REVIEW: The Fake Funeral Trap: Why You Come First 2 is the Must-See Nollywood Masterclass on Greed and Grief

The Will, The Deceit, and The Payoff: A Deep Dive into Martins’ Cruel Test

Martins faking his death to test his wife, Crisel, after she merely asks him to write a will. On paper, it sounds like the setup for a cynical, predictable short film. But Mr Aloy Tv’s You Come First 2 takes this premise and transforms it into a sprawling, emotionally draining, and culturally resonant Nigerian melodrama that holds a mirror up to the dark side of familial duty and inheritance. This film isn’t just entertainment; it’s a grueling, hours-long indictment of societal vultures, making it one of the most talked-about productions of the year. As a sequel to the original “You Come First,” this film intensifies its emotional depth with a riveting storyline.

The movie’s core conceit is the ultimate psychological and ethical minefield: a husband orchestrating his own ‘demise’ to gauge his wife’s devotion against his family’s rapaciousness. This plot device, while extreme, is the perfect catalyst. The central theme of Trust vs. Betrayal is immediately established. Martins (the instigator) is already halfway to betrayal by doubting his wife, but the narrative quickly pivots to the far deeper betrayal enacted by his mother, brother, and sister.

The Engine of Suspense: Pacing the Greed

The narrative structure masterfully handles the slow-burn realization of the family’s wickedness. The pacing is deliberate, perhaps too slow for non-Nollywood audiences, but effective in building a suffocating atmosphere of dread around Crisel.

The film spends its first act establishing Martins’ paranoia and Crisel’s innocence. However, the second act is where the movie truly hits its stride, beginning with the family’s entrance. The conflict escalation is brilliant; it doesn’t jump straight to hostility. First, there’s the fake grief, then the subtle demands, quickly followed by the open aggression and the humiliating takeover of the house. Every scene involving the family is a masterclass in slow, venomous poisoning, with the demand for the car keys and the changing of the door locks being particularly agonizing set pieces. The outcomes—that the family is greedy and Crisel is loyal—are predictable, but the film’s strength lies not in what happens, but in the brutal how.

The Resolution: Emotionally Earned or Contrived?

The narrative’s major test lies in the climax: Martins’ grand, dramatic return from the ‘dead.’ This moment needed to deliver a seismic emotional shockwave, and for the most part, it does. The acting from the family members—their sudden shifts from celebratory malice to paralyzed terror—is highly impactful.

However, the resolution, while dramatically satisfying for Crisel, leans slightly into contrivance. Martins’ sudden transformation from a doubting, manipulative husband to a remorseful protector feels slightly rushed. His immediate and total rejection of his birth family, while morally warranted, is an extreme pivot that needed a few more minutes of contemplative dialogue to feel fully earned. Ultimately, the catharsis of seeing Crisel exonerated and the vultures publicly shamed overrides this structural wobble, ensuring the audience leaves with a feeling of justice served.

Wives, Widows, and Vultures: Dissecting Character Depth and Performance

The emotional core of You Come First 2 rests entirely on the shoulders of its performers. Nollywood dramas often rely on heightened emotion, and the acting here is calibrated to that frequency. We must look beyond subtlety and evaluate the effectiveness of the actors in conveying their designated dramatic weight.

Crisel: The Nuance of Suffering

The actress portraying Crisel carries the heavy burden of the film. Her performance is a textbook study of the falsely accused wife. Does she rely on melodrama? Yes, frequently, especially during the extended periods of tearful pleading and silent suffering. However, within the cultural context of intense grief and injustice, this high-octane emotion works. Her strongest moments are those of quiet dignity—the scenes where she refuses to fight back or stoop to the family’s level, relying on her inherent moral superiority. This portrayal is compelling because she makes the audience feel her ordeal, positioning her as an archetype of resilience rather than a mere victim.

Martins: The Believability of the Instigator

Martins is perhaps the most problematic character, not due to the performance, but the writing of his premise. His decision to fake his death is fundamentally cruel. The actor, however, does a commendable job navigating this moral swamp. He spends most of the film lurking, observing the ruin he created. The guilt and shame are etched onto his face in the quieter observation scenes. The weakness is that the script doesn’t give him enough internal conflict before the test, making his starting point hard to accept. But his final scene—where he delivers his judgment—is commanding, finally providing the moral authority needed for the character’s redemption arc to begin.

The Antagonistic Family: A Symphony of Avarice

The collective performance of the antagonistic family—the mother, the brother, and the sister—is the film’s most entertaining, albeit least nuanced, element. They are not merely villains; they are forces of nature representing pure, unadulterated greed. They are written to be cartoonishly evil, making their cruelty unambiguous and their eventual downfall sweeter.

Standout Performance: The actress playing the Mother deserves special mention. Her transition from performative grief to icy, calculating tyranny is flawless. She weaponizes her authority as the matriarch with terrifying effectiveness, using tone and body language to dismantle Crisel’s standing in the household without raising her voice until absolutely necessary. Her performance elevates the melodrama into high-stakes domestic warfare.

Weak Performance: The supporting roles of the younger siblings, while perfectly adequate in their villainy, often lack the distinctiveness of the Mother. They function primarily as a collective echo of her demands, slightly diluting their individual menace.

The Camera’s Eye and The Soundscape: Direction and Technical Execution

For a film designed to drive emotional intensity, the technical elements must be aligned to serve the narrative. You Come First 2 operates with efficient, functional direction that maximizes dramatic tension within its clear budgetary constraints.

Staging the Domestic Battlefield

The direction shines in the staging of the dramatic confrontations. The family’s scenes are frequently shot with them surrounding Crisel, using low angles and tight frames to emphasize her isolation and vulnerability. The director understands the spatial dynamics of a domestic war: the kitchen, the living room sofa (which the mother immediately claims), and the bedroom (from which Crisel is banished) all become potent symbols of power shifts. The staging is clear, allowing the actors’ intensity to drive the conflict without unnecessary visual complexity.

Cinematography and Sound: Enhancing or Intruding?

The cinematography is straightforward, favoring clear, well-lit setups. There is a commendable avoidance of excessive shaky cam, keeping the audience firmly focused on the dialogue and emotional exchange. Close-ups are used extensively to capture the micro-expressions of pain and malice.

However, the film stumbles slightly with its Sound and Music. The score is, regrettably, often generic, relying on stock dramatic stingers that cue the audience on how to feel, rather than allowing the emotion to emerge organically. In key scenes, the music swells too loudly, often intrusive during moments that needed only the actors’ voices and the tension of silence. While this is a common stylistic choice in this genre, a more subtle approach could have deepened the psychological terror.

The editing is generally smooth and functional, with an appropriate use of jump cuts and reaction shots to keep the pace moving, even during dialogue-heavy scenes. There are no glaring continuity errors, which, given the film’s runtime and dramatic scope, is a testament to competent post-production.

Inheritance, In-Laws, and Nigerian Society: Cultural Context and Social Commentary

The true power of You Come First 2 is its unflinching willingness to tackle potent socio-cultural issues prevalent across many Nigerian communities. The movie functions as a powerful piece of social commentary, making it highly relatable and ultimately viral-worthy.

The Widow’s Plight and Inheritance Rights

The film directly addresses the harrowing reality of the “widow’s witch hunt” and the ruthless pursuit of inheritance in the absence of a legal will. Crisel’s ordeal—the immediate accusation, the physical and emotional abuse, the seizure of property—is a heartbreakingly accurate depiction of what many Nigerian women face after the death of a spouse. The movie’s core message is a direct, screaming call for awareness about the importance of a properly drafted will as the only defense against such familial cruelty.

By making the request for a will the very starting point of the conflict, the film elevates a legal document into a matter of marital survival. The family’s belief that they, the blood relatives, have a superior right to Martins’ property than his lawfully wedded wife, exposes a deeply entrenched, patriarchal cultural bias that the film aggressively critiques.

Friends vs. Blood: The Loyalty Divide

A crucial element of the narrative is the contrasting portrayal of Martins’ friends, Raphael and Collins. These characters stand in stark opposition to the Antagonistic Family. They offer emotional support, common sense, and, crucially, legal intervention, serving as Crisel’s only lifeline. This highlights a modern perspective where the support of chosen family (friends) can be far more valuable and morally upright than the predatory nature of blood relatives. The film ultimately suggests that true loyalty is not determined by DNA, but by action during crisis.

The film’s perspective is decidedly modern and progressive. It sides entirely with Crisel, the independent, modern woman whose rights are being trampled by traditional, avaricious forces. This positioning explains its massive popular appeal: it champions the victim and validates the frustrations of a generation tired of witnessing these injustices.

Verdict and Call-to-Watch

You Come First 2 is a compelling, intense, and emotionally exhausting deep-dive into the cultural pathology of greed, anchored by a devastatingly effective plot device. It is a film that will make you angry, sad, and ultimately relieved, validating the power of marital love over familial avarice.

Criterion	Score
Thematic Resonance	5/5
Character Depth & Performance	4/5
Direction & Technical Execution	3.5/5
Cultural Commentary	5/5
Overall Impact	4.5/5

Star Rating: ………………….4.5 out of 5

One-Sentence Thesis:

You Come First 2 is a powerful, cathartic Nollywood melodrama that utilizes an extreme plot device—a fake death—to deliver a necessary and brutal social critique of greed, the plight of widows, and the essential need for legal protection against predatory family members.

The Call to Watch: Be Prepared to Be Furious

Should you watch this movie? Absolutely. If you are a fan of high-stakes, character-driven Nollywood dramas that offer both tear-jerking performances and sharp social commentary, this is essential viewing. However, be prepared: the family’s cruelty is relentless, and the second act is a marathon of emotional abuse.

You Come First 2 is more than just a movie; it’s a conversation starter and a warning. It’s a call for every married person to write that will and for every community to confront the vultures that prey on the recently bereaved. Go watch it now, and prepare to be furious.