The Woman King

The dialogue is generic -- the formal kind constructed to suit all periods -- but the actors give it all the authenticity it needs, clearly delighted by the ebullience of their characters.

It is a film designed to inspire audiences and elicit cheers and, by and large, it succeeds.

Thankfully, all flimsiness in the screenplay is overcome by the director, Gina Prince-Bythewood, and her committed cast, who transform a familiar dramatic milieu (Mulan meets Gladiator meets Wonder Woman) into thrilling, amphetamine-rush cinema.

Yes, the Woman King could be filed under wish-fulfilment, but that’s true of so many action classics.

A great time at the movies. A rare cinematic event.

The end result is a novel, representation-stretching enterprise that, paradoxically, plays like the “sort of film they don’t make any more”.

The movie fails to fulfil its potential except as a military action epic.

A dazzler from Terence Blanchard’s symphonic score to Polly Morgan’s eye pleasing cinematography. Acting is A-1, particularly by Davis and Mbedu. 


Viola Davis is a force unleashed, heading up a full-blooded tale of conflict set against the backdrop of the slave trade that offers both a twist on the traditional male-dominated warrior-epic and a look at a part of history Hollywood typically ignores

Its the emotional sparring between the women - as fierce as anything on the battle ground - that really holds the attention