Another Yoruba epic centered on tyrannical rule, and rising resistance in the Oyo Empire. “Lisabi: The Uprising” dives into history while drawing from Yoruba folklore, establishing the trade relations between the Oyo Empire and the Portuguese, and highlighting how oppression set the stage for rebellion. I have to admit When I first saw the trailer, I can’t lie—I wasn’t particularly swayed. But once Lisabi landed on Netflix, curiosity won, and I hit play.
Ok Honestly what really happened was…
I came home to find my wife, brother, and mother watching the final scene’s showdown. Two men dueled with swords, but the visual effects felt oddly off. Just as I considered giving up, a woman charged a mounted soldier with two blades. She leaped airborne, and before I knew it, the fight was over. What did I just see. I wanted to know what happened from the beginning, that was when I really hit play. I’ll admit: the visuals in the first 15 minutes were captivating. But beyond that? Well, keep reading to find out.
Gems in Lisabi The Uprising
1. Set Design
The set design deserves high praise. Creating period pieces can be daunting, especially for Yoruba epics that demand detailed historical accuracy and opulent visuals. “Lisabi” didn’t shy away. It’s impressive that some filmmakers create majestic halls for Yoruba monarchs of the Oyo Empire. Such craftsmanship would make the Alaafin proud – He truly felt that pride.
It’s as if the team went back in time and handpicked the architecture, from the towering walls of the Oyo city to the grandiose throne room, designed to house about 300 subjects comfortably including the Alaafin’s entire court from Ilari, (tribute collectors), Oyomesi, his wives and the common people and others.
Even the walls of Oyo felt plausible, though I’m not quite sure they could withstand a real siege. But that’s a discussion for another day! And that chair—massive, intricately carved, fit for a god. Odunlade Adekola, as the Alaafin, looked almost lost on it, but that’s a testament to its grandeur.
2. Stellar Cinematography and Editing
The crew behind the camera certainly know their work. The angles were sharp, the lighting striking, and the editing crisp. Visually, it was a treat, with vibrant landscapes and well-planned shots adding to the epic feel. Nollywood sometimes struggle with consistent cinematography, but this one impressed, adding depth and elegance without overdoing it.
3. Makeup and Costume
I absolutely loved the makeup, which beautifully showcases the culture. The use of corals and ornaments adorns the attire beautifully. The hairstyles resembled those in Viking movies. The tribal marks looked authentic, adding to the overall effect. The beards were impressive as well. Take Seun Ajayi, for instance; he transformed into an elderly character. His appearance contrasts sharply with his young face, showcasing excellent makeup. It definitely felt like watching echoes from a distant time past. Read this article by Johnson Okunade and find a few more interesting opinions about the make up.
4. Musical score
The soundtrack in Lisabi: The Uprising is more than just background music; it’s a powerful force that immerses you in Yoruba culture. The melodies range from lively farming songs to haunting dirges, each one carefully chosen to enhance the emotion of the scenes. Take the Alaafin chant performed by Azeez Ayilara Ajobiewe—it transformed the opening scene into something truly epic, setting a powerful tone for the entire film. Then there’s the Osokenu Dirge, a perfect mix of brief dialogue and Lateef Adedimeji’s intense performance, which makes the moment feel like an emotional dagger. That scene left a lasting impact on me, especially because I love a grand, poignant exit.
Memorable moments like the Oath scene and the Farming scene were heightened by the music. The farming song, “The Egba Song,” added depth and unexpected tension; although it sounded like a traditional melody, it was actually a song of war, subtly foreshadowing future conflict. Interestingly, even if I hadn’t had subtitles, I feel I would have understood the song’s intensity and significance, particularly in the Farming scene. The music team behind Lisabi: The Uprising has reached a peak in their craft, using sound to evoke emotions and strengthen cultural themes. I hope we hear the war song again, perhaps as the story builds toward a climactic battle scene.
5. Performance
In the first five minutes, Odunlade Adekola’s portrayal of a no-nonsense Alaafin commands attention. His voice and gaze carry an undeniable authority, and he embodies the charisma required for such a powerful role.
I must admit, I hadn’t fully appreciated Lateef Adedimeji in previous roles. I’ve often been distracted by his exaggerated expressions of disabled or imbecile characters. But here, as Lisabi, he brings a maturity and professionalism that’s hard to ignore, now I want to see more of him. As for Debo Adedayo, popularly known as Mr. Macaroni, he’s perfectly cast as Osokenu.
His portrayal brings a refreshing mix of lightheartedness and loyalty, making him a friend who knows how to keep things grounded while still fighting for justice. His naivety can be summarized as a loverboy that needs to learn to plough the field before fantasizing about the bountiful harvest, life had a harsh lesson to teach him – in his case he could only learn it ONCE.
The chemistry between Osokenu and Lisabi nearly made me emotional and that is quite difficult to do. That kind of loyalty between Lisabi and Osokenu is extremely rare in Nollywood, only one other movie that comes to mind does this very well, Breath of Life on amazon prime. Easteregg, in their first scene together, Osokenu asks for Lisabi to ask his friend Ikeola to help talk his love interest Abebi to marrying him, he also hints at the secret thing going on between Lisabi and Ikeola. Just in case you didn’t know, in real life, Ikeola, played by Adebimpe Oyebade is wife to Lateef Adedimeji.
Things That Didn’t Work For Me in Lisabi: The Uprising
1. Characters and Plots
Everybody knows that a well designed character with motives is more interesting than one that just does what the writer wants him to do.
Sangodeyi The Tribute Collector
I admired Sangodeyi’s on screen Aura, mostly because I actually loved Ibrahim Chatta’s portrayal of the character, he is also the scariest man in the room, the Alaafin’s enforcer, executioner, imbued with mystical powers made him the sorcerer-warrior. I also loved his resolute loyalty and obedience and devotion to the Alaafin, to a considerable degree one might say he loved and respected his Alaafin, no questions asked. Unfortunately he is also a rapist, prone to violence at a whim, a poor swordsman and hapless tactician. He is better with his weaponized oratory than he is skilled at being a warrior. His words evoke fear to those who hear and bow, but the few times he had people stand up to him, he failed to meet such defiance with the wrath of the Alaafin. In this article, I shed more light on my thoughts on Sangodeyi’s Character as a weak villain.
Lisabi
While the only problem I find with the humble Lisabi is the fact that even though it was expected, on screen we were not prepared properly to see him take on Sangodeyi The Tribute Collector. He went from a non-killer on screen to killing an etire squad of Ilari Oyo and also probably the most violent prone person we had encountered in the movie. We first see him as a farmer, then tragedy strikes and steals his best friend from him. This turns him into a man that genuinely wants to help his people and prevent them from suffering the same fate, gradually he becomes quite popular and loved and well respected, even more than the Alake of Egbaland and the ruling caste who have done nothing to stand up to the menace of the Oyo tribute collectors. Lisabi then showcases guile when confronted by vassals of the Alaafin in Egba land when he was accused of plotting treason, his simple response was “One does not get caught when he has done nothing wrong – Yet”, something like that.
Suddenly, we then see him as a sorcerer, okay maybe that’s a bit not very Nigerian, a witch doctor that binds his friends to his cause with an oath. One might argue that he cooked himself in a shrine, maybe to get his voodoo charge to full battery.
But how did he learn to use the powers of the metaphysical realm and where or when did he get his martial prowess? I keep wondering about a battle between a farmer vs an veteran soldier who would win?
Lisabi’s Friends
Lisabi prepares for his uprising and recruits friends, who are played by known faces. You would expect such known stars would pull their own weight in the story, no matter how little, yet nothing. We just see them taking lessons for the future conflict and we never see them use these lessons in this movie. More could have been done with those characters, how do you just have Gabriel Afolayan just appear in a farming gig, then maybe the trial of Lisabi and then nothing more.
Even the likes of Olarotimi Fakunle and Olumide Owuru are loved on screen, expectations of them were quite high but here they are just farmers, pupils and recruiters doing nothing to move the plot of the story forward. One might argue that there is no need to explore their individual motivations but I disagree, even a simple mention of a personal reason why they joined Lisabi other than him just growing crops would have helped us appreciate their presence on screen. Imagine if an audience that is not familiar with any of these faces is watching their scenes, they would just be obscure faces in the background easily forgotten because there is lack of character development for them. On the brighter side of things, perhaps we will see great things from them in the sequel scheduled for a January 2025 release, but with the execution of the first part, I’m not so convinced.
Osokenu
The only friend of Lisabi who had more screen time and character dimension. Osokenu is a simple, fun-loving character who enjoys wine and values companionship with his friend and love interest. Despite his simplicity, he’s the true driving force behind Lisabi, embodying strong core values for women. I can’t decide if he’s brave or foolish, especially when he challenged the intimidating Ilari Oyo leader in the Ile Oti (tavern). He’s also known for enjoying palm wine and being called lazy by Lisabi. The Ilari Oyo are portrayed as violent, always training, attacking villages, or abducting people. Armed with firearms, they’re formidable, yet Osokenu—a man who loves the easy life—defeats them. Tell me what is missing here.
After the violation of his bethrothed Abebi (played by Liquorose), armed with a short blade and the burning desire for revenge and whatever madness got into him, it could not even preserve him before he left the town, he had been arrested.
Apparently, the Ilari Oyo were anticipating his recklessness and captured him, if you ask me, it looked like an entrapment. With all that said, I am now leaning towards him being more foolish than brave. Anyway, someone has to do something to make Lisabi begin the uprising, right?
Ilari Oyo
For me these guys are quite confusing for me, are they the military of the revered Oyo empire? Are these the same warriors that subjugated the eight provinces of Egba lands under Oyo Rule? The height of their incompetence is disheartening. They capture a threat to their commander but leave Osokenu armed, unbound, and strong, unwittingly guiding him to his target – Their commander. Frustratingly, their training failed them; they couldn’t disarm the unskilled killer or effectively use their weapons, including their flintlock muskets. They Could have easily used the musket and taken him out from a distance but they didn’t. Muskets are generally a long ranged weapon, I should expect that at least the Portuguese would have informed them on how to use it. They rather encircled him, unbound Osokenu pulls out a blade and takes them out. They mange to inflict some injuries and when thier captive is kneeling, they still forget to disarm him.
The captive is weakened, bleeding and at close range, a pistol or skilled swordsman would’ve sufficed—yet they oddly chose to use muskets instead – at close range. What a waste of the Oyo empire’s resources the Ilari Oyo turned out to be, zero military tactics. Anyway, its possible there was no pistol in the entire Oyo army, even though pistols would be cheaper, its highly possible the Oyo empire would rather purchase the muskets rather than the pistols. The bigger the gun the scarier you would seem, right? I don’t recall ever seeing these traditional men ever holding antique pistols, the muskets are more popular. Anyway, these Ilari Oyo are only strong against unarmed peasants consisting of old people and maybe the sick and children. Facing an enraged, untested groom, they prove no match and suffer heavy losses. If I was the commander of that force, I would be embarrassed and resign.
Portuguese
The portrayal of the Portuguese felt shallow, as they are relegated to mere background props, adding little to the storyline. Even the firearms they supply aren’t fully utilized by the soldiers, who rarely use them effectively.
Showcasing the Portuguese’s dependency on Oyo commodities would have added depth. Their interest in trading with the Oyo empire likely stemmed from the slave trade, essential for Europe’s growing agricultural demand. By supplying weapons to the Oyo Empire, the Alaafin is able to harvest enough slaves from conquered provinces. With this kind of trade the Portuguese secured a steady flow of slaves to meet this brutal demands of European plantations.
Additionally, food items could have served as major bargaining tools, exchanged for textiles or the popular rum coveted by Oyo’s elites. This trade could also explain why outrageous tributes were collected—to uphold favorable trade relations. Without this dimension, the Portuguese role felt underdeveloped, missing the opportunity to explore their vested interests more fully.
Abebi
Some characters have one function, change the intensity of the narrative, Abebi is one of those characters that does this. Unfortunately, a character that has the potential to have more value on screen is just set up to be ravaged. Her personality lacked depth—was she witty, courageous, loving, or wise? Nothing conveyed this, reducing the emotional impact. When Sangodeyi encountered her, the audience missed an opportunity to feel deeply invested. However, the camera angle effectively showed Sangodeyi’s power, making Abebi appear helpless. Abebi could’ve mirrored Braveheart’s Murron or Spartacus’s Sura, characters whose tragic ends devastated audiences because their characters were developed and we got to know how they thought and shared or adopted their philosophy.
2. Sense of Geography
The opening scene introduces a map showing the nine provinces where the story unfolds, with Oyo notably at the top. This positioning raises questions, as Oyo’s empire initially expanded southward. Research reveals that the Oyo Empire, established in the 14th century alongside the Benin Empire’s peak, was indeed growing. What we may see here reflects the empire’s early conquests in the south, possibly before expanding northwards (toward Nupe, as depicted in another Yoruba epic, House of Gaa), to the coastal areas, and even westward toward Togo.
The Lisabi: The Uprising story, however, hints at the internal strife and civil wars among the Yoruba, suggesting that uniting the Yoruba under one rule before expanding outward could have been a challenge. This internal discord likely hindered the Oyo Empire’s long-term cohesion and growth.
The film’s geographic scope may feel unclear to viewers unfamiliar with the setting. Igbehin and Gbagura are shown suffering under Ilari Oyo’s control, specifically through Sangodeyi’s oppressive actions. Osokenu mentions that other provinces have also endured similar fates, yet in the Lisabi: The Uprising movie, it’s unclear if Sangodeyi alone orchestrated this oppression or if other high-ranking Ilari officers or military leaders were involved. Managing such a vast area would logically require a significant force, yet only limited personnel are depicted onscreen, leaving the scale of the empire’s influence somewhat ambiguous.
Perceived Teleportation
The geography of the setting raises some intriguing questions. A range of hills divides Igbehin and Gbagura, and it would likely take about a day to travel between these towns or villages on foot. The Ilari’s outpost is vaguely referenced, I imagine it being somewhere between Gbagura and Igbehin. When Sangodeyi learns at night about Gbagura’s possible defiance, he quickly decides to raid and burn it down within the same night.
While Sangodeyi and his senior tribute collectors rode on horseback, as is established in the movie that the Ilari had mounted units, it’s puzzling how Osokenu, who was in Igbehin earlier, somehow knew about the raid, reached Gbagura the same night while traveling on foot. Why was he even there? This leads me to wonder about the closeness of these towns.
Sangodeyi also raids Oba Olodan’s palace—but where exactly is Olodan’s realm? Ake being east to Gbagura and the possible location of the Alake’s palace, which for the record we never got to see, are miles apart, how is Lisabi and his Aaro able to move apparently so fast through all these provinces and farm. Lisabi: The uprising makes time and travel look like teleportation.
3. Combat
There were many unsatisfying sequences, from swordplay to muskets and sorcery, all with potential but ultimately disappointing.
In battles, soldiers chose close combat over ranged attacks. They applied the wrong tactic to the given situation diminishing the fearsome reputation of the Oyo Military.
Over-reliance on Juju limited chances to showcase strategic military genius or the empire’s effectiveness in suppression.
Opportunities for epic, fantasy, or war-themed cinematic impact were missed, leaving audience unsatisfied. At least House of Gaa put in the effort to provide some basic choreographed fight sequences.
4. Visual Effects and Special Effects
In Lisabi: The Uprising, the VFX though better than most epic movies we have seen in the last two years, falls short. My argument is not on the quality but the fact that it is more distracting than aiding the story sometimes.
I’m no VFX expert, but as a viewer, not all the effects hit the mark. Take the scene where Jogbo morphs into a bipedal, lycanthrope-like creature—it felt out of place, and the effect wasn’t very realistic. The Juggernaut’s body effect was also odd, with his skin seeming to phase into some ethereal state. To convey his ability to repel blows, a scaly, reptilian hide with obsidian lustre that visibly deflected cutlasses might have felt more believable.
Similarly, the avian transformation scene was underwhelming. Instead of it looking like she was transforming into a bird, it felt more like teleportation. Adding abilities that showed her controlling birds, seeing through their eyes, or hearing through their ears would have fit well. Borrowing an effect like the “warging” from Game of Thrones would made sense too, as similar elements are found in African folklore. It would’ve enhanced the magic, giving her abilities a greater sense of purpose and mysticism. Teaching others would definitely give the uprising an advantage.
Pyromancer Wins
The only character whose VFX I found fitting was the pyromancer. I especially love the portrayal of the charming, old witch whose parables captivate me—maybe I was “bewitched” by her words! These four characters could have achieved more with stronger effects and storytelling depth. I explore those possibilities further in another article.
I certainly wasn’t happy with all the vfx in the final battle, some were unnecessary and that sickle weapon that looked to me as an Ebay version of “God of War’s chains of Chaos” or Scorpion “Get Over hear Kunai spear throw” was the most cringy.
This is the scene I came home to meet my family watching and I almost zoned out. I’m grateful for the following scene that captivated me, helping me uncover the few gems amidst the imperfections. Sangodeyi’s prosthetic head was not so realistic but this I can overlook.
There are different things to like and critique about Lisabi: The Uprising. Generally, I’d say it is worth giving the movie a chance. The casual viewer might enjoy this. The critical eyes might pick the movie apart. Whether its for fun or for intellectual reasons, Lisabi is worth engaging. As a historical piece, it falls short, overlooking key issues like actual royalty names, which I explore further here.
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