The Woman King, an epic story inspired by trues events, is Viola Davis’ most ambitious project.
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, The Woman King is a story about an all-female warrior unit who protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey during the 17th to 19th centuries. Set in the 1820s, the film stars Viola Davis as a general who trains the next generation of warriors to fight their enemies.
A plot like this can definitely become too extreme or get lost in one factor which ruins the entire film. With The Woman King, that is not the case. This film succeeds on so many levels, and while it’s really nothing that we haven’t seen before, this film sharpens a tired story into something spectacular. The stories about slavery in the colony days hold many horrors and this movie really shows how you can make a film about fighting the horrors without sugar-coating it. There are various subplots throughout the overall plot that focuses on the kingdom aspect, even though it’s not really fully fleshed out, still holds establishes it pretty well with the time they have. It creates a community very well, which is the central pillar that this film focuses on.
The fantastic character focus gives the story much of its strength and utilizes many people in just the right amount. Viola Davis is a main character, and crushes it yet again, but the writers and director we able to extend the stories to other warriors which gives you more characters to get attached to. Outside of these woman warriors, other characters are able to hold their own, such as the King played by John Boyega, the evil ruler of the opposing kingdom, and even the romantic interest that occurs later in the film. Even though it’s not the most balanced, it manages to keep the main components intact and helps spice up a tale we’ve heard before.
One of my favorite parts of this film was by far the action which proves, for the most part, that we still have a handful of directors who understand how to deliver brilliant action sequences. The Woman King has at least four big action sequences, with some micro-moments to fill in the gaps. You get a different feeling with each of these moments and the choreography is insanely good, with acting, movements, and stunt blending together to really give these warriors their fierceness.
Overall, The Woman King definitely had the potential to become another political movie, and they were able to balance a lot of things while other things needed more time perfecting. While this film is led by a group of brilliant females, there are plenty of other characters that get side stories that work together pretty well. The Woman King pulls together culture, visuals, costumes, and acting that really create something special. And the pacing of the film, especially with the amount of action in it, is probably some of the best I’ve seen in quite some time. The movie did create a really great theater experience and is worth a trip to the movies.
The Woman King is now playing only in theaters.
What did you think of the film? Let us know in the comments below.
