This historical drama is powered by a fantastic ensemble cast, visceral action sequences and great location work. Combining the crowd-pleasing excitements of epics like Braveheart and Gladiator, with a storyline that doesn’t shy away from the horrors of the slave trade, this is a must-see.

Premise: In 1823, the West African kingdom of Dahomey is under threat from its neighbour, the must larger and more powerful Oyo Empire. As the young King Ghezo (John Boyega) prepares his people for war, General Nanisca (Viola Davis), leader of the all-female military force the Agojie, and her trusted lieutenants Izogie (Lashana Lynch) and Amenza (Sheila Atim), must train a new batch of recruits, including the headstrong Nawi (Thuso Mbedu).

Review:

First things first, I’m no history scholar, and so I’m going to be judging The Woman King on how it works as a movie, nor as a historical documentary – after all, it’s not like Hollywood doesn’t have a long tradition of playing fast-and-loose with historical accuracy for the sake of a good story. And in all fairness to The Woman King, it doesn’t have any on-screen captions saying ‘Based on true events’ or anything like that, so it’s not making any assertions that it can’t back up.

So while the kingdom of Dahomey, the Oyo Empire, and the supporting character of King Ghezo were all real, and the Agojie themselves were a real military regiment, the main Agojie characters and the film’s storyline are all works of fiction (not that this should in any way detract from your enjoyment of the film).And it’s a nice piece of karmic symmetry that having been trying to get this film greenlit since 2015, it was the commercial success of Black Panther in 2018 that finally enabled the filmmakers to get funding for this film - thanks in large part to Black Panther’s depiction of the Dora Milaje, the fictional Wakandan special forces unit that was itself inspired by the real-life story of the Agojie.

“…Viola Davis gives a phenomenal, transformative performance…”

Although The Woman King is headlined by Oscar winner Viola Davis, it is (like the Agojie themselves) very much a team effort, with no single character taking centre stage. That’s not to say that Viola Davis isn’t incredible in her role as Agojie General Nanisca – she puts in a phenomenal, transformative performance, at times exuding power and authority with every fibre of her being, and at other times revealing the frailties of human living under the implacable façade. Viola Davis is, quite frankly, never less than mesmerising whenever she’s on screen – but equally, there are sections of the film which don’t follow her storyline and which allow other characters to shine.

Arguably the biggest role after General Nanisca is that of new Agojie recruit Nawi, played by relative newcomer Thuso Mbedu. The Woman King is Thuso Mbedu’s feature film debut – not that you can tell, as she more than holds her own against Viola Davis and the other more experiences actors. On paper, Nawi had the potential to be a fairly two-dimensional character, but Thuso Mbedu absolutely brings her to life. Like Viola Davis’ portrayal of Nanisca, Thuso Mbedu plays all of the contradictory layers of Nawi’s character, who at times can be arrogant to the point of being obnoxious, but at other times shows the hidden need for acceptance that drives her.

“…Lashana Lynch very nearly steals this movie…”

But The Woman King is far from a two-hander between Viola Davis and Thuso Mbedu. Building on her memorable (but disappointingly brief) appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Sheila Atim makes an impression here as Amenza, the trusted advisor and confidante to General Nanisca, who is perhaps the only person in the film that truly understands the woman behind the ferocious warrior. John Boyega, meanwhile, is great as the young King Ghezo, a leader torn between adhering to the traditions of his people and embracing change. Following his real-life 2020 speech about the need to show support and solidarity with black women, this is a perfect role for John Boyega to do just that, bringing his Star Wars name-recognition value to a film which unquestionable still belongs to the black women of the cast.

Rounding out the main cast is Lashana Lynch, who was so charismatic in her earlier roles in Captain Marvel and No Time To Die, and who very nearly steals this movie in her role as Izogie, General Nanisca’s righthand woman who’s responsible for training the new recruits. Izogie is not a comic relief character by any stretch of the imagination – but she does elicit several laughs during the course of the film with her sarcastic wit and withering glances, none of which detracts from the formidable impact that she makes during the film’s intense battle scenes.

“…the viewer is put right in the heart of the battles…”

Speaking of which, the action choreography in The Woman King is visceral and brutal, and includes some epic battle sequences that can stand alongside the best historical epics. Every member of the cast is utterly convincing as an Agojie warrior, and the way in which the action is staged puts the viewer right in the heart of the battle while also showing off the grace and power of the Agojie warriors’ individual fighting styles. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood staged some impressive fight sequences in her last film, 2020’s The Old Guard, but this is arguably another step up even from that.

But the film is so much more than ‘just an action film’ – as well as the great character work, the film is clearly unafraid to also tackle some big themes head on. Not only are the horrors of the slave trade examined in relation to the Europeans’ involvement, represented here by Hero Fiennes Tiffin and Jordan Bolger (who is really making a name for himself after his breakthrough role in Tom & Jerry last year), but the film also looks at how the African kingdoms were themselves complicit, capturing and selling villagers from neighbouring kingdoms for profit.

“…has more emotion, character & depth than you might be expecting…”

Overall, I do have some minor quibbles about some pacing issues and certain plot contrivances – but these nit-picks pale into insignificance in comparison with the film’s many positives, and even then, some of the pacing issues are a result of the film not necessarily going where you expect it to. Ultimately, The Woman King has more emotion, character and depth than you might be expecting from a glib description of the film as being about “the African Amazons”, and Viola Davis, Lashana Lynch and Thuso Mbedu in particular deliver must-see performances.