Can a Woman Be King?

Released on Sept. 16, “The Woman King” is a story based on real events of the Agoije, an all-female warrior unit that protected the Kingdom of Dahomey, located in West Africa.

“The Woman King” caught my attention when I had only just seen the title. Going into the movie theaters, I had no idea what it was going to be based on as I had not watched the trailer and had not heard much about it from the people around me. The action at the beginning completely grabbed my attention, and I was ready to see how the rest of the movie would unfold.

Plot (9/10) and Pacing (7/10)
Throughout the movie, I was able to get a basic understanding of what was going on without even knowing much about the Agoije. The development of the plot was smooth as it was able to introduce the characters and their interactions with one another, then it began to move into the intense action that had been shown in the beginning. There was not anything that was left too confusing and most of the plot became predictable as the movie progressed on. However, the pacing for this plot did feel like parts of the movie were getting dragged on at times. It did move slowly after the eye-catching beginning scene, but that helped to give a formal introduction to the characters and the Agoije. There were also multiple parts in the movie where you would think it was about to end, but it continued. Even though the ending of the movie was good, there were a lot of other parts that I thought would’ve ended the movie better.

Characters (9.5/10)

The movie was successful in the development of characters that you would love and the characters that you’d hate whenever they came onto the screen. Seeing the journeys and hardships that the characters go on made it easy to connect with a few of them. The interactions between the characters made them very likable as you could see the bond between them and how much they cared for each other. They established a great community for themselves, and it was shown through the way they looked after each other.

Emotion (9/10)

This movie was able to put me through a wide range of emotions. All the actors did an amazing job with being able to portray different emotions on screen and being able to evoke these emotions in the audience. When a character was crying, you’d be able to feel the grimness and the desolation from that scene. There was also a lot of violence shown and with violence comes death. Characters that you come to learn about and feel a connection towards might meet their fate in the fierce battles that happen. Having to practically say goodbye to these characters and not seeing them on screen anymore had my emotions running high and towards the end, I was almost brought to tears.

Overall Message (10/10)

There were multiple messages throughout the movie, specifically on the strength of women. It showed how the women who were a part of the warrior unit could overcome the obstacles they faced. It also contained a lot of inspirational quotes. A quote that struck me was “a termite can take down an elephant.”  Anybody can take someone down, regardless of their size, through their strength and willpower and this is emphasized throughout the movie and through one of the characters, Nawi. It came as an enjoyment to see this being played out by women as it drew on their strengths and power. “The Woman King” is empowering for many audiences, mainly for women and the black community.

My overall rating for “The Woman King” would be a four out of five as it included many life lessons that you can think back on, and it did an amazing job in bringing attention to the Agoije. This movie left a deep impression on me without even having any prior knowledge about it. It’s one of those movies that you’ll find yourself thinking about days after watching. The movie completely exceeded my expectations. If you’re looking for the answer to the question, Can a woman be king?, you might want to watch this movie.