‘All Na Vibes’ Netflix Movie Review – Meandering and boring in every frame
The film’s title is apparently local slang that basically means pure vibes or just vibes. The film sure has a lot of vibes, but none of it is good. With a running time of 1 hour and 17 minutes, the film is fortunately rather short, so it doesn’t torment the viewer with half-baked ideas and a bad script. It’s a shame the film is a jumble of ideas because in the capable hands it could be worth watching. Finally, against the backdrop of political unrest, the idea of youthful rebellion is compelling.
We see Abiola (Tega Ethan) struggling to build his music career while his parents want him to take the tried and tested career path of computer coding. He is portrayed as an upstanding gentleman who is calmer, more sensitive, and generally different from his unruly peers. One of those rowdy friends of his is Lamidi/Lambo (Molawa Davis). Lambo associates with the wrong people and has connections that enable him to get drugs for a party he wants to throw. The third character to round out the main cast is Sade (Tolu Osaile).
Sade is the eponymous hot and rich girl of the group. Both Lambo and Abiola want them. Lambo is rough while Abiola is more shy. Lambo plans a party to cheer everyone up since schools are closed due to riots in the streets. But the party goes horribly wrong when Sade, who is playing a dangerous game of rebellion herself, is kidnapped. Who did this and what happens next forms the core of the film.
This movie’s biggest flaw is that it isn’t captivating or entertaining enough to grab the audience’s attention. Directed by Taiwo Egunjobi, there isn’t a single frame that stands out from the rest. From the beginning to the end of the film, it follows the same lazy pace as we saunter from one scene to the next.
As already mentioned, the film has a lot of great ideas. There’s a scene where a chicken is brutally beheaded, and there’s supposed to be a parallel to a death that occurs at the end. The whole thing is a comment on teenagers who think they are adults but are just dumb chickens instead.
However, the characters or such ideas are not fleshed out at all. This messes up the message of the film. There is dialogue that is repeated at both the beginning and end of the film. Abiola says you can kill my dreams but don’t kill me. It’s a line that foreshadows many things in the film and is a sad ending line that’s basically a request that falls on the deaf ears of the rich and powerful who don’t care about the lives of the people they represent.
But that message gets muddled again because the film doesn’t know how to connect the storylines or understand which story beats need to fall where. “All Na Vibes” feels like reading a student’s essay about power, politics and their impact on the lives of ordinary people, but the author has no idea how to organically arrange and present his ideas.
As for the other technical aspects, the less said, the better. The recent crop of shows and films from Nollywood has been particularly disappointing and this one is no different. Overall, give “All Na Vibes” a pass.
final score – [3/10]
Reviewed by – Ishita Chatterjee
consequences @dracone619 on twitter
Editor at Midgard Times
