Battle On Buka Street: A Nigerian Story With Broad Appeal
A social commentary that can find root in any viewer regardless of where they're from, Battle on Buka Street proves that Funke Akindele understands the movie business.
Two half-sisters have been in competition with each other even before they drew their first breath. Battle on Buka Street is mostly the story of how unhealthy this rivalry is, how it's festered across generations, the damages itβs wrought, and what it'll take to quash it.
A social commentary that can find root in any viewer regardless of nationality, creed, or ethnicity, Battle on Buka Street proves, once again, that Funke Akindele understands the movie business, particularly the Nigerian market, and what it takes to reign supreme in it. It currently stands as the highest-grossing movie at the Nigerian box office, a throne it took from Omo Ghetto: The Saga, a 2020 movie from the same revered filmmaker.
As a family drama, Battle on Buka Street is dramatic and laden with clichΓ©s expected of the genre. Still, it also has a heart and features many slapstick comedy moments that flow nicely from start to finish. Fans of this sub-genre are sure to have a blast watching it.
Boasting a lot of familiar faces in Nollywood, the acting doesn't really leave much more to be desired; in my opinion, everyone does the best they can with the material theyβve been given to work with. Whether that material is an AMVCA Oscar-worthy piece or not is another conversation best left for when we have roasted yam and palm wine waiting for us under the shade of the mango tree.
Is Battle on Buka Street the next best thing since sliced bread? No.
Is it an entertaining movie? Without any hesitation, I say yes. But how entertaining youβll find it depends on various factors including but not limited to your mood, your bank account balance at the time of viewing, and if youβve eaten today. Yes, Iβm not including anything deep like your level of taste in movies, that should tell you something about the kind of movie this is.
The Good
Good moral lessons are to be learned.
Good value for watching: itβs sure to get a decent number of laughs from you, especially if youβre a fan of Funke Akindele productions.
The Bad
The use of Igbo language by Tina Mba and Mercy Johnson wasnβt authentic. One could easily tell these ones arenβt native speakers, especially with Mercy.
My biggest complaint is that its runtime is unnecessarily long. A malady a lot of Nollywood movies continue to suffer from.
The Ugly
n/a
I had a decent to good time watching, and I think you will, too.
Battle on Buka Street is currently streaming on Prime Video.