Eagle Wings

Eagle Wings

Eagle Wings is the first Nollywood film we have examined here. No I did not misspell Bollywood, Nollywood is the term used to describe the second highest producer in the world, which is the Nigeria film industry. And despite all that production, Nigerian movies do not appear to be that popular in North America so when the screener for this one arrived, I simply had to have a look at it.

The movie begins with title cards and credits that inform viewers about some facts related to Eagle wings. There are people with military rank but their purpose is not to represent a specific person. And that the movie was made with in collaboration with Nigerian Airforce Investments Limited. In short, it was one of the components that was guaranteed by the military of Nigeria. Or more bluntly, it is a film that promotes Nigerian government in a softer way.

And surely enough Eagle Wings opens with the riders on the horses emerging into town and killing people while ordering them to hand over Wing Commander Nura Yusuf (Enyinna Nwigwe, Beautifool, The American King As told by an African Priestess) who they assume to be within the vicinity. He surrenders, and as a shot is heard, the film is suddenly seen in flashback.

Nura says his farewells to his loved one Dooshima (Patience Ene Ujah) only a month before. Rebellion forces begin to grow in number and with it a sense of uncertainty for the wellbeing of Dooshima’s husband. And in order to reassure her he doesn’t pass through the normal channels instead explaining that she should not worry and only focus on the children as nothing will happen to him. Later during their communications he received the most amazing news ever that she is expecting a child. Then during the next assignment, his plane experiences a mechanical malfunction during flight which causes him to crash in a rebel controlled area.

In the first half an hour of watching Eagle Wings, such a great distortion espoused the existence of its characters and their relevancy. American government and military sinatas are pure about their patriotism. Everyone sympathizes with rebels who kill innocent people indiscriminately, all because they have a scene of a little boy and his mama who gets assassinated in a grocery explosion. I mean, we all understand it is a propaganda film but why does it have to be so exaggerated? So out there and so obvious?

During the movie, there are scenes that are totally unnecessary. For instance, there are so many politics or generals that take over the screen. This movie Eagle Wings, is two hours and ten minutes long. If I could recommend something, it would be to cut it down. The film contains a significant number of scenes that could have been edited or combined into one or omitted entirely.

After Nura’s crash, things improve because Paul (Femi Jacobs, Betty’s Love Triangle, Dysfunction) and Yisa (Yakubu Mohammed, Tenant of the House, Fantastic Numbers) , his fellow pilots, and an Army unit go on search for him. Even while long passages of them looking for him as the film’s score is playing in the background are more of a relief from all the lecturing and talking. Not that Eagle Wings finally quits lecturing us, we just receive more of it.

While they are looking for Nura, she stays in control, talking to local people who have problems with the government, and tackling the issue with the rebels. Amina’s leader, General Korinjo (Uzee Usman, Enigma, Lagos Real Fake Life), complicates matters by taking her hostage, and one of the general’s soldiers, Baku (Abdul U. Zada, Voiceless), who is fighting for the cause, has doubts.

Writer and director Paul Apel Papel, or Pap, is much more technically proficient in his. Eagle Wings looks decent and has some nice action sequences. He seems to be trying to make some sorts of Top Gun styled propaganda or a recruiting tocuh. And taking into account what he had at his disposal he did quite respectable North Korean style except for absurdly bad CGI bullet impacts.

Sadly his writing skills or maybe the orders of the government were quite a hindrance on him. Eagle Wings is shoots way too slow for an action film, especially when it would be given such a title. Depicting events such as the recruiting in this film’s case dragging out way too many scenes lasts very long is just patently absurd. Such a message could be delivered, one cohesive with the story, some ‘background noise’ which helps get through the audience’s defenses.

Eagle Wings may have done well in its homeland, but most people in other countries, and especially the audience in North America will not have so much patience. In fact, Pape could have saved himself a lot of trouble and simply cut the film down to ninety minutes for overseas releases. For a better chance of success with foreign audiences, the story should have been packed down to about 90 minutes without the muck that would not appeal to non-Nigerian audiences anyway.

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