By Gbenga Osinaike
In the last couple of weeks there have been online promotional clips on Agbara Nla urging people to visit a nearby cinema to watch the Christian classic by Mike Bamiloye which has been revisited by his sons, Joshua and Damilola Bamiloye.
The movie has since enjoyed rave reviews across the internet over the past few weeks. It has earned the biggest single preview ever in the whole of West Africa I became curious too and decided to watch it on Saturday October 11 at a cinema in Ota, Ogun State. It was indeed worth my time.
At the dot of 5.35pm the film begins to.roll. it ends around 8.15pm. its opening soundtrack provides a glimpse into Yoruba cosmology. The setting is eerie, and the scenes showcase rich cultural nuances.
And then the palace of the King of Muwonleru and his Olori (Queen) set the tone for what to expect in the movie . The opening shot gives the viewer a clue to the movie’s central plot.
Isawuru, the protagonist, arrives on horseback like a warrior, threatening fire and brimstone while demanding worship from the King of Muwonleru. The name of the town has grave implications. It means hold them bound.
Isawuru is the enfant terrible oppressing the people of Muwonleru and causing havoc in many lives. He boasts of absolute power over the inhabitants, including the king.
The life of the king, Adetunji, is at stake. He is in constant confrontation with Isawuru, who insists on being worshiped by the townspeople. Isawuru consults spiritual forces and makes it his mission to end the king’s reign.
The king, cosmopolitan in appearance, retreats to his library and recalls an encounter with his brother, Kolade, who he believes could help keep Isawuru in check through his faith and knowledge of God.
The scene then goes back to Kolade, who feels a strong conviction that God is calling him to evangelize Muwonleru. However, his wife discourages him. Right around that time, a lucrative offer comes from Kolade’s employers—he is promoted and transferred to Lagos.
Incidentally, the man he is meant to replace in the Lagos office is a Christian named James. James resigns from his corporate position because he feels a divine leading to go and evangelize Muwonleru village. He obeys the call along with his wife.
The gateway to taking that step opens when Brother James prays for a couple waiting for the fruit of the womb. The couple had previously sought help from Isawuru, who had a reputation for solving people’s problems or perhaps adding to them.
However, Isawuru fails the couple—the child he promised does not survive birth. The couple surrenders their lives to Christ, meets Brother James, who prays for them, and they are blessed with a healthy baby.
This miracle leads both James and the couple to Muwonleru village to confront the reality of Isawuru’s hold. Having resigned from his corporate job, James decides to stay in the village for full-time mission work.
Upon meeting Isawuru, the dark spiritual leader is shocked to see that the woman who sought a child from him is still alive. The entire village of Muwonleru remains trapped under Isawuru’s demonic influence. A direct confrontation ensues as Isawuru attempts to instill fear in the woman’s husband, an engineer.
Back in Lagos greed and the lure of unrighteous gain catch up with Kolade’s wife. She secures an attractive job where she is introduced to the marine kingdom through a forner school mother who happens to be her immediate boss.
On the front lines of ministry, James takes on the burden of missions in Muwonleru, fighting intense spiritual battles in the early days alongside his wife. Isawuru is left bewildered by the authority carried by these missionaries. On the other hand, Kolade’s wife goes down a destructive path after being led astray by her boss—the infamous Ayamatanga spirit.
As Isawuru continues to wreak havoc in Muwonleru, Brother Kolade loses his job, and his wife suffers a mental breakdown—a seemingly direct consequence of disobedience to God’s call.
The missionary couple becomes the target of mystical attacks by Isawuru, but they consistently overcome every attempt on their lives through prayer. Eventually, Isawuru has a dramatic encounter with Christ. He ironically transforms into an instrument used by God to deliver Kolade and his wife.
The film reaches its climax with the deliverance of Kolade’s wife from the Ayamatanga spirit through Isawuru who is renamed Paul Esupofo.
Chaos erupts in the kingdom of darkness as she is set free. Her husband, who goes blind in the hospital, arrives with his wife in Muwonleru. Stepping onto the soil of Muwonleru, he looks up to the heavens and confesses his disobedience.
What works well for the movie
What works exceptionally well for the film is the pacing of the scenes. There is never a dull moment throughout its run time. The salvation theme is reinforced across the entire plot, delivering a clear message: Whoever does not have Christ lives in darkness.
Isawuru’s story in this repackaged edition of Agbara Nla mirrors that of Paul the Apostle, who aggressively persecuted the church before encountering the ultimate power.
The producers effectively leverage modern visual technology to reinforce spiritual themes and elevate the production value. While a few scenes appear AI-generated, they do not diminish the movie’s originality, cultural richness, or heavy evangelical message.
Over three decades after Agbara Nla first aired as a TV series, this remake stands out as a commendable effort to modernize the classic story and make its core message resonate with contemporary audiences.
The greatest strength
The film’s greatest strengths lie in its captivating scenes and fluid transitions. Those who haven’t watched it are missing a profound message regarding the consequences of disobedience, the efficacy of prayer, and the reality of a power far supreme to any earthly or demonic force. These themes are far better experienced on screen than retold.
It is also worth noting that the movie employs a blend of both the English and Yoruba language with an effective subtitling. The technical details resonate well with the various themes explored.
The make-up work on Mike Bamiloye who plays the role of Isawuru is highly commendable. The costumes employed and the attempt to oscillate between the old setting of the movie and the new give the movie a character of its own.
However, a potential area of concern lies in an aspect of the narrative that touches on the concept of reincarnation. A scene involving spirit children—known as Abiku in Yoruba mythology—tends to reinforce the belief that souls can repeatedly cycle into the world, which may raise theological questions for some viewers.
There are other theological issues that have been raised in some other reviews like the use of the blood of Jesus to confront the power of darkness and speaking in tongues to avert evil. These are issues that can’t be addressed in a whiff because those practices are entrenched traditions among many believers.
The reality of the time is that many Christians believe this practice of pleading the blood of Jesus always is “working” for them. And that is what has been brought to play in the movie.
The production team of Mount Zion deserves a great applause for enhancing the status of a Christian movie and using technology in such a beautiful way to point people to Jesus.