Merry Men 2
1. Lots of Stars! From Nollywood legends like Ramsey Noah, Ireti Doyle to comedy legend AY to Musician, Falz and Reality TV show personality Alex Asogwa (BB Naija) you are in for a star studded film!
2. Action- and I mean the James Bond type of action. From shooting to karate skills. There aren’t many Nollywood action movies that top this.
3. Opulence- The producers clearly wanted to show a side of Nigeria and Africa that’s under-reported which is, Nigerians have money and crazy money at that!
1. There really was no exceptional acting throughout the movie. Ramsey Noah came closest to looking comfortable but even he didn’t really strike hard.
2. For all the shooting and punching, there was no drop of blood throughout the movie. Many people died, one time Ramsey and a bad guy broke through a glass and still no bleeding or swelling. Puzzling oversight.
3. I do not remember a single scene that intellectually stimulated me. I literally endured the movie to the end. They clearly thought the movie would do well on the back of the star faces.
In my view, this movie was not well done. Nollywood is a massive money doubler right now and it seems the producers rushed the idea, put a lot of stars in so they can make money ASAP- a purely economic strategy.
The idea needs to be revamped if there will be a sequel. Probably a younger cast, more original acting, better plot, stronger directing. The names here are way too big for the subpar performance they put up.
Merry Men 2 is the sequel to the Merry Men- The Real Yoruba Demons, released in 2018.
The first instalment was a very big Nollywood blockbuster movie at the time. It shattered records and created some. It made sense for the team to reassemble and go at creating history again. Merry Men 2- Another Mission was released close to December holiday period and jolly Nigerians were willing to splash the cash.
Nollywood’s come a long way from it’s low budget, low quality past to younger producers and directors trying hard to rebrand the industry through more authentic productions. This one is an action movie like none other, there’s lots of shooting, karate, and computer nerds working their skills… and yeah, a little romance and raunchy scenes as well. It’s a whole meal!
I have to say though that the biggest selling point of this film has to be the plethora of star faces; Ramsey Noah, Jim Iyke, AY, Ireti Doyle, Falz, Damilola Adegbite, Rosy Meurer, Alex Asogwa (BB Naija) and many more! If you love any of these stars (of which most Nigerians do) then this is your movie! But if your thing is anywhere between captivating story lines and dramatic epic acting then you may get very angry at some amateur scenes.
Star Performer- Ramsey Noah
He plays the lead character ‘Ayo’ and tries to lead with his acting as well. He did better than the rest.
Can-do-better Performer- Ayo Makun (AY)
As a professional I’d say AY has done absolutely wonderful with his career in entertainment generally and kudos to him for that. However, as an actor and in this movie especially, he left so much to be desired. Nothing interesting or to be praised about his acting so far. Knowing his history though I’m sure he’ll do better in the next instalment.