The Woman King: 'African Amazons' Tale Treads Lightly on History and Hard on Action

By Jim Slotek

Rating: B

It’s likely that, without Black Panther, the history-based African action movie The Woman King would not exist.

Once studios got a look at the box office of one epic Black action film, how could they resist the real-life tale of the Agojie, the “African Amazons” (as they were called by Europeans), who were the shock troops for the Kingdom of Dahomey?

Don’t mess with Viola Davis

Set in the 1830s - shortly before Dahomey gave up the practice of selling off its captured enemies to white slavers - The Woman King is the tale of the fictional General Nanisca (a formidable looking Viola Davis) and her protégé Nawi (South African actress Thuso Mbedu) at the point in its history where Dahomey defeated its main enemy, the Oyo Empire.

Complications of history aside, The Woman King is Black Panther minus the vibranium and with more women warriors, an empowerment tale fueled by kickassery, with battle scenes, ear-splitting ululated war cries and sword fights.

Director Gina Prince-Bythewood knows the “beats” of a proper action film, and the motivations of an audience to cheer. There is a rape-revenge subplot, a high-drama “reveal” of one of the main characters, a perfunctory love story and a crew of Portuguese slavers who are going to get what’s coming to them.

As for the slavery aspect, the script implies that Dahomey is in the process of correcting itself, with Nanisca arguing against the slave trade to the oddly indecisive and manipulatable King Ghezo (John Boyega. So… good guys.

As for Nanisca, she has her own reasons for wanting to kill the Oyo, having to do with a traumatic previous experience with the Oyo general. Her hate is a burden she carries heading into battle.

But the real selling point of The Woman King is the movie’s ceremonial aspect, the training, the dancing and choreography, and colourful battle gear. This is a martial sisterhood where men are not allowed and battle is an art built on generations of tradition and obedience. It’s a visual feast of a movie, during those moments between bouts of bloody warfare.

Whatever gravitas The Woman King can claim is courtesy of Davis, whose ultimately-explained inner-suffering gives the movie its soul. Mbedu’s Nawi has a convincing arc from arrogant youngster to proper soldier, and is even given something of a sidebar forbidden love story when she meets a part-Dahomey Portuguese sailor (Jordan Bolger).

There’s even some comedy relief from one of Lashana Lynch as Izogie, the chief trainer of Agojie recruits, who is always ready with a sarcastic but encouraging quip.

There are a lot of narratives to throw together, with the result that The Woman King is probably a half-hour longer than it needed to be. Still, it uses its framework to good, rousing action effect.

The Woman King. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. Stars Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu and John Boyega. Opens in theatres Friday, Sept. 16.