Movie Review: 'The Woman King' Is An Exciting African Female Warrior Epic
1/5
Izogi (Lashana Lynch, R.) and Naniska oversee Aguji's new appointments. Photo by Sony Pictures/CTMG
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Showing in theaters Friday, "The Female King" is the epic of African warriors. Viola Davis plays the action heroine with the same skill as the Oscar-nominated drama.
In 1823 in West Africa, Naniska (Davis) led the Agogi Army, the women's army of King Gizo (John Boyega) of Dahomey. His enemies, Oyo, are slave traders.
Navi's father (Toso Mbedo) gives it to Dahomey when she rejects the arranged marriage. So Navi trained with Naniska and Izogie (Lashana Lynch) to become Agojie.
It's clear from the fight scenes that the actors worked, practiced, and studied the choreography. They are agile in battle and show prowess in the use of their weapons and equipment.
The female king is royal against the armies of Aguji Oyo's men. The strength of raw men is still formidable.
The men can capture and throw away the strongest Agojie warrior. So Woman King doesn't pretend to be the superhero Agojie, but she has spent her life training to overcome her physical disabilities using techniques that MMA fighters still use.
King Donna seems to want to be as historically accurate as the North. However, if the studio wanted to persuade young people to buy tickets, it would make sense to shoot with a PG-13 rating.
The training is also interesting, especially the wild obstacle course. Nawi is a tough student, which makes his accomplishments all the more rewarding.
The movie gets a lot of production value from shooting it on location in South Africa. Watch as armies of real people battle it out, not hordes of CGI.
The larger world of The Woman King feels less focused. A subplot about Nanska's feud with Jizo's (Jaime Lawson) wife calls for more complex politics.
General Oyo Oba Ade (Jimmy Odokoya) gives Nanska the last enemy she encounters in the film's battles. The movie didn't develop Oba Hades as more of a bad boy.
Half of Dahumar (Jordan Bolger) from Brazil visiting his late mother's house seems out of place. It makes Navi the obligatory love interest in a movie that doesn't need to romantically match its women.
But these are all typical Hollywood movie problems, not exhilarating. King Woman pays homage to Agojie's historic fighters and gives Davis and Mbedu the challenging action machine they deserve.
Fred Topple, who attended Ithaca College Film School, is a UPI Entertainment Writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a critic for Rotten Tomatoes since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012. Read more about his work in the field of entertainment.
