To our storytellers...

This was meant to be a Hijack '93 review but...

So. I have stalled on writing this one cos I can’t write it without addressing certain things.

I considered doing a follow up post but y’all don’t pay me to do all that. Lol

So let’s hop right into it, shall we?

I was late to this movie. That’s not strange for me but this one time? It was a bad idea and here is why.

I’ll be honest, I wanted to see this from the moment I heard it was going to be made. Why? Well because I remember June 12th and the Abacha years. I was young. But I was there and old enough to fully understand the events.

But this particular event? The hijack? Not so much.

It was one of those memories that you’re not sure if you truly remember or if you made up or it was one of those lies people just used to tell back then. Like Scarface Part 2. Yes. I am never letting that one go.

So yeah. I was kinda hype.

A friend of mine even DMed me on Instagram to ask if it really happened!

But i procrastinated. For a while. And on social media? Twitter especially?

It was getting SLAMMED! And I was like “damn. It’s trash? Wow!”

Then I stopped to actually read WHY it was getting slammed.

And all I was seeing was stuff like:

“That is not the type of camouflage the Nigerian Army was using in 1993”.

“The helmets in use then were made from *something I can’t remember* not these ones in the movie”

“The military transports are inaccurate!! It was this and not that!!”

“Those planes are too modern naaaaauuu!! The planes in 1993 didn’t have screens”

And a plethora of similar complaints.

Cool. I hear it.

And???

Talk to me about the performances.

As you are all world class historians… was story inaccurate? Was it lies?

Was the picture quality shit? The sound? Cinematography?

Nobody was saying anything.

I’ll be honest. At first? I was like “yeah. Not wasting a minute of my time on this BS!”

But then I stopped to think. Fam. This is not Hollywood. We don’t get them budgets.

Do we REALLY expect them to go and refurbish old planes for this? Or to spend months looking for the fabric with the old camo print? Or even to go buy or otherwise unearth vehicles that are definitely no longer in production? Or maybe find the ones that have been left for rats to eat and spend millions on restoring them?

Come on guys. Relax.

Look. If you know me? I used to be the first dude to use the eye I used to watch Terminator 2 or Infinity War (which is better than Endgame! Sharrap!) to judge any Nigerian flick.

But I guess with that softening that comes with age AND wisdom? I have become more forgiving (pronounced: stopped being silly). I am now cognizant of our failings and now look to the story and its presentation FIRST!!

I remember that Gangs of Lagos one. Where Adesuwa Etomi launched a jumping knee attack at an enemy from a height and magically ended up delivering a heel kick to his ankle!! Wot?? I have some martial arts experience and bro! That is pure sorcery. But did it mess the whole shit up? No. The story progressed as it should without my little pedantic niggle.

Also. I had just seen an IG video where some idiots from the mountains of Caucasus were telling the world about the Benin Wall and were saying how Nigerians didn’t even know about it. And how they would love to help teach US about the wall and how it “disappeared”!

I was mad as hell but I could not be too mad. Why?

Shey if we were telling our stories by ourselves, that nonsense could not have happened?

Tear of The Sun dropped years ago. The Biafran War story starring Bruce Willis. This was pre social media time. I recall the vex everywhere in Naij. The story they told was nonsense.

But you know why they could?

We didn’t make any attempt to tell it.

So yeah. There were “VISUAL” inaccuracies in Hijack 93.

But the story was told and in my humble opinion?

Told well.

Now I can’t just dive into my review. Damn you all.

I’ll do that next.

Let me end this rant by saying.

Have and give grace to our storytellers.

They are doing it with what they can. For now.

These guys could have agonized over these things and waited to get all the funding and stuff for years.

And in that time one idiot from Norway will just do his own nonsense and shoot it in Wales and Morocco.

And we go vex.

Now go and read the review.

Mad people.