than I expected. It's definitely one of my favorite Nollywood films this year.
RATING 9/10
DIRECTOR Ramsey Nouah
STARRING Ramsey Nouah, Swanky J.K.A, Kenneth Okonkwo, Shawn Faqua, Munachi Abii, Eyinna Nwigwe
RELEASE DATE November 8, 2019
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