'Amr Wakea' makes Karim Fahmy Egypt's James Bond

CAIRO – 26 June 2018: "Amr Wakea'" (A Matter of Fact) is a soap opera far from its title as it is anything but factual. "Amr Wakea'" is directed by Mohamed Ossama and written by Mohammed Refa'at; many had high hopes for it as soon as the promotional trailers of the series were released.

The trailer seemed to indicate that the series would be a one of a kind drama; especially that it stars a group of prominent actors. How misleading can a trailer be is something the audience slowly came to realise.

Even to describe the plot is a challenge as there is no clear storyline; all we can identify is the story of a policeman called Hamza (played by Karim Fahmy) who encounters various problems and obstacles while confronting a terrorist group that is targeting Egypt. The drama continues to present a series of problems that super Hamza solves, which at times is very frustrating for the audience who feel that the writer of "Amr Wakea'" is insulting their intelligence.

Which brings us to quite a puzzling question; why are so many series this Ramadan focusing on terrorism? A topic that is painful and traumatic for so many viewers across the Arab world, and one that they want to totally forget about.
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Just like James Bond, Hamza is seen saving a child and his whole school from a bomb, then rescuing an entire basketball match audience from a nerve gas attack; he also saves his only daughter from her kidnapper, all single handedly and without getting hurt.

Sadly, Karim Fahmy is a star loved by many people who had big expectations after the success he achieved in the last few years with roles that might not have been leading roles but were far better and more effective than his role in "Amr Wakea", such as his roles in "Hekyeat Banat" and "El Hesab Yegmaa"'.

Every scene of the thirty episodes of "Amr Wakea" is full of exaggeration and coincidences that are far-fetched.

However, some actors still managed to shine despite the poor quality of the soap opera like Nabil al-Halafawy, Ahmed Wafiq and Malak Qoura.

Halafawy proved that experience plays a major role in the way the character is presented. Halafawy appeared as an exceptional and suave character which is a reminder of why he has remained a star along the years of his career.

Wafiq proved that being the lead actor does not necessarily make you the better actor; as Fahmy was far less effective. Wafiq was convincing because he was like ordinary people, so the viewers believed him.

Qoura played Halafawy's only daughter, the Instagram celebrity who is quite naïve and innocent; she seemed natural and at times quite funny. Again, this soap opera proves that actors can make you like or dislike a character regardless of the poor quality of the plot.

Another two disappointing aspects of "Amr Wakea'' is showing disabled Farah (Reem Mustafa) as a depressive character who is unwilling to accept her disability, which is a repetitive portrayal of people with disability, offers nothing new to the canon of drama and fails to reflect reality; the question here is why include a disabled character when you are not offering an alternative portrayal?

The other disappointment, which is actually both worrying and irritating, is making Syrian Nedhal (played by Lebanese actor Nicolas Maa'wad) the one behind all the evil acts and a part of a big terrorist organisation. Why make him Syrian? And why does the foreigner have to be a villain?

All in all, "Amr Wakea'' ended up being one of the biggest failures despite the audience's high expectations.