‘Tòkunbọ̀’ (2024) Netflix Movie Review - Race Against Time

Tokunbo, a Nollywood film on Netflix is about Tokunbo and his race against time. He gets entangled in a conspiracy against a person of national interest. The man used to work as a car smuggler in Nigeria. As the import duties are too high, he steals cars and then these are sold by his boss Gaza. The film opens with a scene in which Police can be seen chasing Tokunbo’s car and on the other hand his wife is on a video call with him, telling him that her water broke. He suddenly starts singing Baby Shark and he himself is being chased. Imagine this scenario with sirens chasing him. This is the first and the only hilarious scene we'll get to see. So, enjoy this one because, after this one, the film goes through its good and bad phases.

Tokunbo’s wife Lisa gave birth to a baby boy and he also left the illegal business to become a family man. Things didn't go well with them as eighteen months later, his baby is now on life support. They need money for his operation, and Tokunbo is running a taxi which isn't going to earn him that amount. After a lot of thought and despite knowing that Gaza is a bad person, he had no choice but to ask this man for help. Gaza is a man who is involved in shady businesses and even if you repay every last cent, he doesn't spare the borrowers. Tokunbo’s request was denied stating that he didn't have any amount to spare.

The next thing that happens is a cell phone is left in Tokunbo's taxi and he's asked to pick up and deliver some parcels. The poor man didn't know what was in them and blindly did the job just because it was earning him good bucks. Soon, he landed in a bigger problem which was a child now lying unconscious in his back seat. He was tasked to deliver the girl at the border, that too within three hours. The option of refusing or opting out of this wasn't available because of two reasons. First, he was being blackmailed and second, the real kidnapper had his family.

Questions like why this happened or who is the culprit behind it will be answered when you watch the film. In movies based on plots like these, it's important to maintain the mystery around the identity so that the audience is kept engaged. You'll get your first hint within twenty to thirty minutes of the film, and the revelation around identity comes half an hour before it gets over. This information is provided too soon which diminishes the interest of the audience. There's a timeline to reveal such things and the writer did this too early. It becomes a difficult task to watch the last half hour of this film. Talking about acting, I think a decent job has been done here. In my opinion, the film is average, and except for the bond between the kidnapper and the girl, there's nothing else to see. Seeing how the various fighting and car chase scenes in the film are important, I expected them to be good.

Final Score – [6.5/10]
Reviewed by - Riya Singh
Follow @_riyasinghhh_ on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times