High-Octane
Summary
Son of the Soil is a gritty and entertaining action thriller with solid performances and some decent set-pieces. Shaka is one of the year’s best villains and the film creates a scary picture of a country with little in the way of justice.
Plot: Nigerian soldier Zion Ladejo, haunted by his past, returns home after his sister’s tragic death. Determined to uncover those responsible, he embarks on a vengeful path, while seeking redemption for his own actions.
Review: Razaaq Adoti stars as Zion Ladejo, a soldier who returns home after his sister is murdered. He begins to investigate her death which upsets local criminals like Shaka (Taye Arimoro) who is completely unhinged and wants Zion silenced.
Son of the Soil takes place in Lagos and makes it look like a whole other world with danger lurking around every corner and there is a constant feeling of threat. Razaaq plays Zion as tough but sympathetic and he will stop at nothing to find out what happened to his sister. I like how he isn’t some invincible badass but someone who can get hurt yet his sheer determination keeps him going.
At an hour and 45 minutes Son of the Soil is well paced feeling constantly tense and the action is gritty and real going for a few shoot-outs, and some chases.
Shaka is one of the most unsettling villains I’ve seen this year and the film is at its best any time he is on screen. Philip Asaya is actually the main villain, Dr. Baptiste and he is also hateful and arrogant.
It’s a little jarring that there is a build up to the final battle on the streets, but it then cuts away to later on showing the aftermath. It took me out of it a little and reduced the impact of the finale, but this is still entertaining and hard hitting.
The music works in building the atmosphere and capturing the tension of this world helping you feel as uncomfortable as possible.
Overall, Son of the Soil is well paced with enough action to keep things moving and it creates a nightmarish world where violence or death could wait around every corner. Razaaq Adotj plays a sympathetic lead as Zion but it’s Taye Arimoro who steals the movie as the psychotic Shaka.