'Collision Course is a film that attempts to shed light on some of the causes of police brutality that no one seems to be paying attention to.
Movie title: 'Collision Course
Release Date: 2 September 2022 (Netflix)
Running time: 80 minutes.
Director: Bolanle Austen-Peters
Cast: Daniel Etim Effiong, Bimbo Manuel, Gregory Ojefua, Bamike Olawunmi-Adenibuyan, Kalu Ikeagwu, Nobert Young, Chioma Chukwuka Akpotha, Ade Laoye, Kenneth Okolie.
Police brutality in Nigeria and the world has always been a cause for concern.
So when Nigerians rose two years ago to 'fight the power', the world listened.
Memories of the protests, dubbed #EndSARS, are still fresh.
But rather than solve anything, it has brought a new form of hostility to the officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force.
A good example would be the viral video of some young men who drove off with a traffic warden while she was screaming to be rescued.
While her yelling, 'e dey carries me dey go where I no know,' made humour for many, it did not mask the fear in her voice.
Hers is not an isolated case.
'Collision Course' is a film that attempts to shed light on some of the causes of police brutality that no one seems to be paying attention to.
Plot
In this movie, Mide Johnson, a struggling artiste with a pregnant fiance, is kidnapped by some TARS officers who torture him and force him to part with his money at gunpoint.
He is haunted by this experience, causing triggers on random occasions.
Even though he has a highly influential father with a foreign degree to boot, Mide struggles with his career as he tries to pioneer a new genre of music.
On the other side is Officer Magnus, an actual victim of the Nigerian public service system.
With a family living in deplorable conditions, Officer Magnus unsuccessfully stakes his kids' school fees to buy his way into the elite TARS division of the Nigeria Police Force.
On the same night that Mide is booed off the stage in front of his fiance, Officer Magnus' wife makes good her threat to move out of the barrack with his kids.
Both personalities' paths cross at an illegal roadblock, and their charged-up moods create a trigger that changes everything.
Review
'Collision Course' is proof that Nollywood has improved in storytelling.
It is evident in how it captures the different elements that trigger police brutality in Nigeria.
But perhaps this works as a plus and a minus for the film.
In today's Nigeria, the police and civilians have fallen victim to brutality.
'Collision Course' abrupt ending missed an opportunity to spotlight the dangers of police brutality and the citizen's hostility towards the police.
The scene of Mide and Magnus in a car, where they both finally have a talk and realise that they both want the same thing is a good reflection of today's Nigeria.
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Magnus forgetting to uncork his gun, which lets off the shot that kills Mide, is a metaphor for how uncontrolled anger claims lives.
Or better yet, how accidental discharge has claimed innocent lives in the country.
Yes, the film spotlights the highhandedness of the Nigerian police, but it also sheds light on some of the causes.
For instance, Officer Magnus is a laid back police officer who wants to do his duties. However, he is pressured by financial incapacities and a nagging wife.
This triggers the question, are we taking the psychological needs of police officers seriously in this country?
Besides that, 'Collision Course' is a good film, with fine acting and near-perfect directing, but it doesn't say anything new.
