“The Woman King” or as I like to call it the Braveheart of West Africa! The film tells the story of the Dahomey kingdom’s rise to power in the early 19th century during the height of the slave trade. It was a kingdom in West Africa that resided from the 1600s until 1904 but now makes up parts of Nigeria. But more importantly, this film tells the story of the Agoji, the all-female army that in a lot of ways were like the special forces of the Kingdom who helped make Dahomey one of the largest kingdoms in Africa by defeating the other kingdoms they pay tribute to, and at the same time became a free and independent Kingdom the dealt solely with European nations. It has a lot of similarities to Braveheart. Let me first say that I was pleasantly surprised by how good this movie is in the performances have such a wonderful cast. I didn’t think much of this movie when I saw it but loved the action and couldn’t get enough of it. Some of the best movies are the ones that surprise you and the fact that I didn’t know much about this Kingdom and it’s history, made it even better. Unfortunately, it is a Hollywood movie, so it did gloss over some important facts like how it rose to power through the slave trade, the kingdom was well known for selling the captives of defeated armies to Europeans and a big contributor to the slave trade. But the movie also addresses the fact that for a Time the kingdom did try to move away from the slave trade until it was eventually abolished throughout the world.

Viola Davis and Lashana Lynch absolutely shine in this movie as Agoji warriors. Viola Davis plays the aging general who will eventually be made the female King with equal power t0 King Gezo, the ruler at that time. She is feared and respected and her story is one that deals with having to face the enemies who once captured her and raped her, and the repercussions of giving up a child that was born out of that misery. If you thought Lashana Lynch played a great Double 00 in No Time To Die, then she’s even better in this film has a senior warrior that everyone fears. The story centers on a young king who has come to power and how the kingdom did want to move away from the slave trade, eventually kicked slave traders out of their Kingdom. The young king is played by John Boyega who gives a powerful performance and more importantly, given the opportunity to play a character that is just as important as the main characters in telling the story and not reduced to the background like in the Disney Star Wars trilogy. He’s a great actor and he was giving every moment to shine in this film and gives a great performance. What makes this movie worth watching is not only the great performances, but fantastic action. It leaves you on the edge of your seat and you root for every swing of their swords when killing their enemies, especially slave traders. He gives you a piece of history that you may not be aware of by shining the light of an all-female army that does not often get talked about in film. The performances are powerful introduces powerful and historic culture that does not often get taught. But again, it’s a Hollywood movie so it’s not entirely accurate.

Of course, you will root for the main characters when they kill slave traders and burn down a major slave for it. There are very gritty scenes that take you back to the first time you saw Roots or 12 years a Slave. The film does not shy away from the brutality of the slave trade. But there are some problems with the film. Firstly, they did not spend enough time on the training of a Agoji warriors. It feels as if new recruits can easily be trained in weeks and pass their final test, which will lead them to succeed in battle. I feel like they didn’t tell enough stories surrounding training and what they had to go through, but at the same time this movie is not about the training of warriors, but how this Kingdom becomes independent and stops its own slave trade so there are more important stories that have to be told. While the action is very gritty and good, like all movies that have a lot of action, sometimes they become victims of shaky camera footage and this movie is no exception to that. But the beautiful landscapes cover a lot of that up, so it doesn’t distract you from the overall movie. And there are times that the actors slip in and out of the accents that they’re trying to portray with their characters. I don’t know if that’s so much their fault as the editing. It’s a good movie, but a large story is condensed into two hours, and it will leave you wanting more. I wonder if this movie would have been better as a limited series. Then again, you can make the same argument for Braveheart. But these are minor critiques.

Overall, The Woman King is a good movie with fantastic action and even better performances by a great cast. It shines the light on the history of an African nation that most people will not know about and even though it does gloss over some very grimly facts about their involvement in the slave trade, the movie is an inspiring tale about an old female army unit that not only protects its king but kills the villains with such force that you can’t help but root for them. A documentary about their story may be better, but for a Hollywood telling of this Kingdom and the Agoji, it’s fun and inspiring. The performances of Viola Davis, Lashana lynch, and John Boyega drive this movie. They’re definitely Oscar worthy performances. It’s a good movie and worth seeing on the big screen. The fight sequences are good despite some shaky cam footage and this story will leave you wanting to know more. I admit, after I saw the movie, I spent a few minutes looking up the history behind this film.  The Woman King is worth the price of a movie ticket, check it out,  you won’t be disappointed.