The Woman King movie review

MOVIE TITLE:     The Woman King 

This action drama movie was released in theaters and VOD on September 16, 2022.

RATING:  PG-13

LENGTH:  2 hours 15 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE:  A

IN A NUTSHELL:

This epic story is described as a historic, alternate history of the Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of West Africa in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, now located within present-day Benin.  Dahomey was a major supplier of slaves, but not in the way the movie portrays it.  In real history, Dahomey waged war with neighboring African villages, stealing their people in order to sell them to Europeans in the slave trade in exchange for European products. The tale features the Agojie, an all-female group of warriors in Dahomey.  Talk about a female empowerment movie.

The movie was directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood.  The story is by Maria Bello, and the screenplay is by Dana Stevens.

THINGS I LIKED:

• Can you say, “Oscar Nomination”?  Academy Award winner Viola Davis is fiercer than ever, as if she wasn’t already awesome enough.
• Lashana Lynch gives a powerful performance and provides many opportunities to create character-revealing chats with her complex leader.
• Thuso Mbdeu is a new, young talent that we’re sure to see more of.  She looked like she was only 12 years old but she’s actually 31!
• John Boyega also gives an excellent performance.  If you’re a fan, you absolutely must see his most recent performance in the movie Breaking.  He’s a young actor on the rise!
• There are quite a few touching scenes that gave me the feels.
• The movie is quite long, but it feels appropriate for the epic nature of the story.
• Wonderful costume design by Gersha Phillips.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

• The trailer portrays the movie as non-stop action.  There are action sequences, but there are a lot of slow-moving moments.  Some viewers have complained that the action is not as good as hoped and not as often as hoped.
• I would have loved to see a longer training sequence for the new recruits.
• There is a romantic subplot that doesn’t really go anywhere.
• Some of the editing and camerawork were surprisingly bad.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:    

• Violence, but surprisingly, mostly bloodless
• We see dead bodies and severed heads
• You see slaves chained up
• Portuguese is spoken with subtitles
• We see a fully naked man, covering his private parts with his hands
• A rape is implied in several scenes

THEMES:

• The slave trade
• Obedience
• Fighting for change
• Overcoming painful pastsOrphans
• Courage
• The value of human life

FUNNY LINES:

None.  It’s a serious drama.

INTERESTING LINES:

“To be a warrior, you must kill your tears.” –      (Viola Davis)

“I am a king with or without your respect.” –      (John Boyega)

OTHER MOVIES LIKE THIS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

Widows: https://amzn.to/3SMiJht

Fences:  https://amzn.to/3y49XU0 

Black Panther (2018):  https://amzn.to/3CuPF8Z

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