THE GOOD FIGHT
Is 'The Woman King,' Starring Viola Davis, Any Good? Here's What The Reviews Say
"The Woman King," starring Viola Davis and John Boyega, is a new film from director Gina Prince-Bythewood (of "Love & Basketball" and "The Secret Life of Bees" fame) about an army of female warriors in West Africa in the 1820s.
It's an action movie that tells a yet-untold story with an old-school Hollywood aesthetic. But is that the perfect note for the film, or does it feel like overtrod territory? Here's what the critics say.
The Story
Davis plays Nanisca, the ferocious, forbidding general of the Agojie, the legendary women’s fighting force that helped defend the West African kingdom of Dahomey. Set in 1823, “The Woman King” spins a fictional tale rooted in the real-life “Dahomey Amazons” who were among the most feared warriors of the era.
John Boyega co-stars as Dahomey sovereign King Ghezo, and the film does dive briefly into politics and castle intrigue as Nanisca and the king’s favorite wife compete for influence over Ghezo.
[Polygon]
Viola Davis Is Excellent As The Film’s Protagonist
Davis — fierce and formidable, bruised and battle-scarred — is a revelation, even though it's the Hollywood veteran's first action role. She proves that you don't have to look like Scarlett Johansson to be a female action hero and that a 57-year-old African American woman can indeed lay down the smackdown against her enemies on screen.
We’ve never seen the actor like this, and not for a second do we doubt Davis’ capacity to take down her rivals, as Nanisca brandishes a broad scimitar and ululates her sharp, shrill battle cry, cueing dozens of Agojie to charge forward, leaping and spinning into combat with members of a rival Mahi village.
[Variety]
This is rarely said, but every single actor and performance, from the central stars to the extras, is in top form. Being around Viola Davis must bring out the best in people. Lynch is stoic yet comedic, Thuso is youthful and expressive, Atim is the healing empath, and Boyega plays the diligent leader.
[Deadline]
The Fighting Takes The Forefront
Prince-Bythewood films the set-pieces with an eye for kinetic action, with fight choreography that’s split equally between MMA-style grappling and the swinging of heavy, curved machetes. But the real star of these scenes is the sound design, which adds heavy, crushing impact to the otherwise bloodless violence.
[Polygon]
Make no mistake, this is an action film, and as Prince-Bythewood proved with her previous film, she knows how to give us action. One of her talents (with that of her team) is making us feel not just that we're in the action, but we're performing it. We can see the gracefulness of Nanisca as she brings her sword down, of Izogie as she dances around her prey, of Nawi as she learns that yes, indeed, a rope can be a weapon - but we have seen and understood the work that goes into performing these actions.
What puts "The Woman King" over the top are the battle scenes, choreographed by Daniel Hernandez ("Avengers: Endgame," "Creed II," "Venom"). Anyone who cheered through "Braveheart" and "Gladiator" is going to find a similar reasons to shout here.
It Has An Old-School Hollywood Feel With Fresh Blood
Whether Nanisca’s dilemma is literally true to life is beside the point in “The Woman King,” which takes its rousing action-and-adventure cues from such classics as “Braveheart,” “Gladiator” and the spectacular sword-and-sandal pictures of the 1950s, and elaborates on imaginative universes already primed by the likes of “Black Panther,” “Wonder Woman” and, more recently “The Northman.” In the hands of director Gina Prince-Bythewood, the combination is a winning one: “The Woman King” pulses with energy, tightly coiled intensity and Shakespearean filial drama, given added potency by Davis, who imbues Nanisca with the gravitas and unflinching focus that have become her signatures.
As new as the film might feel in its positioning and telling of a pocket of history that has never reached a canvas quite as epic, there’s a robustly old-fashioned feel to Gina Prince-Bythewood’s mainstream matinee movie […] It feels like the kind of splashy studio tentpole that would have been a hit in the 90s before such budgets were reserved for franchise films with colons in the title. It’s handsomely made and intricately designed, a big movie reliant on a big team, and in an age of downsized streaming projects that look as if they were made in a parking lot it’s rewarding to feel so immersed in such a carefully realized world.
To be clear, this is still a Hollywood version of history, with all the rousing action, inspirational uplift, and soaring soundtrack choices that label implies. But director Gina Prince-Bythewood (“The Old Guard,” “Beyond the Lights”) and screenwriter Dana Stevens do complicate the issue, mostly for the better.
[Polygon]
The Critiques
It should be noted that Prince-Bythewood, working from a story and script by Maria Bello and Dana Stevens, downplays the Dahomey's own participation in slavery under King Ghezo. And, the Oyo, if they were still around would, no doubt, argue with the depiction.
For all its gorgeous choreography and costumes, the actual look of the film also lacks a certain richness in the settings and cinematography, a sort of small-screen swords-and-sandals feel. But the movie is swords and sandals, a classic hero's quest; one that just had to wait several lifetimes for the rest of the world to catch up.
The editing is awkward in parts, with the sharp cuts seemingly cutting scenes off before they finish. The middle of the film drags on. The tone changes from hi-octane action to slow, meditative drama and holds that position for much of the film. It picks up the pace eventually and doesn’t stop until the movie is over.
[Deadline]
If it sometimes dips into melodrama, we can allow it - it is an epic, after all, and a story that demands to be told.
TL;DR
Davis and her co-stars present a bracing image of womanhood that concedes nothing to conventional notions of beauty or what passes for femininity on-screen.
It has a heart full of love: love of life, love of freedom, love of Black people and culture, and love for its ferocious, complicated, brave women.
[Polygon]
Sure, it's overly simplistic and not altogether historically accurate but if anyone is looking for a well-made, action-fueled popcorn movie, "The Woman King" sure beats a Wikipedia page every day of the week.