Iyalode had everything going for it on paper: a star-studded Yoruba epic, a culturally rich premise, and the promise of something fresh from Toyin Abraham. It’s a bold tale rooted in ancestry, power, and sacrifice. The film attempts to explore the burdens of legacy and the cost of leadership through the eyes of Ashabi Adikaka, a fearless warrior who returns to claim a title bound by physical perfection. Unfortunately, much of this promise is lost beneath baffling storytelling choices and glaring technical missteps.

Inherited Burdens, Scattered Focus

The film opens with confusion masquerading as suspense. Its early scenes are jumbled with rushed editing and inconsistent shots, making it difficult to grasp the world or stakes. We’re thrown into a convoluted subplot about the previous Iyalode, and a relationship dynamic between Ashabi and a young man whom she saved, which eats up screen time but adds little to the main arc. The core story finally reveals itself around the halfway mark: Ashabi, from a powerful matriarchal line, returns to claim the title of Iyalode. But tradition forbids anyone with a physical deformity from assuming the role. Her mother, disqualified due to a swollen foot, calls her back through an earth deity.

Themes: Legacy, Power, and the Price of Leadership

Iyalode is ambitious. It interrogates the cultural weight of titles, the expectations placed on people in power, and the contradictions within traditional systems. It attempts a critique of purity politics: the idea that power must be tied to physical perfection. In Ashabi’s arc, we see a layered examination of resilience, destiny, and the unfair limits tradition can impose.

Thematically, Iyalode deals with legacy, sacrifice, power, and womanhood, but these motifs get lost in the muddled storytelling and bloated screen time. The central conflict—who deserves to lead, and what qualifies them—is buried beneath meandering detours and underwhelming conflict resolutions. Ashabi’s loss of her arm renders her ineligible for the Iyalode title, echoing the condition that disqualified her mother. Yet, the narrative tension this could have built fizzles out, replaced with a scattered structure that never fully pays off its own stakes.

The story’s rhythm drags. Scenes linger too long, dialogue meanders, and transitions often feel unmotivated. There’s a rich plot buried in here, but it’s bloated with detours. The storytelling leans too heavily on overexplaining irrelevant details while leaving critical elements vague (like the Ile deity), dragging scenes past their welcome and introducing confusing subplots early on that never fully find footing.

Performances: Weight Carried by Few

Toyin Abraham brings fierce presence to Ashabi. Her portrayal of a warrior torn between fate and agency is both compelling and grounded. She embodies the grit, pain, and spirit of the role. Ashabi herself is a layered character—fierce, strategic, flawed—but the film fails to fully capitalize on her complexities. Arogba and Korojobo’s hostility toward Ashabi is poorly justified, undermining what could have been a compelling adversarial dynamic.

Peju Ogunmola also stands out, anchoring her maternal role with the kind of emotional truth Nollywood mothers are known for. Her quiet moments resonate far deeper than the louder conflicts around her.

Technicals That Undermine the Intention

Sound design is among the film’s most jarring flaws. Dialogue is consistently drowned by overpowering background music and loud interludes, making it hard to follow key conversations. The subtitles, meant to aid understanding, are riddled with errors and inconsistencies.

Editing is rushed and unfocused, especially in the early scenes. Multiple shots stack over each other without breathing room. It feels like the film is trying to say everything at once, achieving little in return. The CGI, while essential for visualizing supernatural elements is functional at best but distractingly artificial when it matters most.

Costuming and set design should root us in a period world, but here, the fabrics feel too new, too clean, too modern. There’s no sense that this world has been lived in. The fake hand used after Ashabi’s injury is painfully unconvincing, further detracting from the emotional impact.

Final Thoughts

There’s a meaningful story buried within Iyalode—a meditation on womanhood, sacrifice, and legacy in a world ruled by restrictive customs. But that story is trapped in a film marred by poor sound, rushed editing, weak effects, and clunky pacing. Toyin Abraham delivers a powerful performance, and Peju Ogunmola reminds us of the strength in quiet roles. But these high points are swallowed by a film that needed tighter direction and stronger post-production.

Verdict

Despite its ambition and cultural uniqueness, Iyalode struggles under the weight of its own potential. Strong performances from Abraham, Ogunmola, and a few standout stunts hold it together, but the flawed execution—technical glitches, narrative gaps, and overlong runtime—diminish its impact.

Rating: 2.5/5