Black Arrow v. Makanaki: Settling The Debate For Who Was The Ultimate On Screen Bad Boy
In 2018 movie goers were treated with the Kemi Adetiba directed King of Boys. The movie was well received with great praise coming for the character Makanaki, portrayed by Nigerian rapper Reminisce. Makanaki immediately drew comparisons with another excellent portrayal from years gone by, that of Black Arrow by Segun Arinze in the 1996 home video, Silent Night which was directed by Chico Ejiro. The basis for comparisons wasn’t far fetched as they are both quintessential portrayals of gang leaders in Nigerian cinema. The arguments that have been birthed from comparisons between both characters have largely been in pockets of conversations between friends and movie reviewers.
At Urban Central we have decided to create a platform for this discussion to be had along defined lines and we have assembled a panel to do so.
THE PANEL
1. Veteran Nigerian Journalist, Loose Talk Podcast Alumni and Senior Editor at Opera News; Ayomide ‘AOT2’ Tayo [Tweets @AOT2]
2. Former Senior Music Reporter at Pulse Nigeria, Cultural Commentator and Seasoned Music Critic; Ehis Ohunyon [Tweets @ehiscombs]
3. Urban Central Scribe, Lawyer and Writer at large; Aise Dominic [Tweets @Durhminick]
Caveat: Spoilers Ahead
THE BACKGROUND-SETTING THE TONE
A0T2: When I watched Kemi Adetiba’s King of Boys at the movie premiere in 2018, I was impressed by two actors. Toni Tones more than held her own on the big screen but it was Nigerian rapper Reminisce who stole the scene as the boss of the underworld Makanaki. His scowl, gritty voice and demeanor almost blurred the lines between fiction and reality. It’s no easy feat to match Sola Sobowale energy for energy but Reminisce did the damn thing. It’s no wonder that his profile soared after the movie. King of Boys introduced Reminisce as the latest Nollywood bad boy in town and made him a sex symbol. With the sequel (or prequel) of the Nollywood blockbuster in the works, Alaga as his fans call him is set to reprise his role as Makanaki.
Ehis: Comparing talents is hard, particularly talents forged in different eras, cultures, and standards. I struggle to do it with footballers, musicians and such is my struggle in choosing the ultimate bad boy between Segun Arinze’s character as Black Arrow in the 1996 Nollywood Classic ‘Silent Night’ and Reminisce as Makanaki in the modern-day Kemi Adetiba flick, King of Boys released 22 years after.
In an identical pattern, Segun Arinze like Reminisce started out making music with his debut album ‘Dreams’ released in the early 90s. But that is where the comparison ends. While Segun’s music career faded with his phenomenal success coming through movies, Reminisce made a success of his with movies being the natural follow-up required in his resume. So my verdict doesn’t take into account Segun Arinze’s subsequent roles that further enhanced his legacy but strictly limited to the expression of their characters as Black Arrow and Makanaki.
Aise: Reminisce gave a commendable portrayal of a notorious gang leader named Makanaki in Kemi Adetiba’s King of boys which in my opinion was a strong acting debut, however, I feel his performance was nowhere near Segun Arinze’s portrayal of Black Arrow in the 1996 classic Silent Night 1 & 2, especially part 2. Although Segun Arinze had a musical career in the early 90s, even going ahead to release an album ‘Dreams’ in 1992, before venturing into acting, he had already gained experience as an actor before portraying Black Arrow in Silent Night, unlike Reminisce who was a debutant in the movie industry, trying to establish himself as an actor.
THE X FACTOR, WHERE X = PROPER CHARACTER EXECUTION
Ehis: I’ve listened to rap for a long time, all forms of it, home and away, but very few rappers say things that evoke a feeling that they mean it and will do it. So when Reminisce on ‘3rd World Thug’ rhymed “To ba be, ma ko won wa ba e pelu 40-seater’’ [If you trespass, I will come with my goons in a 40-seater], I felt it and that is the fervor he brought to his character as he eyed the throne in the ugly underworld of gang lords.
“Black Arrow” was the reason we ensured our gates were always locked at nights and employed security men on our streets, while “Makanaki”, on the other hand, is that street thug that everyone recognizes, harassing bus drivers at parks, wields a strong influence in every hood, recruited during elections to steal ballot boxes and supplies ammunition for every gang battle. We feared him not just at night, but during the day. His character created such a visceral reality of societal criminals that we have come to live in fear of, such that I can still vividly remember how the cinema hall erupted in cheers and relief when he was shot in the closing scenes.
Aise: I feel Black Arrow was more of a bad-ass than Makanaki, one look at Segun Arinze’s face with his eerily protruding eyes was enough to send shivers down the spines of his audience in stark contrast to the already familiar, but stern face of Reminisce that has graced TV screens, posters and magazines for years now. Although Reminisce gave a good account of himself in the movie, I was unfazed by the Makanaki character. It reminded me of when Tyga played a gang leader in Barbershop:The Next Cut (2016) and when Asap Rocky played the neighborhood head huncho in Dope (2015), what they all had in common was commendable acting that blended with the aura and persona of the bad boy image already being displayed by them in their music and accompanying videos. Although these aforementioned artists didn’t have as much screen time as Reminisce did in King of Boys. I believe he fit into the role of Makanaki easier because of this same persona that we have come to know him for, albeit lacking important character depth.
AOT2: Now let’s have some fun, who was portrayed better? Makanaki or Black Arrow? If you are Gen-z then you would swing the way of Makanaki. If you are an old-school millennial like me, Black Arrow wins. Makanaki was bad to the bone but that was his flaw. He was a machine of destruction, a stone cold killer with no warmth or loose edges for any bit of humanity to creep in. Black Arrow on the other hand, had a human side which made him more relatable. He wasn’t one dimensional. The best villains are more than killing machines. They are complex, conflicted and contradictory human beings who just happen to make a living out of killing people.
Black Arrow is Walter White while Makanaki is The T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Sure, T-1000 is menacing but Walter White is more menacing and human also. Who do you fear most in crime movies, the underling of the boss or the boss himself?. Let me pose this in another way, in Silent Night, Black Arrow was the pinnacle of evil. In King of Boys, Makanaki wasn’t.
IMPACT
Aise: Another factor that favored Black Arrow in my opinion, was the generous screen time he had. Being the major antagonist of his own movie unlike Makanaki, he had more lines and scenes than the latter, this, to me will cost Reminisce points in any discussion because he didn’t get the screen time to portray his character so well so as to express it deeply. Although he practically bossed the few moments he was on screen, I feel he should have been given more screen time. Also I’d like to remind everyone that Black Arrow had more victims than Makanaki, and was merciless as well as unpredictable in his killings; he murdered a chief priest that believed he was indestructible. And also irrationally but boldly went to challenge the police in the Police Station, where he got shot, beginning the end to his criminal life.
However, Makanaki had a lot of gang members to do his dirty work for him, so he got his hands messy a few times, if I remember correctly, just once, or twice. The only element he may have had over Black Arrow was his aura, persona and confidence, and that’s because Reminisce is just all of that, even when he is rapping for us.
AOT2: A keen Nollywood observer would know that King of Boys is a throwback to the crime thrillers that reigned in the 90s and early 00s. Idumota (the Hollywood of home videos in Nigeria) pumped so many action movies and thrillers during this period regarded as the VHS or VCD golden age era.
Of course what’s an action movie without the bad guy, villain or what is known as the ‘boss’ in Nigerian movie lingo? The likes of Hanks Anuku, Gentle Jack and others terrorized TV screens with their gang of robbers and pump action rifles. Heck, even the beauty queen Regina Askia led her all-female squad of dare-devil robbers in Most Wanted (a Set It Off rip-off).
In the canon of Nollywood bad boys, the solid actor known as Segun Arinze reigns tall in the deepest pits of Hades. His role as Black Arrow in the Nollywood franchise ‘Silent Night’ remains one of the most memorable characters in Nigeria’s movie history. Segun Arinze has acted in so many roles in his extensive career but he is arguably most remembered as the leader of an armed robbery gang in Ajegunle.
Ehis: The nostalgia factor works for ‘Silent Night’, particularly with how dare-devil robbery was rampant at the time amplifying Black Arrow’s role. His looks [Those large eyes] and ruthless attitude will frighten anyone. He was the perfect villain, with his acting becoming a blueprint for succeeding criminal flicks and the rise of other bad boys like Ernest Asuzu and Hanks Anuku, but when compared to Makanaki, Reminisce wins it for me.
VERDICT
AOT2: To be fair, it’s a close call but Black Arrow takes the day. Segun Arinze is miles ahead of most actors in Nigeria so no wonder he takes the day. Black Arrow is set to hit the screens soon. It would be great to see him and Makanaki square up at the box office.
Ehis: Black Arrow exuded fear mostly behind the gun, the cold leader of the gang of robbers from Ajegunle who killed the son of a Judge, shot his sister and started a war against the police. Makanaki, however, didn’t require a weapon to cause terror. He was not just evil, he was the devil himself; always scheming, pulling off a frightening yet magnetic character. From the scenes where he caught a member of his gang trying to steal from their loot to orchestrating a fire at Eniola’s cell, Makanaki left viewers with more iconic scenes that sparked a discussion on why more Nigerian rappers are needed on the big screen and a standard on how best to use them.
While both actors successfully portrayed larger-than-life characters, there is more to being a bad guy than the urge to kill, Makanaki emoted not just dread but also taste. He filled each frame with that swaggering, ambitious and viciously sinister personality of someone we all wouldn’t want to cross but at the same time won’t mind having on speed dial.
Aise: There is no reason to be biased about who played a better role, in my opinion, it is glaring that Segun Arinze tapped into a role so well in an industry and environment that at the time lacked the facilities and resources the movie industry has today. He created a character that is and will be a topic for years to come in the Nollywood, he made the film a classic and turned himself into an unforgettable icon, a feat I doubt Reminisce was able to achieve with King of Boys. Although the Makanaki character was impressive, and one of the best things in the movie, maybe he will garner such accolades if he had a standalone movie, exploring the character more, like an origin story or a backstory.
So there you have it, our panel has spoken but we want to hear from our readers on who they think was the better character. So hit us up on Twitter @TheUrbanCentral, on Instagram @theurbancentral.
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