Silas Wan Japa is a riotous comedy led by skit sensation Sabinus, who brings his signature antics to the big screen in a story about desperation, disaster, and delusion. As the title suggests, Silas wants to leave Nigeria by any means necessary, even if it involves falling for a suspicious travel scheme. What unfolds is a chaotic and exaggerated sprint for cash, with Silas causing more damage than progress at every turn. With slapstick, stereotypes, and a loose storyline, the film banks heavily on Sabinus’ style of comedy, aiming to draw laughter from the familiar caricatures and absurd situations that dominate his digital sketches.

Drenched in Madness

Silas wants to leave Nigeria. He falls in love with Baby Sempe (Mercy Johnson) and is desperate to raise money for an illegal travel deal. From there, it turns into a sprint of disasters, misunderstandings, broken promises, and exaggerated performances. The idea could work. But the storytelling gets distracted. Very distracted.

The first few minutes are chaotic, funny, and absurd; exactly what you expect from a Sabinus-led comedy. But it also starts with a violent crime scene that feels entirely out of place, only later tying back into the larger plot. Not bad for a misdirect, but jarring enough to throw off early expectations. Then enters Silas: clueless, dramatic, and terminally unserious. Sabinus is playing himself, again, and if you know his brand of humour, you already know whether you’re in or out.

Instead of this being a comedy with stakes, it quickly dissolves into sketch comedy. The threat of “bad guys” chasing Silas for stolen money starts with a 48-hour ultimatum, then disappears entirely until we’re told, many scenes and “days” later, that a week has passed. That plotline doesn’t hold tension. It doesn’t even hold memory.

When Plot Gets Lost in the Punchlines

The plot progression suffers because the film prioritises joke delivery over narrative structure. Silas moves from one situation to the next in search of money, causing destruction wherever he goes; spoiling soup, ruining a shop, pretending to know what he doesn’t. But the film isn’t concerned with consequences, which is not totally bad in itself. It just wants to get to the next gag.

And sometimes, the gags land. A few of them genuinely work. But most are cheap, formulaic, and reliant on tired caricatures: the flamboyant gay man used as comic threat, over-the-top reactions, exaggerated foolishness. It’s all built on Sabinus’s typical style: a man full of empty confidence, foolish schemes, and chaotic energy.

The real issue isn’t that the jokes exist. It’s that there’s no real attempt to tie them together. The plot is forgotten, the characters reduced to setups, and by the end, you’re not sure what the story was meant to be. The ending itself feels more like a rushed skit outro than a resolution.

Performances

Sabinus dominates the screen, but only in the way a loud friend takes over a room. His performance is entirely in line with his online comedy persona: loud, confused, confident for no reason. If you’re not already a fan of this style, the film won’t convert you. Mercy Johnson as Baby Sempe brings some presence. Deyemi Okanlawon as Empire enters with promise, then fades into the chaos.

When the film shifts away from Silas, the tone suddenly changes. Scenes with Chief, or other characters without Silas, are shot and played like straight drama: serious angles, slower pacing, moodier lighting. It creates tonal confusion, making it feel like you’re switching channels inside one film.

Final Thoughts: A Film That Chooses Noise Over Direction

Technically, Silas Wan Japa does the bare minimum. The camera sometimes plays into the comedy, with some interesting angles, especially in the earlier scenes. The second scene settles more into drama and we see this on and on and on. The inconsistency in visual storytelling mirrors the inconsistency in tone. Is it a sketch film? A comedy with a real arc? A vendetta full of gags? The production quality is generally subpar.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter. Because the film isn’t aiming for coherence. It’s aiming to give Sabinus fans what they expect: madness, mischief, and a lot of loud nonsense.

Verdict

Silas Wan Japa is exactly what it wants to be: a messy, noisy, character-driven comedy packed with running jokes and absurdity. It offers little in terms of structure or development, but if Sabinus makes you laugh, you’ll find enough here to enjoy. If not, you’ll spend the runtime waiting for a story that never arrives.

Rating: 1.5/5