We planned the whole day just to go watch this movie. We had great expectations based on what many people were saying about the cultural influences it has. But no, it was not as expected. The characters felt forced into the story, the director forgot to give us some feelings about them to at least try to engage into their backgrounds and stories. The rituals part were not deep at all. No explanations about certain events; Whitaker's character was there because it had too. It seemed he represented part of the identity of the city but nothing was mentioned about it.

The African culture could have been beautifully represented by the music and Environments other than just the clothes and characters themselves.

As a whole, it is a movie to be entertained by during a Saturday afternoon while waiting for the party to start.