On THE WOMAN KING

 "I am a general." When Viola Davis as Nanisca says that in THE WOMAN KING, you darn well better believe her. This movie, expertly directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and beautifully shot, does not lack for action. In fact, as I watched it, I thought "This is the kind of history-based epic action movie that would've made for a great Rivers Family night at the drive-in when I was a kid in L.A."

We're taken to West Africa int the 1800s. An all-female army of trained warriors protects the African kingdom of Dahomey. These warriors are fierce in battle, as we see. They have no husbands. They will bear no children. They are taught to dance. They are taught martial arts. They have a voice in their government. A foreign enemy is determined to crush their way of life. General Nanisca will train the next generation of female soldiers for the fight.

First of all, Viola Davis as fantastic. That should come as no surprise. Her accent, her vocal tone, the way she carries herself and the look in Nansica's eyes that's a mixture of leadership and war weariness are amazing. Nansica has physical and emotional wounds. Davis won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for FENCES. With her four Oscar nominations on her resumé, she is the most Oscar-nominated Black actress in Hollywood history.

Next, there is a lot of action in this film. Fight scenes, you know were rehearsed and staged. The same goes for dances that the female soldiers perform as a group. This was obviously an extremely physical and taxing shoot for the cast, a shoot that took place in Africa. However, besides the film giving us a message of Black/African history and "Representation Matters," you feel that there was a sweet, terrific overall sense of collaboration in front of and behind the camera. Everyone seems to share the same vision and works hard to bring it into focus. There's great detail in the costumes and hair styles. You get a feeling that the entire cast developed a definite affection for the film's director. Women contribute in front of and behind the camera.

My favorite scenes are the ones with Viola Davis and British actor John Boyega. He is one of the most under-appreciated and versatile young actors on the scene today. His international breakthrough came when he played Finn in our current STAR WARS franchise -- STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI and STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER. But he's much more than just Finn.

You can see Viola Davis as the conflicted New York mother of a Catholic schoolboy in DOUBT, the Southern domestic in THE HELP and the general in THE WOMAN KING and notice how distinct each character is in look sound and carriage. The same applies to John Bodega. Did you see him as Finn? Then see him in 2017's DETROIT also a history-based drama and also directed by a woman (Kathryn Bigelow). He's excellent as the security guard at work during a racial uprising in the summer of 1967. See him in the 2020 historical drama RED, WHITE AND BLUE as the officer in the London Metropolitan Police force who founded the Black Police Association to bring about reform. He also played a guy from my South Central L.A. hometown community in the 2014 film, IMPERIAL DREAMS.

Boyega, who bears a slight resemblance to the young Denzel Washington, plays King Ghezo in THE WOMAN KING. By the way, Boyega's bare torso is one of the best pieces of set decoration in the movie.

The machete is the main weapon for the female warriors. There are battle scenes with lots of killing. However, I noticed that the director shot them all the old Hollywood studio way. No a bad thing. We don't see gore and bloodletting and gashed body parts. I think Ms. Prince-Bythewood was keeping in mind the impressionable girls who'd be seeing -- and be inspired by -- her film. She spared them intense, explicit violence. The battle scenes are fine for "family viewing," if you will, like in old films such as BEN-HUR and SPARTACUS.

THE WOMAN KING runs about 2 hour 15 minutes and it's now on DVD.