Better than I expected, but not as good as I hoped.

I don't care about the historical inaccuracies. There's no historical epic in existence that hasn't taken some liberties with the details, many far moreso than this.

What surprised me is that, despite Nanisca being top-billed, being the face on the poster, and even being the titular "Woman King", she wasn't the main character of the film. She was a supporting role to the real protagonist: Nawi.

I wish Viola Davis had been given the opportunity to do what she does best: Intense, emotional scenes that don't let the viewers off the hook. But in this piece there simply wasn't a scene long enough for her to sink her teeth into. The few emotionally-charged scenes were shuddering with jump-cuts and dialogue that just pull you right out of the emotion... It was disengaging.

It was great to see Davis in a more physical role for a change though. I was on set for some of the action scenes, and her physicality and professionalism were captivating in person, even if the choppy editing didn't quite tdo them justice on screen.

While Mbedu and Bolger did a fine job protraying it, with excellent on-screen chemistry, I felt that the romance story was just a distraction that could have been dispensed with. That might have bought us a few more minutes of Davis screen time!