There are action stars, and then there are storytellers who happen to know how to throw a punch. With Son of the Soil, Razaaq Adoti proves he's firmly in the second category.
Genre fans will recognize Adoti from films like Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Doom, Black Hawk Down, and Amistad, but his latest project feels different. Not because it lacks the explosive action that audiences expect, but because every fight, every chase, and every act of vengeance is rooted in something much deeper. As both writer and star, Adoti has crafted a revenge thriller that doubles as an exploration of identity, heritage, and belonging. The result is a film that stands out in an increasingly crowded action landscape.
Set against the backdrop of Lagos, Son of the Soil follows Zion, a former special ops paratrooper who returns home after the murder of his sister and finds himself confronting a drug epidemic that has consumed his community. While the setup evokes familiar revenge classics like John Wick, Taken, and The Equalizer, Adoti's ambitions stretch well beyond action spectacle.
Speaking with Adoti, it became immediately clear how personal the project is. The actor lit up every time the conversation turned toward the film's themes or the journey that brought it to life. What could have easily been a straightforward promotional interview instead became an enthusiastic deep dive into culture, filmmaking, and the future of Nollywood.
Interestingly, Son of the Soil wasn't a project Adoti spent years chasing. In fact, it arrived when he had stopped looking. "A lot of this was, it just came about, I guess, organically," Adoti explained. "I spent a lot of my career looking for the next great thing or waiting for the phone to ring with the next great thing. Sometimes when you stop looking, it really just does come to you." After working with director Chee Keong Cheung on another project, conversations about Nigeria, Nollywood, and untapped filmmaking opportunities gradually evolved into what would become Son of the Soil.
Those conversations were fueled by Adoti's belief that Nollywood is on the verge of a major global breakthrough. During our discussion, he pointed to the worldwide success of Afrobeats as evidence that audiences are increasingly embracing Nigerian culture, adding that he feels the country's film industry is “next up.”
What makes Zion such a compelling protagonist is that his journey mirrors elements of Adoti's own relationship with Nigeria. Raised in London before returning to Nigeria as a teenager, Adoti spoke candidly about feeling disconnected from a culture that was still fundamentally his own.
"I definitely understood the disconnect," he told me. His father regularly shared stories about growing up in Lagos, stories that felt almost mythical to a young Adoti. Those memories became a valuable creative resource while writing Zion. "I feel like I had quite a deep well to draw from," he said, noting that even struggles such as not being fully fluent in the language helped him understand the frustrations and cultural displacement his character experiences.
That sense of reconnection is at the heart of the film and is reflected in its title. For Adoti, Son of the Soil was never just a cool-sounding name. It was foundational to the entire project. He revealed that the title arrived very early in the writing process and helped guide the story from beginning to end. "It means you belong. It's your land," he explained. Going further, he described the phrase as something spiritual rather than simply physical, tied to generations of family history and heritage. "It's more than just a physical act of land," Adoti said. "This is your heritage."
That philosophy extends directly to the narrative itself. Adoti was determined not to tell another story where an outsider arrives to save the day. Instead, he wanted the community to be an active participant in its own salvation. As he explained, "I wanted it really to be about Nigeria fixed Nigeria. I wanted it to be us fixing ourselves." That decision shapes the film's emotional core and gives its revenge story a communal purpose that many genre films lack.
Just as important as Zion is the city surrounding him. Lagos isn't merely a setting in Son of the Soil. It's a living, breathing character. Adoti credited the city with adding layers to the film that ultimately exceeded his original vision. Rather than avoiding rougher neighborhoods, the production embraced them, working directly with local communities and incorporating real residents into the filmmaking process.
"We incorporated everything there into the film," Adoti recalled. What began as location shooting evolved into genuine collaboration. Community members offered advice, appeared on camera, and helped shape the film's authenticity. "It became a collaborative process with the community," he said, adding that many of the people he met during production remain friends to this day.
The authenticity of Lagos pairs perfectly with the film's action sensibilities. While audiences may draw comparisons to more modern action franchises, Adoti revealed that one of his biggest influences was actually Die Hard. He admired the idea of the reluctant hero, someone who doesn't set out to save the world but finds himself morally obligated to act.
"I didn't want him going in there as, 'Oh, I'm here to save the world,'" Adoti said of Zion. Instead, the character gradually discovers both the corruption poisoning his hometown and his own responsibility to confront it. Like John McClane before him, Zion gets knocked down before he can rise. That evolution, Adoti explained, was central to the character's appeal.
The result is a film that feels both expansive and deeply personal. It's an action thriller fueled by grief, but also by cultural pride. It's a revenge movie that never loses sight of community. Most importantly, it serves as a showcase for a filmmaker who clearly has much more on his mind than body counts and fight scenes.
After watching Son of the Soil and hearing Adoti speak about it, one thing becomes obvious: this wasn't just another job. It was a chance to reconnect with heritage, tell a story on his own terms, and help spotlight a film industry poised for greater international recognition.
And if his passion during our conversation was any indication, this is only the beginning. Adoti even hinted at ideas for a sequel, though he was understandably reluctant to reveal too much. For now, though, Son of the Soil stands as a powerful statement all on its own, one driven by a filmmaker who understands exactly where he comes from and why that matters.
Jessie Hobson