Who Killed Captain Alex? (2010)
★ — Who Killed Captain Alex? (2010)
There are films made on shoestring budgets, and then there is Who Killed Captain Alex?, a 2010 Ugandan action film that operates on a budget so far below shoestring it might as well have been funded entirely by goodwill and spare change. Directed by Nabwana IGG and produced through his own Ramon Film Productions, operating out of the Wakaliga slum district of Kampala (hence the now-famous "Wakaliwood" banner), the film is widely cited as Uganda's first action movie. That distinction alone gives it a place in cinema history, however modest that place might be. The story centres on the fallout from a police raid in Kampala in which a captain is killed, a premise that promises guns, chases, and confrontations, and in its own particular way, delivers all of those things.
Nabwana IGG is a self-taught filmmaker who built his own computers from salvaged parts and taught himself editing and effects work from scratch. His output is entirely independent, produced without government funding or studio backing of any conventional kind, which makes the sheer existence of this film, and the small cottage industry that has grown around Wakaliwood since, genuinely remarkable. If you want a sense of where his work went after this, the site has a review of Bad Black, his 2016 follow-up. The cast here includes Kakule William, Sserunya Ernest, G. Puffs, Bukenya Charles, and Kavubu Muhammed, none of whom are professional actors in any traditional sense, which is, depending on your patience, either part of the charm or part of the challenge. The film runs a tight 68 minutes, which, given the experience it provides, is probably the correct length.
What makes Who Killed Captain Alex? a genuine cultural curiosity rather than merely a forgotten oddity is the way it found its audience. Uploaded to YouTube and eventually spreading across the internet, it accumulated a global following of viewers drawn to its sheer, unfiltered enthusiasm. It is polished but unremarkable this is not, to put it gently. It sits closer to the spirit of something like Hardcore Henry, another action film reviewed here that throws conventional filmmaking caution aside, though the two arrive at that anarchic energy by very different roads. For anyone who has read the reviews of Mad Max: Fury Road or Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga on this site and wants to see action filmmaking at the absolute opposite end of the resource spectrum, this is quite the contrast.
A-Z World Movie Tour Uganda https://youtu.be/KEoGrbKAyKE?si=xgfPoaF8u5INHniW Who Killed Captain Alex? is less of a film and more of a cinematic tornado, shot on a budget so small it barely exists, with lighting that defies physics, sound design that feels like it was recorded in a tin can, and fight scenes... It’s famously known as “Uganda’s first action movie,” and honestly, it earns that title through sheer audacity. There’s no polish, no rules, just passion, chaos, and a man named Nabwana I.G.G. who somehow made this happen out of nothing. And yes, it is funny. Hilariously so. But not because it’s good. The dialogue is delivered like a weather report, the green screens are non-existent, and the “special effects” include stock footage of explosions pasted over everything. The narrator (the legendary VJ Emmie) talks you through every scene in real time, “Captain Alex is now fighting!”, like he’s commentating a live match, which only adds to the surreal charm. It’s become a cult classic for one reason: it’s so wildly, passionately bad that it loops back around to being entertaining. But let’s be clear, this is an awful movie. No coherent plot, no acting, no technical competence whatsoever. It’s raw, messy, and often painful to watch if you’re not laughing at it. It's unforgettable in its own mad, DIY way, it’s still fundamentally broken on almost every level. A triumph of spirit over skill, best watched with friends, popcorn, and zero expectations.
I stand by every word of that. There is a version of this conversation where someone tries to tell you that laughing at Who Killed Captain Alex? is somehow condescending, but I think that misses the point entirely. Nabwana IGG clearly knows exactly what he is making and leans into it with more commitment than most professional directors bring to their work. The VJ commentary alone, that running real-time narration over every scene, feels less like a technical workaround and more like a man who has invented his own genre. It is not a good film. It is not trying to be, not really. But there is something infectious about watching a person make something out of nothing, shout it at the world, and have the world shout back. Sometimes a triumph of spirit is enough to make something worth your evening. Just maybe don't go in sober.
Rating: ★ | Year: 2010 | Watched: 2025-09-15
Trailer
▶ Watch the official trailer for Who Killed Captain Alex? (2010) on YouTube
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi
Watch in the US
Stream: Philo · Fandor Amazon Channel · Cineverse Amazon Channel
Physical: Amazon US
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Nabwana IGG: Bad Black (2016)
More from Uganda: Bad Black (2016)
More from the 2010s: Wonder (2017) · Beautiful Boy (2018) · The Witch (2015) · What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)
More comedy: The Eagle (1925) · The General (1926) · Americana (2023) · The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
