The Woman King

The Woman King

The story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen, and General Nanisca as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 120 minutes
  • Genre: Action, Drama, History
  • Stars: Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, John Boyega, Jayme Lawson, Sheila Atim, Adrienne Warren, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Angélique Kidjo, Jordan Bolger, Masali Baduza, Jimmy Odukoya, Thando Dlomo, Tuks Tad Lungu, Makgotso M, Chioma Antoinette Umeala, Shaina West
  • Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
 Comments
  • nhowajcr - 23 March 2024
    Oscar deprived
    It was with sad knowledge that the Oscar Award panel did not even MENTION this fine piece of history, that came to light through stellar performances. The intensity of war these women raged, was exquisite. A passionate display of a fight to hold on to their value as women. Viola exploded on this screen with the spirit of a warrior, yet the fine balance of motherhood was never lost. The young headstrong "warrior to be"- hard lessons were learnt! She was tamed in her stubborn willfulness, yet emerged as a heroin - especially in the light of having to beat age old practices, that enslaved women to husbands.

    It was eye opening to witness the struggle of a young woman emerging as an Amazonian - fierce and devoid of fear. Oscars totally ignored this beautiful display of great movie making.
  • silicontourist - 24 September 2023
    The tribe existed but the story is a complete fabricated lie (...Hollywood at it AGAIN!)!
    I had already written a lengthy review for this but the admins have not seen fit to upload it. Once AGAIN it happens to me, even though there is nothing whatsoever derogatory written about it at all; I did however say that it was missing the entire truth to the real story of the tribe!

    Its worth a viewing though, at least once for the marvelous acting, action scenes and the photography throughout. There does not seem to be any subject matter that Viola (Davis} cannot handle when it comes to her acting range. She had a very good acting crew with her that makes the film a good watch. It just might be the favourite film of the critics and the Oscars this year.
  • Pjtaylor-96-138044 - 14 August 2023
    Hail to The (Woman) King, baby.
    'The Woman King (2022)' is a period actioner in which the female warriors of Dahomey train a new generation to defend their Kingdom from the increasing threat of the Oyo Empire. Though it's too long and the pacing of its middle portion is quite lax, it's a typically an entertaining affair focused around several strong performances and a handful of exciting set-pieces. It definitely feels inspired by 'Black Panther (2018)' and its sequel - likely because the real-life all-female warrior unit it centres around, the Agojie, were one of the main influences on the MCU's Dora Milaje - but it doesn't feel like a shameless retread and, if anything, it's good that Hollywood are finally willing to showcase African culture in their blockbuster efforts (even if it is, as it inevitably would be, solely for financial reasons). Of course, that doesn't mean that the feature is flawless. There are also a few soap opera revelations that don't really gel with the its otherwise gritty atmosphere, there's a perfunctory romance that adds very little to the overall experience and several of its comedic beats fall almost entirely flat. It's somewhat of a mixed bag at times, but it's typically enjoyable and is confidently crafted throughout. The action sometimes feels ever-so-slightly neutered by the (hard) PG-13 rating, but the battle scenes are exciting and energetic and I kind of wish there were more of them. Still, even the non-action is engaging enough for what it is and it's certainly satisfying to see the growth of the warriors-in-training the flick gives most of its time to.

    I want to take a paragraph to address one of the most common criticisms I see levelled at the picture: that the Dahomey engaged in the African slave trade and made a majority of their considerable wealth by selling human beings, so the movie itself shouldn't be made because it sanitises this aspect and therefore - as the argument goes - glorifies slavers. To me, this doesn't really hold all that much water. After all, almost every nation on the planet has participated in some truly horrific behaviour, but does that really mean their stories should never be told? How come nobody complains when an American picture doesn't reflect the atrocities committed by the country (be it colonisation, slavery, segregation, racism, the prison-industrial complex, genocide, war profiteering, war crimes... I could go on), or when a biopic ignores the trickier aspects of its subject (such as their general racism/misogyny/transphobia, or even their more specific acts of violence or hatred) - I mean, did 'Darkest Hour (2017)' even touch on his various -isms or his involvement in the Bengal famine of 1943? It's convenient, then, that the same people who don't have an issue with that sort of sanitisation suddenly pipe up when they see a film about an African nation that stars an almost entirely black cast and largely focuses on strong female characters. The somewhat more understandable criticism is that the film's revisionist aspects, which include an admittedly ham-fisted final speech which sums up the picture's modern-day approach to its material by having its characters reject slavery not for financial reasons (as is alleged to have happened in real life) but for moral ones, reduce the story's historical accuracy and come close to not only glossing over the tangible harm that the Dahomey's perpetuation of the slave trade, but erasing it entirely in order to make nuanced individuals into entirely unflawed heroes. Yet, no story based on true events is ever entirely true, and the feature never actually claims to be a one-to-one representation of the events it depicts. Instead, it's inspired by those events and, in this context, it's totally reasonable to imbue its proceedings with an optimistic message that reflects the views of today. All movies are made in the context of their time, so expecting a period piece to avoid that by rewinding the proverbial political clock is just unrealistic. Again, nobody complains when something like '300 (2007)' isn't entirely accurate when it comes to depicting historic events (or, perhaps unsurprisingly, that it also focuses around a slavery and barely mentions it). So, to me these comments are fairly hypocritical, even if they may be well-intentioned, and seem to suggest that the solution to flawed black representation is to remove it from our screens entirely. That obviously isn't even worth entertaining, and it implies a total lack of awareness regarding the concept of nuance.
  • Bigough13 - 31 December 2022
    Amazing Pro Life message
    It was a child she didn't want but was forced to have, a child she ultimately decided to give the child away. Just seeing the joy in her face from realizing that her child, that she decided to give away, was still alive. Full experience of the blessing of life.

    Just a fantastic overall pro life message that everyone should appreciate. Thank you for this beautiful film.

    The rest of the film was also very good, however the acting in some places leaves a lot to be desired. It teaches integrity and doing the right thing no matter what you're told to do. Overall this is a very good film, just a beautiful pro-life message overall.
  • martimusross - 26 December 2022
    It Was Just About Okay!
    After all the hype I was sadly disappointed by this movie, as best it is something to download for a staying in night.

    We had some committed performances with a strong start and finish, but this could not overcome the dodgy history, the woke inserts, the contrivances and botched romantic elements. I would not have watched had it not been for Viola Davis playing the lead.

    I am more than a little confused as to who is the intended audience for this movie as it is very niche viewing!

    I'm giving this a 5 outta 10, meaning it passed an evening but an episode of Grace and Frankie would have been more entertaining.
  • stuartandpatty - 16 December 2022
    Excellent Movie
    Great action adventure movie. We always love historical fiction flicks. This one exceeded expectations. Viola Davis should get an Oscar nod for best actress. The character study and beauty of Africa are fantastic. Our 13 year old enjoyed the movie too. There is quite a bit of violence. It was a violent time of history. The expose on the exploitation of Africans to slavery is superb. The bad guys were clearly the bad guys. The cinematography was awesome as well. They were capturing some of the beauty of Africa. Our family highly.recommends it. It's full of action so get ready for a really great movie.
  • CarlFisk - 6 December 2022
    Film promoting historical enslavers
    This film is complete propaganda, and tries to rewrite history in a dangerous way. It's about the Oyo tribe, historically one of the largest suppliers of slaves for the slave trade. The king it follows - king Ghezo - is portrayed as wise and fair, but historically he was a cruel and ruthless king. He was even nicknamed "the slaver king" in his time. This guy had a harem of hundreds of slave women, including one whose sole job was to kneel in front of him holding a golden chalice for him to spit into. From here, the historical butchery gets worse.

    The unit of women the film follows - the Agojie - did actually exist. They were formed by the king in response to a rival king demanding tribute in the form of female slaves. Once formed, their job was to round up women to enslave and gift to this rival king. The Agojie were literally formed to enslave women.

    The Woman King is a perfect example of Hollywood being reckless with history in order to capitalize on social trends and make a profit. Because of the threat of enslavement, name "Agojie" would have been terrifying to any African woman living in Western Africa in the mid-late 1800s. Now Hollywood has decided to rewrite history to glorify these people so they can make a quick buck. This is the equivalent of making a film about the Nazi S. S. in which it's rewritten to make them the heroes trying to save Jews. If anything deserves to be canceled, it's this film.
  • MongoLloyd - 28 November 2022
    iT's NoT a DoCuMeNtaRy
    Yet another "reimagining" of actual history that too many people decry as "not a documentary" even though it's based on actual history. The Dahomey tribe, an actual tribe in actual West Africa for 300 actual years were actual slavers.

    In the early 18th century, Kings of Dahomey were prolific slave traders who made a fortune from the illicit trade. To acquire slaves, they waged bitter wars against their neighbors, resulting in the capture of tens of thousands of prisoners who they constantly sold to European slave merchants.

    The filmmakers had a chance to tell the virtually unknown story of how integral African tribes were in supplying (and using) African slaves but decided to take the typical "Hollywood" approach and lie.
  • Johndemontaigne-32806 - 21 November 2022
    Maybe the best cinematic experience in years
    A Master piece!

    Passion Spirit Empowerment Heart..

    The Woman King (2022) is a movie my wife and I caught in theatres last night. The storyline follows an African kingdom with a new(er) king in 1823 who posses the only female army in Africa. The leader of the female Army has a past that haunts her but the respect of her king, enough to be on his council. She strongly urges him to avoid the slave trade and find alternative methods of riches. Meanwhile, those who do believe strongly in the slave trade look to march on the kingdom and bring them down. A new recruitment class to the female army brings brashness, new ideas to defend the kingdom, and the female leader's ghosts back to the forefront...