[Movie Review] The Woman King (2022)
Plot Summary: A historical epic inspired by true events that took place in The Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Writers: Dana Stevens and Mario Bello
Runtime: 2 hours 15 mins
Main Cast:- Viola Davis as Nanisca
- Thuso Mbedu as Nawi
- Lashana Lynch as Izogie
- Sheila Atim as Amenza
- John Boyega as King Ghezo
- Jordan Bolger as Malik
Review by: Samuel
The Woman King might surprise people who were expecting to see an action movie as the trailers may have suggested. There is actually sparing use of action scenes throughout the film (especially by today’s standards); so the film has to rely on its narrative to engage the audience and drive the film forward- something it does remarkably well.
What I Liked:
After the opening scene which depicts the Agojie warriors- led by Viola Davis’ Nanisca– infiltrate a slave camp and kill captors, the film’s focus becomes the training of new Agojie warriors who will be needed to combat an enemy tribe in a coming war. It is this training, which the viewer sees through the eyes of young trainee Nawi (portrayed by Thuso Mbedu) that really drives the movie forward until the final act. As Nawi gets to know the ways of the Agojie and the king they serve (John Boyega), the viewer is introduced to a fascinating West African culture as we learn about their motivations, fears, hopes, and nightmares.
In between the training of the new Agojie hopefuls (which itself is as fascinating as it is brutal), we get a sneak behind the curtain to really understand the strife of the kingdom. You see, they themselves are slave traders- selling captured enemies to the Portuguese. Nanisca sees this as an evil that can be stopped, whereas the new young king sees it more as a necessary evil. If he doesn’t participate in the slave trade to get weapons for human captives, his enemies will participate and they shall grow stronger. This is something particularly troubling as war is looming and the kingdom is already outnumbered. This conflict branches off to some great story telling such as strife between Nanisca and one of the King’s wives’ – each thinking the other is a bad influence on the king; we also see how Nanisca’s trouble to both win the war while simultaneously ending the kingdom’s reliance on slavery affects her treatment of the new trainees, Nawi in particular. Nawi and Nanisica butt heads more than a few times and it’s always a mix of endearing, funny, and emotional.
This actually shows another strength of the film, and that is the cast chemistry. There isn’t really a standout but they are all good together. It really feels like a sisterhood. While watching some of the older Agojie converse you actually feel like there is a real history between them. Nawi and her mentor Izogie (Lashana Lynch) immediately show off a big sister/little sister dynamic form the moment they meet. Even when the king is addressing them, or when he is addressing other about them, there is a certain reverence to his tone that oozes respect that is palpable. Also, every single one of them has fantastic comedic timing.
The final thing I want to address is the cast’s physical training. I’ve briefly seen the BTS of what they went through in preparation and it shows. They’re bodies are incredibly fit- toned to near perfection. They wanted to portray fierce, battle-hardened warriors and they succeeded. There wasn’t a moment I thought these were “fit actors”- for 2 hours and 6 minutes I felt like I was watching a docuseries about a warrior unit in the kingdom of Dahomey. It’s just another thing that had me pulled into the world and I want to appreciate the hard work each cast member put in for it.
What I Didn’t Like:
My dislikes are pretty straight forward and be broken down into specific areas:
- The love story- there is a love story between Nawi and a visitor to the kingdom. As an Agojie, Nawi is forbidden from relationships as she must be devoted to her sisters. This is supposed to lead to some kind of strife, but it’s all just fat that needed to be trimmed. The love story in this film was unnecessary, irrelevant, and unexpressive all at once. It’s not enough that you just don’t care; but, if it were removed the film’s plot would not change one bit so it’s doubly disappointing.
- The cast is good in itself, but there is not one standout that really makes you latch on. This is very much an ensemble with each character basically at the level in terms of spotlight so there’s not really a character you are emotionally invested in. There were actually some deaths that occurred that the movie seemed to want to be moments of gravitas, but I honestly didn’t flinch.
- The villain of this movie is comically bad. Pun intended there because he is actually a comic book villain who has no motivation for what he does- he is evil for evil’s sake. That is the weakest type of villain that exists in my opinion.
- The action scenes- I hesitate to put this here, but I will because it stood out. The action is not very good in this movie, and since it is pretty infrequent, I would expect better. The choreography is okay, but I’ve seen the same level on Disney+ and even the CW to be honest. There’s also a noticeable lack of blood in-fight (blood is on warriors after a battle). This isn’t an R-rated film, but when a sword comes crashing down on a neck, I do expect to see something in the form of blood splatter. I definitely do not need it to be gratuitous, but I would like to know that these are humans with organs being slashed open. The final scene stands above the others, but it’s still pretty mid.
Summary
Overall, you shouldn’t come to this movie for the action. You should come for a wonderfully crafted narrative about an all-female warrior unit who are ready to die to protect their kingdom.
