The Black Book is a Nigerian action movie that gives a different kind of experience compared to many Nigerian Nollywood actions we usually see. The movie was top-notch from the very beginning with how it was able to grab my attention with how each story unfolded at a gradual pace. Richard Mofe-Damijo, who played the character of Paul Edima, played his role pretty well, to the point where I actually enjoyed it and felt like he would have done well in top Hollywood action movies. The way he was being dragged into his old life after the death of his son is one of those reasons why the storyline was emotional for me.

There are lots of things I enjoyed about the movie, some of which are how they were able to combine action, revenge, corruption, and politics all together into one storyline. Unlike many action movies that just jump into shooting, gunshot, and violence scenes just to make sure the action theme is met, in The Black Book, they focus more on showing us what happens when people in power become untouchable and even the system fails the ordinary people. These are things we see in corruption-ridden nations like ours in the real world.

RMD did excellently well with all his performance, taking up his role as though these are things he deals with or experiences on a daily basis. His supporting cast did an amazing job too, especially with making the story quite believable. Overall, even though the actions and sequence don't compare to top Hollywood action movies like WAR MACHINE and the likes, it was still interesting for a Nigerian-level production. Although the movie did pretty well, just as I've highlighted some of its ups above, it also has some lapses and aspects I felt it could have done better.

Talking about the downside of the Black Book, it's the fact that there are a couple of parts of the storyline that feel just too predictable for my liking. I mean, for an action movie, there ought to be lots of suspense of that caliber that revolves around politics, revenge, and the like; it ought to be quite suspenseful, but instead it moves somewhat too conveniently. Some of the other characters in the movie did below pal, in my opinion, and these made me wonder what really is their motivation. For a movie of such a theme, your speech, coincidence, and action ought to carry authority in what you do, but the opposite was the case in most situations.

However, despite these downsides, it's worth knowing that I still find the black book quite interesting till the very end, making it the biggest compliment I can throw at the way of the movie, its director, and the likes. But overall, talking about the takeaway from the movie, I'll say it's one that leaves you thinking about what you'll do if you were to find yourself in a situation where the system fails you, especially when those who ought to help you get justice opted to take matters into their own hands. Overall the strength of this movie is in its action, the little suspense, emotions, and something to think about long afterwards.

Here are the sources of the first and second image.