Queen of the Jungle

Queen of the Jungle

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Nigerian Movie Review
Queen of the Jungle ~ 2009
(Also called THE QUEEN)
Story – Onyeka Afube
Screenplay – Ruth Kadiri
Director – Ifeanyi Ogbonna
Producer – Onyeka Afube

Starring:
Olu Jacobs – Sir B
Ini Edo – Diana
Mike Ezuruonye – Onus
Ali Nuhu – Fist
John Dumelo – Brush
Kevin Uvo – Dave
Fred Ebere – Diamond
David Ihesie – Baba Okuta
Nazareth Jessey – Gloria
Eve Esin – Angela

My Rating – 63%

Onus, played by Mike Ezuruonye is part of an armed robbery gang. One day he is kidnapped while walking through some dense forest land. His kidnapper is a vagrant woman, Diana played by Ini Edo who lives there in isolation and has made the forest her home. She is menacing and has a tough and steely exterior, Onus however is able to break through her defences and seduce her. In seducing her he gains his freedom and she willingly releases him. Onus relays the story back to the rest of the gang and impressed with Diana’s bravado they elect to crown her first lady. They believe that her fearlessness and propensity for violence will make her a good fit for the team. Little do they know that her bloodthirsty ways will exceed all their expectations! Nigerian Movie
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All this five minute love sef is working my nerves. Believable love stories are few and far between in Nollywood. Even if it is just lust, let us see the build up, let us see how it gets to the point where one is declaring undying love for another. In the Forest Onus seduces Diana. We do not see the seduction but we can deduce what has happened by what is said afterwards. I don’t expect to see any graphicness just how she went from trying to slash him with the knife to sexing him in a hut. How? I still don’t know. Nollywood

Onus’ wife Angela is about to give birth and has no idea that her husband is an armed robber na wa o! He lives in a house with the other gang members and explains his long absences as “business trips.” Eve Esin acted out the stabbing scene brilliantly. I thought that she was very realistic but please tell me why she got stabbed just beneth her breast and then blood started trickling from the corners of her mouth. I found that slightly odd, but then I have never seen someone get stabbed to know what actually happens. Nollywood
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Another movie with Ali Nuhu as a badman, from Be Not Afraid, to Bitter Generation to 24th July to this movie all I see is miscasting issues, anyway it does not make a big impact on the movie so you can watch without fear. I would love to see Ali Nuhu playing one sweet boy in the village, that would be so much more believable to me. Nigeria

Ini Edo was great at the tough chick and she really became Diana in her entirety, from the sneers and the snarls, to the mannish walk, to the lowered slow voice and the fidgety, but sometimes extremely laid back demeanour. I totally applaud her for really embodying the character in this role. One thing I did find strange about Diana’s character was the tight tight clothes and short shorts she would wear. This was a woman that almost attacked Onus when he called her a woman in the forest. She goes from not wanting to acknowledge that she is a woman to parading around in clothes a strongly accentuate all her curves. If she really lived in a hut in the bush why was she looking so clean and fashionable? Her eyebrows were plucked and make up did. The character would have been more believable if her clothes were Tomboyish too and she didn’t wear make up.
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I would recommend this movie. The storyline was fresh and the cast did a good job with it. The part 1 was a little slow, particularly the first 15 minutes failed to hold my interest, but as it progressed it got much much better. There were however a lot of unnecessary scenes that I feel they could have simply cut out all together. Before Angela gets stabbed there is a long period of nothing going on. We do not need to see someone walking for ten minutes. There is also Onus crying over his wife’s body for what seems like eternity and the party scene that that was never ending. This is all unnecessary. CUT CUT CUT! I am really impressed with Ruth Kadiri. Most of the movies she is involved in I enjoy so I’ll be on the hunt for her work in the future. I was disappointed when the movie finished as it did not really end and it was at a part where the story was getting really good. I guess I’ll just have to wait for the next part to come out! Nigerian