The Woman King Reviews Roundup: An Exhilarating Ride? -

The Woman King is an upcoming War / Drama helmed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and stars Viola Davis in the main lead and the supporting cast includes Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, Laschana Lynch, John Boyega, Thusa Mbedo, Sheila Atim and Jayme Lawson. The screenplay of the film is written by Dana Stevens. The premise of the film is simple yet different, “The Woman King is a 2022 American historical epic film about the Agojie, the all-female warrior unit that protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey during the 17th to 19th centuries. Set in the 1820s, the film stars Viola Davis as a general who trains the next generation of warriors to fight their enemies.” The film is originally releasing much later but some critics have gotten an early glance at the film and they’ve given out their thoughts.

The Woman King Reviews Round-Up: A Good War Drama?

At an early screening, many critics got an opportunity to watch the film and their reactions are delightful. The critics have hailed the film and praised Bythewood’s direction and Viola Davis’ performance which comes as a no surprise, she is one of the best actresses working today. The film is said to be one of the better war epics we’ve gotten in a while. The film has a Fresh rating with 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes but only 5.9/10 on IMDb. Apart from the rating let’s hear the comments regarding the film.

Dylan Roth

Observer

“It’s a well-crafted big screen event movie that stands out from this year’s pack of blockbusters for its context, if not for its content. And, frankly, that’s more than enough.”

Original Score: 3/4

Stephanie Zacharek
TIME Magazine
“This is an action spectacle with a beating heart.”

Peter Travers
ABC News
“A fierce Viola Davis headlines this historical epic about women warriors in 1823 West Africa and reminds us how truly inspiring it is to see these brave sisters doing it for themselves.”

Matt Singer
ScreenCrush
“Davis’ performance, and the ferocious fight scenes, make The Woman King worth watching.”
Original Score: 7/10

Joy Ashford
Boston Globe
““The Woman King” lets its excellent cast weave between hubris, shakiness, and strength, achieving not just richer representation but more thrilling fight scenes, too.”
Original Score: 3/4

Kenji Fujishima
Slant Magazine
“The film is a historical action epic that, for all the novelty of its setting and subservience to contemporary attitudes, traffics in a lot of cliché narrative beats and ideologies.”
Original Score: 2.5/4

Kyle Smith
Wall Street Journal
“That women can be powerful isn’t news, and Ms. Prince-Bythewood is so focused on making her Amazons amazing that she forgets to make them interesting.”

Kristy Puchko
Mashable
“The Woman King is radical, radiant, and riveting.”

Justin Chang
Los Angeles Times
“Rises to the challenge of using an old-fashioned template to deliver a floodtide of exhilarating new images.”

Adam Graham
Detroit News
“Despite being wobbly at times, in the end, this “King” finds its footing.”
Original Score: B-

Sarah-Tai Black
Globe and Mail
“The film… retains Prince-Blythewood’s commitment to character and to Black love, both platonic and romantic. It is her Hollywood opus, complete with the thrilling action set-pieces and swelling score to prove it.”

Manohla Dargis
New York Times
“The kinetic action adventure “The Woman King” is a sweeping entertainment, but it’s also a story of unwavering resistance in front of and behind the camera.”

James Berardinelli
ReelViews
“A rousing motion picture filled with well-choreographed battle scenes effectively folded into stories of human interest.”
Original Score: 3/4

Sara Michelle Fetters
MovieFreak.com
“Gina Prince-Bythewood is up to the challenge of delivering a visually resplendent, crowd-pleasing spectacle that’s easy to recommend and even easier to love.”
Original Score: 3/4

Alison Willmore
New York Magazine/Vulture
“Davis brings a melancholy to her character that’s more complicated than the movie around her aims to be.”

Richard Roeper
Chicago Sun-Times
“Viola Davis’ performance puts an ordinary war movie in a class by itself…”
Original Score: 3/4

David Sims
The Atlantic
“The Woman King is a barn burner if you’re just looking for an invigorating night at the movies. But Prince-Bythewood’s real triumph is in grounding that sterling entertainment in a challenging dramatic text.”

David Fear
Rolling Stone
“The temptation is to say it’s a David Lean-style adventure. It’s really a full-metal Gina Prince-Bythewood movie. Maybe “the” Gina Prince-Bythewood movie, given the way she’s marshaled all of her talents here.”

Katie Walsh
Tribune News Service
“At the center, the true general, Prince-Bythewood, marshals every aspect of “The Woman King” in concert, conducting action, thrills and emotion beautifully. It is a remarkable, powerful film, and not to be missed.”
Original Score: 3.5/4

Thelma Adams
AARP Movies for Grownups
“While the movie’s treatment is surprisingly conventional, the tale of women empowered to own their own bodies couldn’t be timelier.”
Original Score: 4/5

Peter Debruge
Variety
“It’s stirring but slightly stodgy, designed to stand the test of time.”

Valerie Complex
Deadline Hollywood Daily
“Prince-Bythewood’s directing style encompasses the perfect balance of action and drama.”

Benjamin Lee
Guardian
“The Woman King is a sturdy, rousing piece of studio entertainment, that makes both the new feel old and the old feel new.”
Original Score: 3/5

Martin Tsai
TheWrap
“It’s an oft-told tale, yes, but here imparted with a fresh angle and a meaningful moral.”

Johnny Oleksinski
New York Post
““The Woman King” marks a ceasefire between two long-warring foes: Action and acting.”
Original Score: 3/4

Robert Daniels
RogerEbert.com
“Thrilling and enrapturing, emotionally beautiful and spiritual buoyant, The Woman King isn’t just an uplifting battle cry. It’s the movie Prince-Bythewood has been building toward throughout her entire career.”
Original Score: 3.5/4

Caryn James
BBC.com
“The Woman King leans toward fantasy in its heroic moments, but is rooted in truth about war, brutality and freedom. It is a splashy popcorn movie with a social conscience.”
Original Score: 4/5

Lovia Gyarkye
Hollywood Reporter
“Energetic performances and technical precision come together to glorious effect in Prince-Bythewood’s rousing action film. It’s a lush, prime piece of entertainment in many respects.”

Kate Erbland
indieWire
“The film is bursting with remarkable elements: a vivid and fully realized setting, eye-popping battle sequences (pushing that PG-13 rating to wild ends), richly drawn characters, and wonderful performances from everyone.”
Original Score: B

Brian Lowry
CNN.com
“Somehow, the film manages to feel like a throwback to the action movies of old while featuring people who were seldom allowed to occupy prominent roles back then.”

Sarah Jane
Austin Chronicle
“There’s not a lot wrong with it. It looks beautiful, the costumes are gorgeous, the fight scenes are terrific, and there is a nice bit of gore.”
Original Score: 4/5

Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
“Viola Davis owns “The Woman King,” a movie every bit as majestic and monumental as its title implies.”
Original Score: 3.5/4

Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
“This is a film driven by what makes its characters and conflicts tick. It’s freely fictionalized, and some of it’s overpacked. But “The Woman King” feels human-made, not machine-learned.”
Original Score: 3.5/4

Katie Rife
Polygon
“This film has a fire in its belly. But more importantly, it also has a heart full of love: love of life, love of freedom, love of Black people and culture, and love for its ferocious, complicated, brave women.”

Alexis Potter
Arizona Republic
“A breathtaking, creative and powerful film.”
Original Score: 4.5/5

Leah Greenblatt
Entertainment Weekly
“A spirited and often thrilling action epic elevated by the regal, rigorous commitment of star Viola Davis.”
Original Score: B

Soraya Nadia McDonald
Andscape
“With its epic tale of the solidarity that grows between the Dahomey as they battle against enslavement and exploitation, The Woman King illustrates, with stunning grace, how sisterhood can be more than dangerous and powerful.”

Cary Darling
Houston Chronicle
“Davis — fierce and formidable, bruised and battle-scarred — is a revelation…She proves that you don’t have to look like Scarlett Johansson to be a female action hero.”
Original Score: 4/5

Ty Burr
Ty Burr’s Watch List
“On one level, this is just a rousing Saturday-matinee action-adventure; on another, it carries the weight of everything Davis has done… and every page of Black history – Black women’s history – that hasn’t been told on this scale and in this medium.”
Original Score: 3.5/4

The Woman King is slated to release in your nearby theatres on 5th October 2022.

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Sameer Talawdekar

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A student of cinema with a keen eye and an acquired taste. Blunt and critical while reviewing, if Sameer says a film is good, it’s basically a guarantee that it is. He may not like what you do, but that’s what makes him a quality fit for any cinema publication. He craves excellence and perfection and that’s why you can blindly trust his word!

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