Sumotherhood: Adam Deacon’s Avuvahood follow-up falls flat
Adam Deacon, the actor who made his name in various crime dramas of the 2000s, struck gold in 2011 with Anuvahood, an action-comedy that became a modest British hit. After years of speculation, he’s back with Sumotherhood, a sequel of sorts that enlists a number of famous faces.
He and Jazzie Zonzolo play Riko and Kane, low level criminals who find a solution to their money issues with a planned robbery. When that caper goes wrong, they find themselves still broke and now humiliated.
Undeterred, the pair plan an even more outlandish robbery that elevates their name on the streets, and unexpectedly gets the attention of a powerful criminal organisation. The marketing has emphasised the amount of cameos in the film, no doubt a big reason why the production got made in the first place. From ex-Eastender Tamsin Outhwaite to global superstar Ed Sheeran, there are numerous “look who it is” moments that grab a laugh.
Sumotherhood’s best appearances tend to subvert expectations, such as Sheeran playing a drug addict with a golden voice, or MP Jeremy Corbyn gleefully using street slang. Aside from more fleshed out appearances, such as Jennifer Saunders as a police officer, there isn’t much there that won’t have been shown in the trailers. Famous faces don’t make a movie, however, and in fact the scattershot casting only adds to the feeling that this is a patchwork of scenes rather than a finished film.
The need to fit in gags, cameos, and action means Sumotherhood doesn’t focus on anything for too long, which is especially apparent when the serious subject of Bipolar disorder is mentioned (something Deacon deals with in real life). These various themes just don’t fit together, giving the viewer whiplash as they are asked to feel many different things in a short space of time. On the plus side, Deacon and Zonzolo exhibit the same chemistry that made their first outing a success.
While the cameos undoubtedly helped get the film made, I can’t help but wonder what Sumotherhood might have been like with the leads having more of the spotlight
Brimming with underdog attitude and one-liners to spare, they make the most of the time they have together, which is surprisingly sparse given they are the main characters. In addition to everything else going on, there are some ambitious action scenes that both stars throw themselves into gamely. Sadly, the density of the script means they feel like supporting players in their own film, and performances such as Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as kingpin Shotti are drowned out by the business of it all.
While the cameos undoubtedly helped get the film made, I can’t help but wonder what Sumotherhood might have been like with the leads having more of the spotlight.
While Deacon throws everything at the screen, Sumotherhood lacks focus and becomes an exhausting cavalcade of jokes and cameos. It’s likely to be a hit in short clips on social media, but in its feature length form this sequel wasn’t worth the wait.