In 1823, the West African kingdom of Dahomey is faced with the twin threat of the hated neighbouring Oyo Empire and European slave traders. With their enemies teaming up, King Ghezo (John Boyega) turns to General Nansica (Viola Davis) and her army of all female warriors, The Agojie.
As much as this is ground breaking in terms of making an African tribe the heroes, and with the focus on a female fighting force, it is also in some ways pretty familiar. Taking the bones of a true story and turning it into an action filled epic is something Hollywood have been doing forever, and that is where the weaknesses show in Gina Prince-Bythewood’s movie. Dana Stevens and Maria Bello’s screenplay includes a conventional forbidden love story and an overdone mother/daughter plot that take over too much of the runtime.
The morally complex issue that the Dahomey people were not only complicit in the slave trade, but exploited it to make them prosperous is glossed over in the search for a mainstream story. In fact, The Agojie were cruel, bloodthirsty warriors with none of the principles depicted in this movie. It is as factually accurate as something like the abysmal Braveheart, though it is a better film than that!
On the plus side are the performances. Davis is a formidable presence and Boyega excels in a role that sidelines him for much of the movie. Also good is Thuso Mbedu as Nawi, a new recruit to the Agojie. There are two main battle scenes and both are expertly choreographed by Prince-Bythewood. Though the action is very improbable, I would like to have seen more of those.
I guess that with The Woman King, we are now into awards season where I expect it to feature prominently. Whilst there were things to enjoy, I did find it a little disappointing.
Rating: 6 out of 10