Once promising sequel falls from grace to grass

Category: Nollywood

Movie Title: Merry Men 3: Nemesis

Release Date: 13 October, 2023

Director: Moses Inwang

Runtime: 2 hours, 11 minutes

Cast: AY Makun, Ramsey Nouah, William Uchemba, Sam Dede, Chidi Mokeme, Francis Onwochei, Ufoma Mc Dermott, Nadia Buari, Caroline Hutchings, and Regina Daniels

The statement “What the heck” quickly comes to mind when watching 2023’s action thriller drama Merry Men 3: Nemesis.

Nigerians’ love for indigenous cinematic films was renewed when Merry Men was introduced in 2018. This was mainly due to the film being one of the first Nollywood films to lean into action sequences and its use of new and old famous talents in the industry like Ramsey Noah, Resident Nollywood bad boy, and player Jim Iyke, and fast-rising star Falz.

While the first film in the Merry Men trilogy had several shortcomings, viewers overlooked them, focusing more on its Yoruba Demons narrative that spun several social media challenges and discourses.

The announcement for the second film received mixed reactions as viewers wondered if the producers would learn from the mistakes in the first film or follow the exhausting trope of almost every action film sequel: a character getting revenge.

Based on the almost non-existent buzz around the release of Merry Men 3, it is safe to say that the producers should have learned from their mistakes.

Merry Men 3 needs a sense of originality; several film elements seem like an afterthought. From the entire storyline to even the characters’ actions, the film comes off as what happens when a writer watches too many action films and picks a trope from each without any creative spin.

The Plot

The third instalment in the trilogy picks up from the previous film. We see Ayo and Kemi preparing to get married. Their wedding is interrupted by Dafe, Ayo’s former best friend, who was thought to be dead.

The gist is that Dafe and Ayo were in a gang many years ago. During an operation, Dafe gets shot, and Ayo abandons him. This filled Dafe with so much rage and contempt. So when he throws a coup and becomes the leader of a new crime group in America, he decides to get revenge on Ayo.

At the wedding, Ayo and the rest of the Merry Men received news from Dafe that he had killed Naz and Remi. This breaks the hearts of the men, thus setting them on a path of vengeance.

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Their thirst for vengeance increases when they discover Dafe’s bigger plan to kill top politicians and frame them for the deaths. The Merry Men begin to work on a plan, recruiting familiar characters like Dame Maduka and Zara.

During a face-off, Ayo is shot to death by Dafe. However, in a twist of fate, he is brought to life. After a shocking betrayal, the group is forced into confrontation with Dafe, waging a war where they meet imminent doom.

The Good

Merry Men 3’s cinematography sets the tone for future Nollywood action films. The film was bearable through good lighting, great camera shots, and beautiful yet functional locations. The sound was also tremendous and possessed a certain accurate cinematic undertone.

A few of the castings for this film were great. And by great, we refer to the casting of Ireti Doyle as Dame Maduka. Once again, she shines brightly as a self-centred, evil, and intelligent villain willing to go through whatever means to destroy everyone and everything. Chidi Mokeme also stands out through the actions he portrayed as Dafe. Everything from his body language to facial expressions was well-suited for his villainous role.

Let’s talk about the action scenes. The fighting scenes were intense, which is a good thing. The characters showed mastery of stunt moves accompanied by nice special effects.

The Bad

Merry Men 3 is an excellent example of why sequels don’t work out. The Moses Inwang-directed film fails to offer anything new; the plot feels like a copy and paste of the second film.

The idea of a new character returning to get revenge on a significant character in the previous film has been overdone sequentially (a good example is the Fast and Furious franchise). This is not inherently a lousy trope to ride on, but Merry Men 3’s execution needed more nuance. The whole thing felt linear.

It would have been amazing if there had been several twists and turns; for example, Dafe’s identity could have been concealed for a more dramatic ending.

Viewers could also have been convinced to believe that Ayo was dead, only to have him return to help the rest of the gang. The point is that the writers tread a path of predictability, making the film a snooze fest.

Many of the actors did not help the lacklustre nature of the film, as they delivered their lines with bad tones or bland facial expressions. A good example would be the scenes where they receive the news of Naz and Remi’s deaths; it feels as if the characters are unaffected by what happened. Even when they fake-cried, viewers found it difficult to connect to their grief.

Speaking of deaths, can anyone explain why Naz and Remi were the first to die? Understandably, their characters had to be killed off since the actors did not return for the sequel, but the way it was done was meh. Rather than have Dafe kill both of them barely fifteen minutes into the film, one could have been speculated to have drifted from the group and relocated to a different country.

This creates the possibility of that character coming back. It even makes the possibility of that character becoming the next major villain if they want to do a fourth film.

Lastly, Dafe is a good villain, but his motivations are not strong enough for his actions. Dafe comes off as an intelligent guy, so it’s hard to believe that he would ruin Ayo’s life because he ran away when Dafe got shot in the head.

Again, Dafe got shot in the head. Everyone knows a headshot is a quick death, so Ayo running away is understandable. It would have been great if there had been a more dramatic event or even if the Dafe and Ayo paths had not crossed in the past.

Final Verdict

3/10. Merry Men 3 fell from grace to grass. The trilogy may have given us a good first film, but it doesn’t deliver in its third and, hopefully, last instalment.

Merry Men 3 is showing on Netflix.