An Ode to Bad Reels: Who Killed Captain Alex?

Who Killed Captain Alexis a movie with a $200 budget that was shot in a small village in Uganda starring most of the locals and is one of the greatest bad movies I have ever seen. The director of this film, Nabwana Isaac Godfrey Geoffrey, is passionate about movies, even naming his studio WakaliWood and has dedicated his life to creating action movies. This movie is a unique experience. A movie that surprises you when it comes to how entertaining it is and introduces us to something that I have only ever seen this movie do – the video joker.

When you pop in Who Killed Captain Alex?,  you realize very quickly that there is a person shouting over the movie you are trying to watch. This is the video joker, or VJ as he refers to himself, and he is there to act as a form of closed captioning since most of the dialogue is in Swahili. This might annoy in the beginning but you soon realize the amount of comedy this VJ brings to the film. His comments especially shine during the scenes with a lot of action, which this film has tons of, and he gets overly excited and starts yelling random words all while there is a gunfight onscreen. This unique aspect had me laughing out loud and wishing that more movies, especially bad ones, would adopt this strategy. It kind of reminds me of RiffTrax or Mystery Science Theater but amped up all the way.

Who Killed Captain Alex

The story of Who Killed Captain Alex? is a convoluted tale of two armies engaged in a civil war, much like the real-life civil war the director and actors were living through while making this film. The president of Uganda seeks the help of Captain Alex and his army to take on and arrest the Tiger Mafia. They exchange many gun fights throughout the film and eventually Captain Alex is eventually killed in the middle of the night but we do not know who did it. This sparks more tension along with the arrival of vengeful brothers and a Karate trained master assassin from Russia all adding, even more, comedy to the film. If there is one thing this film has going for it, it would be the non-stop action it delivers.

The last 15 to 20 minutes of the film is just that. When a CGI helicopter is brought into the battle and starts demolishing, or rather squashing buildings, the whole conclusion of the film is just a huge gun fight. The director gives a lot of freedom to the cast when it comes to the battle sequences because they are just hectic and all over the place. This actually adds a little bit of a natural flow to the scene and it genuinely seems like the actors from the village were having the time of their lives filming this movie. During that last act, I got to points where I had no idea what was going on and yet I loved every minute of it.

Who Killed Captain Alex

One of my favorite scenes in Who Killed Captain Alex? is when Alex’s brother has come to avenge his death and is laying out in a very uncomfortable looking hammock made of stings up on a tree.  The VJ states that this is actually a hotel in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. Right after, Alex’s brother awakens from his slumber and proceeds to dive off the hammock that is on top of a tree followed by a stealthy roll.  This prompts the VJ to deliver my favorite line of this film, “Ugandan Bruce Lee, we call him Bruce U.”  I lost count how many times I skipped back to that part of the film due to the amount of laughter it got out of me. Unfortunately, I still do not know who killed Captain Alex?

Who Killed Captain Alex

I give the director, Nabwana Isaac Godfrey Geoffrey and the whole cast a ton of credit for what they were able to accomplish in this movie with what little they had to work with. The fact that the director of this film has never been trained to film a movie and uses a PC he assembled from the cheapest parts he could find, which led to him having to delete every movie he makes before he begins a new one due to hard drive space, adds to the  allure of this film. The man has never even been inside of a movie theater yet his love for films keeps him going, no matter what obstacles are in front of him. This might not be a good movie but it shows heart and it easily makes my top 3 best worst films I have ever seen and whatever they are doing in that small village of Uganda is inspiring and should be supported.

The director released the movie for the world to enjoy for free but you can actually order the DVD from their website, which including a bunch of hand written notes and signed handmade extras. Check out the film below. Get your friends together to enjoy this terribly great attempt at an action movie that will keep you laughing and entertained the whole time.

If you enjoy the movie, you can help support the film on their website and spread the word of this amazing little film from a tiny village that puts other films in my Ode to Bad Reels columns to shame.


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About Luis Hernandez 67 Articles
As Reel Talk’s Creative Director, Luis is responsible for all the visuals of the website and marketing materials. He brings the views of the everyday movie audience but still holds an appreciation for the critically acclaimed films. He enjoys all things horror (good or bad) as well as comedy and action flicks. Follow him on Twitter @luisthedesigner