"Movie Review - The Woman King" Topic

Yesterday afternoon, my wife and I went to see the new movie "The Woman King" starring Viola Davis as the leader of the Dahomian Agojie all female warrior unit of the Kingdom of Dahomey. We both enjoyed the movie.

Granted that all but one of the main characters are fictional, the movie succeeds in telling the story of Dahomey and its Abojie warriors at a specific point in time – 1823. There are several large battle scenes between the Dahomey army and the forces of the rival Ojo Empire link .

There are a number of on-line articles about the Aboujie ("African Amazons") but I found this one, which ties into the movie, well-written -- link

So, bottom line, if you are interested in Victorian colonial wargaming go see this movie. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Jim

Thanks, sounds interesting.

Pass.

1. The movie rewrites history and casts the Dahomey as being dedicated to anti-slavery when they were one of the most powerful, predatory slaver kingdoms in Africa.

2. They also pretend the Dahomey were "freedom fighters" trying to stop European colonialism when that was not so – the first time they fought Europeans is when the British waged an anti-slavery campaign in the region.

3. And the "Amazons" were not effective against European militaries, and were gutted by the French during a large engagement -- the Dahomey Amazons lost 500 dead to only 6 French dead. Turns out the Amazons were much more suited to fight lightly armed and poorly trained tribal militia during slave-taking raids.

Easy Pass for me as well.

+100 SBminisguy. The whole movie is a woke sham. It won't get 1cent from me or my family.

Coming soon from the people who brought you "The Woman King".
"Robert E. Lee – "The gay man who ended slavery in America".

The movie has received mostly bad reviews for the reasons cited by SBminisguy. I am taking a pass on this movie.

I might try to see it. I mean it's not going to be any worse than Braveheart,Robin hood, Gladiator, Rob Roy or the Patriot is it?. Film makers rarely seem to care about facts, if they get in the way of a story, so I tend not not expect to much actual history in a movie. Best to just treat them as fantasy action movies. So what if the movie is more Wakanda then the real Dahomey? It doesn't mean I can't just enjoy it as a movie.

thanks, I will pass also – no longer interested in just about everything Hollywood produces these days. I will watch METV instead. Johnny Carson reruns beats just about everything on TV these days.

Plus 1, torokchar.

Col Durnford. Loved that!!!

"Based on powerful true events" evidently. Sure.

I ask myself, could it be more unreliable than 'The Patriot' & I managed to sit through that historical cess-pit. I can tell the difference between a feature film & a documentary which is a useful ability.

The trailer looks good & a night out at 'The Flicks's is one of life's pleasures. I think I'll take my Squeeze to see it.

Thanks for the Head's Up.

I like my historic fantasy from time to time.
Especially if it may be fodder to my 'Darkes/Dumbest Africa' fantasies.
Never seen one of those Pocahontas atrocities, so is it more like 'Vikings' (various incarnations, but I love One-Eye Kirk Douglas), Spartacus (Of course the 1960 version with Kirk!) 'Patriot' (2000), '300'(2006), Apocalyptico (2006) or 'The Last Samurai' (2003)?

I guess nobody will ever make a 'Flashman's Lady' movie or one about the life and times of 'Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba'

A pass also. The 'entertainment' industry needs to put
butts in seats, so the products therefrom are thusly
oriented, especially in appealing to certain demographics.

I have done a lot of reading on Dahomey (and other,
similar nations). They, like other nations, were
products of their time and cultural background.

I rather liked Rob Roy.

You use the word woke as though its q bad thing.

Ed, I know zilch about Dahomey.If the movie sparks my interest, I'll likely seek out a reliable tome or two that accurately covers the history.

Is this enough to make 'The Women King' an educational movie?

I'll probably watch it when my library gets the DVD in, but it is not something that I would pay to see.

Movies like this may spark an interest for someone to do a little reading on the subject, maybe check out a book at the library or pick something up on the internet. etc. They are what they are, and they have the potential to make some people want to know more. Before this movie came out, how many times was the word "Dahomey" used in the mainstream media in the last 50 years?

I'll pass as well.

As regards 'Braveheart', 'Rob Roy', 'The Patriot' and '300' – it's important to remember that they are fiction. It amazes me that so many people on TMP criticize '300' without realizing it was based on a comic book (graphic novel for all the nerds out there).

What irritates me about the dreck that Hollyweird has been promoting of late is trotting out dogs and saying that they're wolves or vice versa. I saw "Black Adam" with the wife 2 days ago and while it was an interesting story, with some cool dialogue and special effects, I doubt I'll watch it again. When the trailer came on for "The Woman King" – most people in the theatre howled with laughter or made various animal noises – not the reaction I think the producers were aiming for.

DVD? Geez, I live in Poland and I haven't seen a DVD in years! Do they still make them? :)

Big pass. The movie is an absolute lie.

"I mean it's not going to be any worse than Braveheart, Robin hood, Gladiator, Rob Roy or the Patriot is it?"

That would be yes it is worse. It deals directly with slavery. It portrays the very people who were very much involved in the slave trade to be the ones trying to stop the slave trade. Yes the Women Warriors were slavers.

You will be disappointed.

I think my Legionnaires are ready for a Franco-Dahomean War campaign. I have just been reading up on it when this movie appeared. Lets send in the British for good measure.

What kind of title for a movie is ''The Woman King'' don't they know we already have a word for that its called a queen!
Plus just to make the Dahomeys even better, they invented the word voodoo!