As intimate as it is epic, The Woman King is a triumphant cinematic feat.
Overall Score: 9/10
Image: Sony Pictures Releasing
“Whoo!” If any movie from 2022 has elicited that kind of reaction from me, it would undoubtedly be The Woman King. Gina Prince-Bythewood’s new film starring Viola Davis is as awesome, exciting, and epic as they come. And while it might be controversial in terms of whether or not it’s trying to distort history (which I will not touch on), as a piece of cinema, it’s quite the achievement.
From start to finish, The Woman King manages to fascinate you with genuine character development while simultaneously keeping you on the edge of your seat. This was surprising to me because while I knew that it was designed to be a grand, action-filled historical epic, I certainly didn’t expect it to also be an intimate coming-of-age story. To me, on paper, these two things don’t seem like they would blend together naturally. Yet, rather impressively, this movie manages two balance these two aspects very effectively. Yes, you do get all of the cool action sequences, but sprinkled in between are multiple rich moments that allow for the major characters to grow.
Speaking of action sequences, I have to say that the ones that are featured in The Woman King are outstanding. Granted, they’re rather brutal and violent (at least for a film that’s rated PG-13), but they’re also exhilarating, highly memorable, and heck, even crowd-pleasing. Every time the Agojie warriors marched out onto the battlefield and showed off their combat skills, I found myself cheering them on with lots of enthusiasm. It reminded me of the fun I had watching the Amazons in 2017’s Wonder Woman fend off the World War I German soldiers on the shores of Themyscira — which says a lot because I LOVE that movie.
Now for the cast. Oh, the ensemble featured here is fantastic! Viola Davis is superb as General Nanisca, bringing a sense of ferocity, layered pain, and a commanding presence to the role. Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, and John Boyega are all also quite good here (with Lynch, in particular, being the one who makes a lasting impression), but it’s really Thuso Mbedu whom I’d argue is the real standout. As mentioned earlier, The Woman King also serves as a coming-of-age story, and throughout its runtime, we mostly follow Mbedu’s character as she embarks on a journey to become an Agojie warrior. Mbedu perfectly captures the innocence and naivety typically present in young people, she does a great job of realistically portraying her character’s gradual growth, and overall, she’s just really fun to watch.
The Woman King is one of those films that’ll just wow you from beginning to end. It’s thrilling, it’s rousing, and it’s just freaking awesome. Now, sadly, I did feel the need to knock off a point as there were a couple of story elements that I wasn’t all that crazy about. But, at the end of the day, none of them are significant enough to prevent me from happily giving this movie a solid nine out of ten.
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