The Woman King

Predictable script hitting every conventional beat... It all plays out like a Disney movie made for kids, except with copious throat slitting – and even that is relatively tame in order to maintain the PG-13 rating

It’s fast, and it’s loose, and it totally works.

Prince-Bythewood celebrates these women warriors through impressive fight scenes that are athletic but realistic, eschewing the sort of CGI overkill that has run rampant in recent action films.

The Woman King is a crowd pleaser at its core, intent on entertaining the audience as much as elevating a story that many in its audience may not know (though they’ll probably still need to do a bit of research).

The Woman King has two unnecessary plot points that distract from the power of the story of the Agojie.

If you're someone who loves action movies that use "true events" as an entry to a deeper narrative about surviving trauma, defying misogyny and overcoming personal torment in the face, along with all the ass-kicking, then The Woman King is a masterpiece.

To get complex, scheming, heroic and strong black characters -- exhibiting much of what it means to be black on screen -- within the context of a historical movie is a treat.

The fight choreography is stunning, with Prince-Bythewood showcasing the abilities of her performers in shots that grab hold of your eyeballs and refuse to let go.

Unlike the all-too-common, typically lazy "girl power" tropes found in your average blockbuster, director Gina Prince-Bythewood not only respects her female characters, but also cares for them as complex and flawed people.

Viola Davis introduced this film by calling it her magnum opus--and she was not kidding. As the aging but brave warrior at the center of the film, she makes what should have been a mundane war movie something much more memorable