“Red Alert” Is Nollywood’s Wishful Thinking of a Mob Movie

It’s really hard to preach the concept of “Nollywood renaissance”—renewed interest in the Nigerian film industry upon its rebirth from the low-budget and low-quality homemade era of the 1990s to 2000s—with films like Red Alert lurking around.

A film’s ambitiousness turning a disaster is an acceptable and understandable tragedy. Pained, yes, but understandably so. However, when everything points to it being another case of intense Hollywood-ization of Nollywood, with the added bitter taste of undercooking.

Red Alert is a mob/crime movie…or at least thinks it is, only that it misses everything crucial to the sub-genre. The iconic dialogues, moral ambiguity of complex characters and power plays are all missing or poorly handled.

Chief Ezenwa (Alex Usifo) the supposed drug kingpin and big baddie in this film is married to Mabel (Tina Mba) who mothered Ada (Juliet Njemanze) and Chetah (Valentina Onyeka). His line of business obviously comes with the bonus of ruffling dangerous features, chief of whom, Udoka, is out to get his pound of flesh.

While the film’s official synopsis wants you to believe that a feud reaches boiling point when Ezenwa’s illegitimate daughter, Amanda, is abducted, it’s actually when his son’s life is threatened earlier that it happens. Truly, there are hints of consequences of adults’ actions trickling down to their kids, but there’s nothing in this film that compels sympathy for any child other than relying on sheer cuteness.

If there’s anything that screams “poor Hollywood influence” in Red Alert, it’s the stuntwork. People are flying aimlessly and slow-motion is ill-employed as an excuse to exude bad-assery. Besides, any suspense the film hopes to draw from the savagery of the goons and druglords is dead on arrival for the simple reason of not adhering to the grand “show, not tell” principle of filmmaking.

If you make it past the first hour, credit goes to the actors who salvage what they can. Tina Mba proves why she’s regarded as an actress of TinMba and caliber with her jaw-dropping performance as the wife of a drug lord who holds more respect and command amongst his men than her husband. Beware, she’s one hell of a schemer too, and that’s likely (again) what’ll make anyone want to stay to the end: to see what she’s up to.

Ella Idu’s Martha carries the lived-in grit of someone molded by the drug underworld; every gesture and line delivered with the ease of a character who knows its shadows inside out. Jidekene Achifusi turns in a solid performance as well, but beyond these sparks, there is little that qualifies as a silver lining in Red Alert.

What makes the disappointment sting even more is the pedigree of its director. Director Austin Faani has been in the game since 1990s, long enough to know what constitutes a compelling film better than most. Yet his experience feels curiously absent here. Red Alert bears none of the hallmarks of a seasoned filmmaker: no guiding vision, no disciplined storytelling, no thoughtful craftsmanship.

As the film has already made its way into select U.S. theaters, one wonders how it did play abroad. A flashy title and neat cinematography might fool first-timers, but it’s certain that word-of-mouth would dish out its caveat.

In its current form, Red Alert is not the herald of a Nollywood renaissance, but a reminder of how far the industry still has to go.

Release Date: September 5, 2025

Runtime: Approximately One Hour and Thirty Minutes

Streaming Service: None, Cinematic Release

Directed by: Austin Faani

Cast: Tina Mba, Jide Kene Achufusi, Juliet Njemanze, Linda Osifo, Charles Billion, Onny Michael, Ella Idu, Alex Usifo Omiagbo, Chacha Eke Faaani, Raymond Okafor, Prisma James, Kizzy Uzoma