Wow. Just wow. Where do we even begin with Kemi Adetiba's latest Nollywood series, "To Kill A Monkey"? This show is hands down the best I've witnessed since the first installment of King of Boys. It might sound like a cliché, but for lack of a better word, it’s a breath of fresh air.
The cast was absolutely star-studded, but even that wasn't the highlight. Bucci Franklin's portrayal of Oboz was a performance of a lifetime. It's truly the best anyone could have done for the character, and frankly speaking, I have NEVER witnessed Bucci execute a role with such seriousness, despite his impeccable record as an outstanding actor. What touched me the most was how his character ended up; it was heartbreaking seeing someone he brought into the business, Efe, set him up like that. Honestly, that part made my heart sink.
Efe's character, on the other hand, just annoyed me. Throughout this entire story, which was largely centered around his life, he never honed a particular skill: dealing with people. He always got the short end of the stick in his relationships, which ultimately led to his downfall, locked up with everyone testifying against him in court. Even when he worked as the restaurant boy at the Egbeda restaurant, he was always being used by his madam. At first, I thought it was due to his financial circumstances, but as the story progressed, I began to understand that some people are just naturally blessed idiots. What I mean is, there are people who cannot read or interpret situations presented to them in their lives. Efe is one of those people. He let the pressure of his mother-in-law get to him, the frustrations of his workplace get to him, and he even lost a God-given opportunity in the form of an IT job because he lost his laptop just before being granted the chance to present his app to the tech company. And then there was his deal with Oboz; he got carried away and turned on his partner because of greed. Don't get me wrong, in any context, it's family first, but was it really because of family he gave up his partner, or because he wanted to exit his deal with Oboz and have more financial control over his own business affairs? Efe was the good guy, the bad guy, and the worst possible person no one wants to be as the story progressed. For this reason alone, I have to commend Kemi for pulling off this masterpiece. It's not often we get movies or series that start great and end super great.
Trolley Movies gives "To Kill A Monkey" a solid 11/10 with zero qualms or complaints. All we beg of them is a sequel sometime soon! My guess is Oboz's widow, Idia, did not fully fulfill her wishes by getting her revenge completely, because the assassination attempt on Efe in the courtroom right before sentencing didn't confirm his death. This leaves room for speculation about whether Efe somehow survived the ordeal to serve his jail time as a divine punishment from God, for him to suffer torment alive rather than die just like that.
As for Teacha, I was beginning to enjoy the fact they didn't escape Chidi Mokeme for a series of this magnitude, until I noticed the bald make-up job done for his head was so tacky it really irritated me. They could have just let the man keep his hair and dye it white since they wanted to portray him as an old taker. Or better still, shave everything off his head and dye his beard instead. As for his character, Teacha, I lack words to describe him, but he was one cold motherfer*, let's leave it at that.
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