Movie review: Dolapo Douglas is a setback for Nollywood; not fit for streaming platforms

Dolapo Douglas is a new Nollywood movie produced by Lateef Adedimeji and his wife, Mobimpe Adedimeji. The movie also stars the couple alongside Odunlade Adekola, Ibrahim Itele (Director), Kolawole Ajeyemi, Jide Kosoko, Aisha Lawal, Anita Joseph, etc.

Firstly, I’ll say this movie is a setback in Nollywood’s achievement. The movie took Nollywood 20 years back. While seeing the movie, I felt like I was in 2003, almost as if I had boarded a time travel machine. Despite the fact that I criticize the below-par cinematic look of today’s Nollywood films, I felt nauseated by the eyesore of Dolapo Douglas on my screen.

The movie was produced by Corporate Pictures, a production company that was one of the powerhouses of Nigeria’s film industry in the early 2000s. With the release of Dolapo Douglas, I’ll say they are still stuck in the past.

Dolapo Douglas is a skilled criminal who can penetrate any facility and execute any task, no matter how challenging it is. The film glorifies crime and showcases the affairs of men of the underworld.

Dolapo Douglas is full of flaws. I can only recommend it to people still stuck in the old Nollywood. It reminded me of the days of VCDs and cassettes and the low-quality Nigerian movies we put up with in the past.

The costume in the movie didn’t leave any impression on me. In what world do armed robbers wear uniforms for operations? Only in the world of the Spanish hit series Money Heist, which pretty much explains why the uniform worn by the robbers in Dolapo Douglas has similarities with those worn in Money Heist. Also, the mask worn by the robbers was copied from the Hollywood movie Scream. I wonder why the costume directors made Lateef Adedimeji wear long hair. Was that to make him look tough?

Another flaw of the movie is the use of the same faces. Once I see Odunlade Adekola in a movie, I can almost mention the names of the other casts even before their faces appear on screen. This guy’s have formed a consortium which will end up ruining the achievements made by the Yoruba section of Nollywood. They make it seem as if theatre arts departments of Nigerian universities are not churning out graduates talented enough for movie roles.

If I decide to go into full details about the movie’s cinematography, readers will think I’m just being a bad belle. The only reason I will recommend this movie is for people to confirm what I’ve said. The picture quality is worse than what is obtainable when using the defunct BlackBerry camera for video. The lighting is poor, the set design is zero, and the location is nothing to write home about. The film is just a case of husband and wife brainstorming on how to feed, not the union of professionalism and talent. Did I forget to mention the shooting scenes? Aww. Go see the movie yourself.

The annoying thing about Dolapo Douglas is that it found its way to a top streaming platform. That platform is fast becoming a cesspool of junk Nigerian movies. I’ve lost count of the number of crappy films I’ve seen on the platform of late. Dolapo Douglas is only fit for VCDs or YouTube. I rate it 3/10.

I’m surprised that Lateef Adedimeji could produce such a movie. The guy is a very good actor who has starred in hit movies of good quality. Seeing him produce this cheap content baffles me. The movie’s poster is enough evidence of how low the budget enveloped the production. Making a movie is not for everyone. The producers of this movie should stick to acting and leave production.