A tentative step in the right direction.
2015 was a great year for blockbuster movies…and boy what a year it was. From the ridiculous stunts in Furious 7 (RIP Paul) to the untamed force in Star Wars, 2015 didn’t disappoint us.
Some failures did pop up once in a while (Hitman and Pan) to remind us Hollywood can still churn out garbage when it wants.
“Pleasing both ends of the spectrum.”
All-in-all, the international movie scene treated us very well but I can’t say the same for Ghanaian movies…and it also doesn’t help that, anytime I hear “Ghana Movie” Kwadwo Nkansah comes to mind.
That guy is everywhere but I can’t fault him; he doesn’t want to end up like Egya Koo (took me a while to remember his name)…but someone has to tell him to slow down.
Ghana is doing its best to release international-standard movies and Interception is…well…it is something new…A new experience for me.
I don’t like Ghanaian movies and that is absolutely no surprise. My reason is very simple; they are plain boring.
So, after my big brother watched it at the Takoradi premiere, he was somewhat impressed and that blew my mind…hence, I also decided to give it a try.
My brother did tell me to watch it with a pinch of salt though, but I think I went in there with a barrel.
So after 100 minutes of interception, here comes my review.
PLEASE NOTE: my review will be in two flavors.
One review is what I think of the movie as a Ghanaian and the other as a critic.
“This should be fun.”
GHANAIAN FLAVOR
I like the movie, the action was nicer than what I’ve seen thus far in Ghana, the story was simple enough for the masses and the overall direction was quite good.
I’ll recommend this movie to almost every Ghanaian out there desperately looking for something new and a chance to break away from the “LilWin” monotony.
It really is a breath of fresh air.
★★★★☆ (4/5)
CRITIC (TRUE) REVIEW
Interception is an inconsistent mess from start to finish and the reason is very simple; it tried to do too much and it failed more than it succeeded. I won’t fault the guys behind the movie for trying though, but if you want to take a crack at something new, you’ve got to at least make sure you have a handle on it first.
Don’t go performing multiple magic tricks when you can’t even pull a rabbit out of a hat.
The problems with this movie starts from the opening scene and ends with the credits. From acting to story, this movie is rife with inconsistencies.
Let’s start from the top, shall we?
Like most mainstream action movies, the opening sequence aims to draw in the audience. It is a chance to wow and give the viewing audience a taste of what’s to come.
Sometimes it’s great and other times it is just bad.
Interception started off great but three things held it back;
bad acting, bad acting and bad acting.
The sad thing is, these “three” elements, along with other issues, run through the entirety of the movie.
To watch a movie of this caliber and see such terrible acting is a shame…but that is the case with A-list movies in Ghana.
That’s not to say Interception is only filled with bad actors. There are great actors in there who go all out (as far as their acting chops can carry them) but the rest on the other hand are the deliver-my-lines-like-a-toddler kind of actors…and it is oh so bad.
It is the kind of acting you’d expect from an X-Rated movie and not from a movie of this “class”.
The kidnapper in the opening scene is one of many bad actors in the movie and OH MY GOODNESS…there are many.
It just makes you wonder what they look out for in an actor during auditions (if they even have auditions).
It is either they hand over the role to a family/friend or look out for just anyone who can read, avoid the camera and not ask for a lot of money. It has to be one of these reasons.
Every attempt on my part to get lost in the world of interception was destroyed by these Z-Class actors.
There are terrific actors and actresses all around…but the people behind interception were too lazy to look.
Moving on!
The main story barely holds the movie together and it is actually quite surprising to realize that, in a movie categorized as an action-thriller, it was the romance between John Dumelo and Jasmine Baroudi’s characters that really stood out. It was the only part of the movie that genuinely grabbed my attention (somewhat).
The conversation was almost natural and the on-screen chemistry between the two was present…the only sad part was how abruptly it all ended. It makes me think Nina Lalwani, the writer of the story, didn’t have the time to properly resolve their story or she didn’t know how to.
It is a problem that features prominently in her story; she left so many things up in the air and expected us not to care because, as everyday-movie-goers it is our job to immediately forget about all the plot holes.
Picture this: Ama Abrebese’s character, the girlfriend of the main villain, revealed to the police she was aware of the villain’s dealings and even provided a private jet so they could travel around the world conducting their nefarious businesses. After this revelation/confession she avoids persecution and goes back home because her father is a powerful person (in another country).
She wasn’t extradited to face trial in her home country or anything…she walked away a free person.
As I think about it, I think they should have categorized Interception as “Action-Thriller-Fairytale”.
Nina Lalwani’s story is a very basic one and anyone looking for something a little more intelligent would be sorely disappointed. There are so many elements she could have thrown in there to spice up her story but I believe she didn’t want to expend too much of her brain power.
I’d have to commend the team behind the fight scenes and the gunplay. It was a delight to finally see some Hollywood-style fight sequences in Ghanaian movies…although it went on for too long.
When you start checking your watch during a fight scene in a movie then there is something very wrong somewhere.
The fight scenes weren’t bad…but JEEZ! How many hits to the head does it take for a bad guy to go down?
“No life insurance for bad guys I guess!”
Steady aim? I think not.
The gunplay was great…but there is something very unnatural about shooting a gun without any bullet casings falling out or being ejected. If as a final decision, the team behind the movie went with “after effects” to simulate gunfire, why then couldn’t they have used the same process to add the ejected bullet casings?
“If you aim for realism, go for it.
Don’t make us question it.”
In conclusion, Interception is a fluff movie on every level. Pay even a sliver of attention and the huge cracks start to show…but if you truly want to enjoy this movie, I suggest shutting off your brain for about 100 minutes, because zoning out is the only way to enjoy it.
There are too many things that take you out of the experience and that is not a good thing for a movie with this many problems.
You forgive one mistake and before you recover from the previous blunder, something else pops up…and that is a trend in Interception.
In the end, interception tried to blend too many genres with marginal success.
★★☆☆☆ (2/5)
NB: All things considered, interception was a nice effort…I just don’t believe it took 2 years to make though.
3 – 6 months? Maybe.
2 years? No way.
PS: Oh yeah…Jeffery Forson, as an actor I believe you need more facial expressions.
The scowl and the smile gets old pretty fast.
The Rants of a Ghanaian! 