Film Review: “The Woman King” (2022)

Hail to the king, baby!

With the Summer movie season coming to a close, we now approach awards season. From here until the end of the year is when studios begin to court their films for the Oscars. I’m far more lukewarm on Awards Season than most of my film-savvy colleagues. I’m not one to fawn over derivative period pieces, tedious biopics, or worst of all, bloated vanity projects that a well-known director farted out as an attempt to take home the coveted naked man statue. While I have specific tastes, I made it a point this year to venture out of my cinematic comfort zone. I will elaborate more on that in the future but, for now, We’ll start off with Sony’s first jab at awards season (Second if you count inevitable Razzie-Winner, “Morbius”), “The Woman King.”

The film stars Viola Davis as Nanisca, the leader of an elite squadron of warrior women named the Agojie. After they raid a camp of rival tribesmen posing as farmers and rescue captured children, The Agojie return home to their West African kingdom of Dahomey. When meeting with King Ghezo (John Boyega), Nanisca and the rest of the Agojie prepare for war against the Oyo Empire. Poised to train a new generation of girls to fight, Nanisca’s second in command, Izogie (Lashana Lynch) sees Nawi (Thuso Mbdeo), a strong-willed girl who refuses to marry against her will and takes her under…