The Trade

Pleasantly surprised by this crime thriller that is set in the kidnap for ransom underworld. Blossom shines through as the charismatic lead supported by a cast of heavy hitters and newer faces come together to make the third act worth it. The story is one that isn't foreign to the nigerian experience with highlights of culture and religion in the background. Stan Nze and Shawn Faqua continue to show their versatility and Ali Nuhu gives an award-worthy understated performance as a relatable police investigator. The large cast is really good, the suspense feels real and the pacing was just right. My one problem was that with a couple of characters the accents were a bit inconsistent and sometimes too exaggerated. I don't think that was helpful.

I just got to watch this, I guess the marketing could have been better. Despite my relative late viewing, it kept me up and engaged all night. The acting of the main character Blossom Chukwujekwu aka Erik was amazing. The story line delved into an issue that needed to be brought to light. Amazing cast. I hope this movie gets it deserved flowers.

The director and her team were able to showcase the direct influence and impact Eric had on so many lives and yet highlight his ability to shroud his true self from his closest associates successfully was impressive. It shows that all being said we play a major role on the information about ourselves we allow to get out. This was a great movie worthy of an Oscar nomination.

Excellent movie! We all had an idea of how the movie will end but the execution was top notch. Very good acting (down to the accents and mannerisms of the area) by everyone.

There are learning point here: the pitfalls of greed (on the part of the kidnappers and their accomplices, and the bent policemen), no honour amongst thieves, dangers of polygamy, the risks associated with overt career ambition, the government only acts when the upper class begins to feel the pain of poor governance/insecurity, etc.

If only Nigerian police had the resources and organisational structure to pull out the policing we were shown in this movie.

Omo, the casts all played their roles very well!

It was really good to see actors that have never acted these kind of roles acting new roles beautifully well!

The picture quality was superb not to talk of the sound!

Definitely not the typical nollywood movie!

My favorite actor was definitely Blossom, better ibo man.

Followed by Shawn Faqua with his good ibo accent, nice one.

Disregard any bad reviews, if you're into crime, action and thriller movies, this is definitely the right one.

I was hooked, there were no dull moments at all and honestly speaking, I couldn't guess what was next.

Kudos to Jade for this movie!

We're always excited anytime Jade drops a movie as she has a brilliant mind and values quality. Somehow The Trade wasn't her style. The film had a good initiative but couldn't stand up straight due to the misused cast and inadequate screenplay

DELICIOUS

-The Trade was a great initiative to raise awareness on the rampant increase of kidnappings in Nigeria and the story gave us an idea of the current situation

-Always a pleasure to see veteran actors like Franca Brown, Chiwetalu Agu, as well as other actors like Rita Dominic and Uru Eke

-The story provided a good presentation of Eric as the kidnapper who left no trace behind. We got to see his entourage, connections, and activities.

BLAND

-The Trade had an ensemble cast but didn't use the actors properly.; many characters came and went abruptly.

. -It's becoming a broken record to always mention sound engineering issues in Nollywood 😓

-Overall, the screenplay wasn't gripping, don't think there was a climax at all. The scenes were plain, not seasoned with suspense or terror.