Strong

Strong arrives as part of a growing trend of women-led action films in Nollywood, and it is one of the better ones. Director Biodun Stephen, who has shown a consistent ability to coax grounded performances from her casts, takes on a genre that Nollywood has traditionally handled with male leads and proves that the shift is long overdue.

Bimbo Ademoye plays Nneka, a former NSS operative pulled back into the field when a threat targeting Lagos’s water infrastructure requires someone the service can deny. Ademoye brings a physical authority to the role that is genuinely impressive — she has clearly done the work, and the action sequences in the film’s second half reward that preparation. Ifu Ennada, in a dramatic role that plays against her public persona, adds surprising depth as Nneka’s estranged sister caught in the conspiracy.

The first act takes too long to establish what the film is, and an early subplot involving Nneka’s daughter has the feel of a concession to audience expectation rather than genuine narrative need. But once Strong commits to its action thriller DNA, it moves with real momentum. The climax, staged across the Lagos Island waterfront, is the most technically ambitious action sequence in a Nollywood film since The Herd.

Verdict: Bimbo Ademoye announces herself as Nollywood’s most credible action star. The film around her is slightly uneven but more than worth your time.