I wasn’t sold on a “One Life To Live” twist involving Nanisca. ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story’ review: The craziest biopic ever made Thuso Mbedu plays Nawi, a new recruit in the Agojie. She has a proven flair for merging feeling with fireworks. Her last film, “The Old Guard” for Netflix, was leagues better than anything the Russo brothers have been able to deliver for the streamer. Prince-Bythewood is one of the few directors out there churning out consistently solid action flicks. They pile up bodies like Davis piles up Oscar nods. Unsparing yet graceful, the wake you up and grab you by the collar. Now focused and battle-ready, the ensemble (well, their stunt doubles anyway) enact some of the year’s best action scenes. Viola Davis’ Nanisca leads a formidable fighting force in “The Woman King.” Courtesy of TIFFĭirector Gina Prince-Bythewood gives us good old fashioned training sequences, like “Rocky” and “The Karate Kid.” The women’s time at camp also brings to mind “Mulan,” but nobody here is singing “Be A Man.” There are some fun sword-wielding dance sequences in front of the King (John Boyega) though. Nanisca isn’t gonna take any of that, and she is supported in her ire by her badass lieutenants Izogie (Lashana Lynch) and Amenza (Sheila Atim, a fabulous British stage actress who deserves greater recognition).Īt the movie’s core is a new group of recruits who arrive at the group’s palace training ground - Nawi (Thuso Mbedu), whose dad sent her away after she refused to marry a suitor Ode (Adrienne Warren), a captive who gets the chance to train and Fumbe (Masali Baduza), a girl rescued from the slave trade.Īll three are memorable, but especially Mbedu who conceals a stealthy Arya Stark killer instinct behind a sweet exterior. (Their actual fights back then probably didn’t look so much like “The Matrix,” but hooray for Hollywood.)ĭahomey is at war with the Oyo Empire, which has been capturing innocents and selling them into slavery. They were a real and fascinating part of history. In the robustly entertaining “Woman King,” Davis plays Nanisca, a seasoned general in an all-female fighting force called the Agojie in the African Kingdom of Dahomey during the 1800s. What a refreshing break from what usually constitutes an epic nowadays - mixing Ant-Man and the Hulk. TORONTO - “The Woman King” marks a ceasefire between two long-warring foes: Action and acting.ĭuring the Viola Davis-led movie, which premiered Friday at the Toronto International Film Festival, we are whisked back to the glory days of the 1980s and ‘90s when big budgets, battle scenes, romance and drama were routinely mixed into one crowd-pleasing package. Rated PG-13 (sequences of strong violence, some disturbing material, thematic content, brief language and partial nudity).
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