Netflix has upped the ante this month, with its latest local offering “iNumber Number: Jozi Gold”, a reboot of the award-winning original film, made with the team from the first iteration.
The cops-and-robbers style film hit the streaming platform earlier this week and is off to an impressive start, bagging the number two spot on the Netflix Top 10 Movies Today chart.
The new instalment brought back several original cast, including Donovan Marsh. He is in the director’s seat and he wrote the script.
The film boasts an impressive cast of A-list actors, among them S'dumo Mtshali in the lead. Mtshali plays the jaded undercover cop, Chilli.
The role was previously played by the award-wining actor Israel Matseke-Zulu, who moves behind the camera as an associate producer, and has also written and produced several tracks featured in the film.
Rapper Cassper Nyovest and Sho Majozi's music also serves as background tracks in the film.
Similar to the first instalment, Chilli and his cop partner, Shoes, played by Presley Chweneyagae, are back and set out to crack the biggest gold heist in African history.
But after the first undercover operation goes awry, they are forced to work with a bunch of “old white cops” who have been placed in “the basement” by the powers that be.
All Chilli ever wanted to do as a cop was make an impact, but after high-ranking law officials turn out to be corrupt, he has to make a decision to pick the better of two evils, while Shoes has to make a decision of whether he will be joining Chilli or keeping his job intact in order to provide for his family, which includes his most recent addition, a boy.
Chilli infiltrates the Gold Gang, made up of Dimo (Noxolo Dlamini), Seeng (Kgosi Flietor) and Dikeledi (Mxolisi Nodom), and is quickly pulled into his first job – a robbery at a jewellery store in a popular mall.
After proving himself worthy, the gang quickly let him in on their plans to steal millions of rand in gold bars from a dictator who originally stole from his people in Lesotho.
It isn’t long before Chilli sees that the gang doesn’t eep the money for themselves. Instead, it is distributed secretly to the poorer communities and charities after it is turned into Kruger coins.
Chilli finds himself in a predicament: Does he help the gang with their million rand heist and make an impact - something he’s longed to do - or does he stick to the original police bust?
Both actors deliver decent performances in their respective roles. A trigger-happy Chilli captures viewers hearts despite making bad decisions along the way while Shoes remains his voice of reason.
The film also offers a sad little back-story on why the dynamite duo are so close.
Award-winning actor Bongile Mantsai is the main antagonist of this film. As we’ve come to expect, Mantsai’s performance as “Indoda ye Hyena” (Hyena man), is nothing short of superb.
Other notable roles are Deon Lotz as Piet van Zyl, a rigid, authoritative cop who believes in following the letter of the law and has a 100% conviction rate; Nandi “Donga” Dlamini, the youngest, female police brigadier in the department; Mama Tsepe, played by Clementine Mosimane, who is the face behind the Gold Gang; and, Father Kajama, played by Fana Mokoena, who runs the orphanage where Chili and Shoes grew up.
Despite the plot being one that has been seen a dozen times, having it set locally makes all the difference.
It’s great that viewers are able to pinpoint locations in film from the City of Gold, and just like the first instalment, “iNumber Number: Jozi Gold” offers viewers plenty of laughs, thrills and police chases. It even tugs on the heartstrings repeatedly in its two-hour running time.
By no means is this film a serious drama but it is definitely worth the watch if you like films like “Bad Boys”.
“iNumber Number: Jozi Gold” is streaming on Netflix.