REVIEW: ‘Man For The Job’ Not The Man For The Job

Movies excite me. That has been quite established over the years. The prospect of seeing a new movie that somewhat changes my perception of the Nigerian movie industry is always something to look forward to.

I have learned to never judge a movie or story by its title and it has served me well all through my years of movie seeing and analysis. 

This ideology once again came to my rescue for this new movie Man For The Job.

The title alone stirred a kind of curiosity in me that I had no idea I still possessed. If there's one thing I can tell you though, it's that Man For The Job Isn't The Man For The Job.

The story basically centers around Joseph (Uzor Arukwe), an overly intelligent tech guru. Financial instability was the norm for this guy despite his intelligence and neck-straining hard work. 

To make ends meet, he decides to be a driver under a popular ride hailing service, where he inadvertently meets Zinnat (Temi Otedola), a beautiful lady who turns out to be the reason why we have this story.

This is more like a damsel in distress pattern as Zinnat is having issues fixing a tech problem for work and Joseph being the goody-two-shoes that he is, offers to help. 

Unknown to him, Zinnat works for a fintech company he had once turned down and while helping her troubleshoot the issue on the product, he finds out that his friend, (Ibrahim Suleiman) who is now working in the company has stolen his idea and that was what they are using to build this new product. 

He finally finds a way to solve the tech problems much to the euphoria of Zinnat. One problem rears its head though, money randomly disappearing from the accounts of people who have savings with the fintech company.

The million dollar question then is; who is stealing the money and why?

The film has an amazingly beautiful storyline. One question I can't quite get off my mind and solely directed at the writer is; Why in heaven's name did you decide to ruin such a beautiful storyline?.

This again shows a brilliant example of the problem that has plagued Nollywood movies for years. 

The storyline turned out to be the case of a writer who had a beautiful idea, but got bored halfway and decided to end it haphazardly.

The costume, make up, and location department got it spot on and they ought to be applauded for their diligence. They really were the men/women for the job.

The Scriptwriting team also tried their best but somehow it strayed off the right part.

The cinematography is also top notch and it reminded me that there is still hope for the Nigerian movie industry after all.

Man for the Job is a business story, talking about the crimes that happen in the business world.

However, the concluding part of the movie is a total confusion. Personally, whatever the writer was trying to achieve was definitely a miss. 

No doubt Niyi Akinmolayan is a good director, but he needs to pay more attention to detail.

The acting is just fair and there were really no high moments. However, with the plethora of amazing talents available in the movie, it is quite worrisome that the acting falls somewhat below par.

Temi Otedola should be singled out for praise though as she occasionally adds that spark that we all know she possesses. She's good, I'll give her that. 

Ali Baba’s subtle comedic injections also brought a bit of life into the movie. For Ibrahim Suleiman, Ini Edo and Uzor Arukwe, I know they could have done better. 

The Man For The Job will get a 5/10 from me.