Movie Review: 'The Woman King' delivers on action, heart

Moving Pictures by Mo Buford

The Woman King (Prince-Bythewood, 2022)  

The seasons turn and the world is new again. Leaves begin to shift colors, the morning air is crisp and cool, and good movies return to the cinemas! It was a long, hot summer with few respites from the summer movie blues—movies bloated with too much plot and too much CGI, all deflated and forgotten. But now it is autumn and we can turn our gaze once again to movies with some substance. 

The Woman King, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love and Basketball, The Old Guard) and shot by Polly Morgan, with music by long-time Spike Lee collaborator Terence Blanchard, is one such movie of substance. It proves a film does not need to do away with jaw-dropping action sequences and classic movie structures to make a film that is not only extremely entertaining but emotional and thought-provoking. The epic film centers on an all-female group of warriors, the Agojie, in 19th century Africa, as they defend their homeland from rival kingdoms funded by slave traders. The movie threads the needle of both addressing the history of the slave trade and the ways in which African kingdoms at the time participated as well, without dropping the action, adventure, and heart of the film. Which, needless to say, is no small feat. 

Speaking of action, this movie really does it right. According to the production team, ninety percent of the stunts are performed by the actors and stunt people in front of the camera. I may be a broken record at this point, but this always enhances the visceral experience of watching these sequences. As such, it deserves to be considered alongside other epics of its kind, like Gladiator, Braveheart, and Spartacus. That being said, it is not the action or historical commentary that ultimately drives this film, but rather the heart that passes between each of the women we come to know. And by the end of the film, the action and heart overlapped so intricately that it left me simultaneously searching for a tissue and throwing my fist in the air. 

The Woman King

★★★★1/2

(four and a half stars)

The Woman king is now showing at Columbia Cinemas.

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