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
  • lantern4444 - 23 March 2024
    A great movie portraying the all female Kings Guard of an African tribe
    This movie is historically set in 1820's Africa. The movie is specifically about the Agooji, an all female elite fighting force and Kings Guard of the Dahomey tribe in the modern country of Benin, Africa. It is used to show the empowerment of women and how they were considered the equal of the male fighter of the same tribe. They fought courageously alongside the men against the enemies of the Dahomey tribe.

    The story-line describes how the Agooji and Dahomey tribe fought to defend themselves from other bordering tribes and the slave traders located in the ports. The movie show how tribes would fight and capture people from other tribes and sell them to the slave traders for various goods and weapons. There is however a major historical flaw in that the Dahomey are described as becoming anti-slavery.

    The many characters and their place in the complex tribal society of the Dahomey are well developed and portrayed. The story also shows the strong interrelationships between the slave traders and the various tribal groups. It also touches on the British Naval attempts to blockade the slave traders ports.

    The movie has many great bloody fight scenes which are well choreographed using the historical weapons of the time. These fights are used to show the battle for survival of the Dahomey tribe against numerically stronger and better armed opposition.

    This is a great movie but with a major historical flaw.
  • questl-18592 - 24 September 2023
    King Viola
    I was so delightfully surprised by this movie. There was a concern that this would be an over-produced attempt to appease certain demographics rather than just being a good movie. But it is such a good movie! Viola Davis is magnificent, I really didn't know she had this in her and I loved it. I knew she had serious dramatic chops, but was not expecting her to be such a badass! Everyone else was great too. It did... I almost wanted this to be a spin-off prequel to Black Panther where these women were somehow the precursor to the royal guard, but I suppose that may still be true, in spirit. Perhaps it was these very women that inspired such. Regardless, great movie, definitely worth the watch.
  • jacobhollingsworthnetwork - 10 August 2023
    We Believe in the Dahomey - The Woman King JHN Review
    Viola Davis leads a charge of Dahomey warriors, both male and female, as the General, Nanisca, of the All-Female regime of the Dahomey army. The screenplay shows the audience a clear "point A to point B" script that allows us to understand why each character exists, and the reasoning for each character's actions. The Action scenes were well thought out for the majority of the film. There was a point in the climatic action scene that was quite non-believable, but most action sequences were strategically planned through a realistic lens and understanding of combat. The Cinematography and editing left room for improvement. There was a significant lack of consistency in unique shots that caused expression of amazement. There was also a large amount of unplanned shaking of the camera rigs. Shots would often cut too quickly before we could draw a vivid delineation. Emotional connection was much stronger than the spiritual premise of the movie, yet both had an impact. Relation could be drawn from the hopes and dreams of the cast. You could certainly find yourself "choked up" by the end of this film.

    Read the complete JHN EXCLUSIVE Review on 'Jacob Hollingsworth Network'.
  • moviesknight - 31 December 2022
    Strong women. Good visuals.
    Left so much to be achieved. Could have been far more better. I dont think it was delivered the justice it promised. But great female cast, strong characters, both physically and mentally. Nice cultural vibes. The dances, rituals and beliefs were so beautiful. The story lacks the thrust. The focus shifts from slave trade to personal past redemption. This should have been the side plot but instead was pushed to main plot, which I think led to its downfall as a film. We always require strong leaders to lead who have the vision to see things. Fight scenes were not that good. Lots of things which were let down. I think white colonialism was shown not as cruel, evil, wicked as it was/is. This was the biggest let down of all. Women warriors are shown strong but not smart, except few. And most of them were shown weaker compared to men. I felt that was insulting to the women warriors. Good acting and visuals though. Some scenes were too emotional and personal.
  • jennifergriffiths-54849 - 25 December 2022
    Great movie
    Although a predictable ending, I throughly enjoyed this movie. I have seen some comments saying that the characters were not well developed as there was minimum background given, however I fail to see this as a writing defect (or something along those lines) as anyone with a basic understanding of history should be able to figure the characters background without having to write a whole backstory. Love the fight scenes, music and costumes. This is a some-what typical revenge story, however it is well done with makes the movie a great watch. The acting of Viola Davis and others really top off a very enjoyable movie.
  • rabidwookie80 - 15 December 2022
    This is a really good movie
    My family and I really enjoyed this movie. The story is simple enough but it is very well done and elevated because it spends time fleshing out the characters and their relationships. It's funny I see a lot of reviews giving this movie scores that should be reserved for truly terrible movies like Troll 2 and The Room, because it's not historically accurate lol. None of these 'based on a true story' movies have ever been historically accurate, but I don't see them getting bashed for it in the reviews. The movie is good, well paced, has phenomenal performances, and has some really good action scenes (I'm a huge action fan). If the movie I described interests you then give it a shot.
  • keshatrippett - 6 December 2022
    Love this movie so much! Saw it five times!
    I love seeing women come together and fight for a cause. Viola Davis and Thedsu killed it! The entire cast did an amazing job at telling the story and making you love their characters. I saw this five times because it's such an important movie. The music. The clothing. The training. The fighting. The tears. I came away feeling like I wasn't just watching a movie, I was sharing in an experience and given loads of wisdom to walk away with to help me be a better mother, wife, leader and woman. My favorite part was the ending when Viola embraces her daughter and dances with her. One of the most unforgettable films I've ever seen.
  • arfdawg-1 - 28 November 2022
    Completely Fictional Nonsense
    There's a reason this movie wasn't a box office hit. It's not very good. Nor is it historically accurate. Yes there wasa prosperous kingdom of Dahomey and yes there was an army of females. That's it. The rest is all made up. All of it.

    Thre was never a woman king. No idea who thought that was a good idea for a movie they try to pawn off as historical! Why not just make a fictional movie and say it's fiction?

    Anyway, there are lots of familiar faces and others who are really bad actors.

    But that's not the real problem. The problem with the movie is that it's not very good. The action scenes are fast and violent but then there are lulls in the action with people talking and talking and talking and the talking does absoutely nothing to further the plot. One of these lulls lasted a full tenty-five minutes.

    It's all just filler until the next action scene.

    You never care one bit about any of the characters. It's like a stuffed shirt. Nothing innside.
  • SnoopyStyle - 20 November 2022
    Hollywood action movie
    It's 1823 West Africa. The Kingdom of Dahomey faces more powerful neighbor Oyo and its allied kingdoms. King Ghezo (John Boyega) grows tired of his oppressive neighbor and slavery in general. The Agojie is an all-female fighting force in Dahomey. General Nanisca (Viola Davis) is their experienced leader. Nawi (Thuso Mbedu) is a new recruit.

    At its core, this is a Hollywood action movie. The characters happen to be African female warriors. I was weary at the start. The action seems a bit superhero, but one has to accept this as more than a documentary. It's a Hollywood movie. It did do some history by having the British Navy take away the slaves from Santo Ferreira. I put the rest down to artistic license. This should be enjoyed as any other Hollywood action historical drama.