Kembe Isonu (part 2) movie review by Ajibare Abioye
The patient dog, they say, eats the fattest bone. Kembe Isonu 2 is a sequel worth waiting for. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait very long before it was released online on the Damilola Mike-Bamiloye YouTube channel last week.
The slow pace of the first part gave way for a more balanced rhythm which made the events of the movie unfold faster and keep the viewer’s interest in it. This was only made possible because a lot of background work had been done in the first part.
As a whole now, we can say that the movie is about two Christian parents whose children do not follow their way of life or their faith in God. In Alajogun village where idols are worshipped, this couple is put to death for refusing to give their allegiance to the gods of the land. When their children, Gbadebo (Femi Adebile) and Gbenro (Oladejo Joshua), are about to be made a sacrifice for the “appeasement” of the gods, the young men elope to Bayegun village where they are caught by Ewekoro (Sola Oyin-Adejobi), who sees them as strangers to be sacrificed to the gods of the land. Fortunately for the boys, Ewekoro for one reason or the other cannot seem to give them up to Kembe Isonu (Femi Isaac-Akintunde) who serves as the middleman between the people and the gods of that land, who demand the blood of a stranger for them to be appeased.
In the will left for them by their parents, several scriptures are found and Ewekoro poses the million-dollar question to Gbadebo and Gbenro – Tani olododo? (Who is the righteous man?). Of course, the boys are unable to answer and that which they had rejected all their lives became their only lifeline – they had to find the answer to that question or they would be handed over to the gods of Bayegun village. Eventually, they get the answer and they become allegiant to the true source of power and the greatest there is in heaven and on earth.
Most characters in the film interpreted their roles perfectly; these are Christians who had to act as they had never heard the name of Jesus before and needless to say, they did just that. Convincingly too. Femi Adebile who you’d think would be a major character, portrayed a young man who wasn’t interested in the gospel at all. He looked like a completely different person; he was almost unnoticeable in the movie, really mirroring the spiritually dead Gbadebo. However, when the Spirit of God filled him, he became more of the Femi Adebile we know. Christ indeed makes the difference. Kudos to the makeup team for making him look quite younger than he really is.
Seyi Pedro-Adetola’s performance as a couple in the movie is worthy of commendation. Their Ewekoro and Abike are my favourite characters as the scenes that had them were the most interesting. They shined whenever they had to deliver their lines and I deem it fit to say here that this is Seyi Pedro-Adetola’s best performance I’ve ever seen in a movie.
There are so many deep lessons that one can take from this movie. We see that when life asks us questions of all sorts, the only ones that will answer successfully are those that know the Lord. Looking deeply, the question (of who the righteous is) is one that perhaps, many Christians today would not be able to answer correctly the first time. It’s worth searching the scriptures for the real answer.
Also, there is a stark difference between the true God and false gods. The overwhelming similarity between the gods of both Alajogun village and Bayegun village is how they demand human blood to be appeased, and what’s more disheartening is their insatiable thirst for it. Jesus, on the other hand, is the Prince of Peace and Life; He does not take people’s lives but rather gives people abundant life. The difference is crystal clear for anyone to see.
The way Kembe Isonu surrenders himself to God is unlike any other movie I’ve seen before. I’m talking here about how the movie portrays his logical reasoning which results in him deciding to serve God. For him, it’s all about serving the one who is most powerful and God does reveal Himself to him. When Kembe Isonu started declaring that Jesus is Lord, his minions shouted: “Abomination”, but he bellowed at them: “There’s no more abomination”. He rationalized that if the gods he served could have warned him not to tamper with the anointed of the Lord, then only Jesus was worth serving.
This shows that Christianity is not about being sentimental or emotional; the logic is also there for the taking. It makes perfect sense that a holy God who could not behold sin but who loves sinners so much would satisfy the requirement for forgiveness which is the shedding of blood, by sending His Son to pay the price for our sins so that anyone who believes in Him would no longer die but live eternally. It’s so simple yet many times, we miss it. We’ll just need to keep praying that God opens our eyes to really see this truth.
I guess Kembe Isonu would eventually be enlightened about Christianity not being just about serving the most powerful but loving the One who loved us enough to die for us. There are also a few loose ends in terms of the people of Alajogun whom we last saw in the 28th minute of Part 1. It is then of great joy to see that this movie would be taking after a trend that seems to have been started by the Abejoye series (2018-2019) – Kembe Isonu Part One and Two are regarded as KEMBE ISONU SEASON ONE. Also exciting is that, following the trend found in more recent Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies, the major characters were revealed to be returning in KEMBE ISONU SEASON TWO.
We wait in anticipation of it.
Something however that I feel would have made the movie better is a better background music variety. Using a single tune for chunks of the movie was quite monotonous and that made the movie at times feel drab. Nonetheless, the song at the end credits gave a worthy closure to a pleasurable watching experience.
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