‘The Woman King’ Movie Review: Viola Davis’ Film Is No ‘Wakanda Forever’, Leaves You Short-Changed With Minimal Action Sequences

‘The Woman King’: Cast & Crew

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood

Cast: Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, John Boyega

Available On: BookMyShow Stream, Netflix

Duration: 2 Hours 15 Minutes

‘The Woman King’: Story

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. It’s about the Agojie, the all-female warrior unit that protected the West African kingdom. Will the all-female warrior groups be able to attain victory? Will they be able to stop the slave trade in Africa at that time? Will they be able to protect their king? Well, you’ll have to watch the film to find out.

‘The Woman King’: Performances

Viola Davis leads the performances with a stellar act. You can actually see her exuding that command and respect in her mannerisms. She is the pick of the ensemble cast and makes you so involved in the story. She draws your attention every time she is onscreen. To add to that, at her age, doing those stunts and fight sequences looked simply fantastic. The way she was fighting with the sword, she could give any actress 20 years younger than her, a run for their money. The character arc that she brought forth is the best part of her role. While in the start, she is fierce, but by the end of it, she makes you realise that there’s empathy also and that the anger came from a certain incident in her past. Davis manages to smoothly bridge the emotions to perfection.

Lashana Lynch has a very strong and powerful character. Even though her character wasn’t there till the very end, the impact was felt throughout. She was funny when needed, and fierce at other instances. The way she swivelled between these two emotions was so brilliant.

Thuso Mbedu could have given a lot more aggression to the character. As the young rebel, she did have the sparks in spurts, but that fades away every now and then. Her romantic angle was absolutely uncalled for.

John Boyega had such a small character that it felt more like a guest appearance. He didn’t have enough to showcase his prowess. A complete waste of his talent.

The rest of the supporting cast did decently even though there was nothing outstanding among them.

‘The Woman King’: Script, Direction & Technical Aspects

Maria Bello and Dana Stevens’s writing is the only soft spot in the film. The outlook of the movie is supposed to be filled with action and thrill. However, it ends up not having that many action sequences and thrills attached to it. Audiences coming in are expecting something of the level of ‘Wakanda’s warrior women, but sadly that doesn’t happen too much. Had we had more of those fierce action sequences, the film would have been a much more enticing watch.

Gina Prince-Bythewood’s direction is indeed the saving grace of the movie. The story is set in the 1800s and not for once would you feel a thing out of place. That level of detailing is brilliant. The placement of the fight sequences at the necessary junctures of the film doesn’t allow the audience to feel bored. They’re indeed expecting more and more to come. Maintaining that grip over the audience is praiseworthy.

Polly Morgan’s cinematography needs to be appreciated. It’s terrific how the locales that she has shot in bring in the necessary feel to the story so beautifully. Not just are the outdoor shots look like a canvas painting, but the indoor shots as well have brought in the much-needed flavour of the Western African country. The thrills and action sequences may be less, but the way they are shot makes the story come alive.

Terilyn A. Shropshire’s cinematography could have been a bit tighter. Even though the story was gripping, there were times in some of the emotional scenes when you felt like it could have been chopped by a few seconds here and there. However, keeping such an epic story to about 2 hours and 15 minutes indeed deserves applause.

Terence Blanchard’s music was another highlight of the film. The way the warrior call signs were recorded, and the way their song and dance performances were brought forth made you one with the story. The background score made you feel like you were in an African village. Great work indeed.

‘The Woman King’: Can Kids Watch It?

Yes

Outlook’s Verdict

‘The Woman King’ depicts a side of history that isn’t known at all to people across the world. However, being based on the true stories of the fictional warrior women shown in ‘Black Panther’ and ‘Wakanda Forever’, the action sequences are too less in the film. There are only a handful of fight sequences and the rest are mostly emotional and dramatic bits. You don’t want an actioner to not be filled end-to-end with action sequences. However, even with minimal action sequences, the film manages to intrigue you and leave you wanting more and more. Viola Davis’ is brilliant without a doubt. Overall, it’s just an Average Watch. I am going with 3 stars.