The trailer for "The Woman King" would have you believe that the film is one constant, nonstop action romp. Alas, you have been misled! But what else are Hollywood marketing departments for than to trick potential viewers. More of a talky drama and less of an action extravaganza, "The Woman King" tells a revisionist, alternative history of the fierce Dahomey kingdom. I am no historian, so, when walking into this movie, I knew literally zero of whatever the true story may be; instead, I simply desired a film with an engaging plot, and well-shot action sequences. "The Woman King" has none of those to offer.

For a film that advertises the brutality of its characters, "The Woman King" is surprisingly bloodless. With action scenes filmed in the typical close-up shaky camera style, this movie, in terms of its action, offers up nothing that you haven't already seen before, and seen done better. During large-scale battles the camera shakes, as if the cameraman himself is having a seizure; the violence is censored and neutered, with a lot of the kills occurring offscreen - because a movie about slavery just has to be dumbed down to PG-13 to become family friendly! Film is a business, after all.

Luckily, you will find some entertainment value - or at least I did - when viewing the culture of the Dahomey tribe. I can't speak to the historical accuracy of what the film portrayed, but I do enjoy movies that show in such detail the culture of people who lived long ago, so I certainly enjoyed the various traditions and rituals that were shown on screen. Alas, I do have a complaint when it comes to this, though: What I thought would be my favorite part of the film, the military training, almost seemed like an afterthought with it taking up only a small amount of screen time. What, then, did the film focus on? Mediocre melodrama.

With actresses that act so well you wonder if they were preordained for success in the film industry, "The Woman King" boasts Viola Davis and Lashana Lynch, two women who consistently give powerhouse performances. And while their performances are well done in this movie, the problem lies in the fact that "The Woman King" has a weak script. Instead of telling a straightforward story about fighting back against slavers, for some reason the movie decides to add plot threads (including an underwritten and unbelievable romance) that I, frankly, didn't care about. So while I enjoyed the acting, I couldn't help but feel taken out of and bored with the movie since the storylines never really grabbed me - a lot of it felt like it was taken out of a comic book or graphic novel, complete with a revenge subplot that was borderline unnecessary in a movie that was already about seeking revenge against those who have enslaved them.

A crowd pleaser through and through, "The Woman King" is receiving both critical and general audience acclaim; with an A+ rating on Cinemascore, I'm sure that most will walk into and enjoy it for the historical epic that it is. However, the bloated plot, weak script, and worst of all, the watered down, unfulfilling, and incomprehensible action kept me from fully finding entertainment value in this movie because, as I often say, when the action in your action movie sucks, your movie sucks. And while "The Woman King" doesn't suck, it's not nearly as good as it would have you believe.

Started well and ended well. Nothing in between. No story. Awfully slow-paced. You won't miss anything, can be skipped. There were some good acting and strong women with good fight stunts. But, the story was poorly written with too many dragged scenes and with only two to three fight scenes. There is no proper direction and the background score doesn't even exist. Screenplay & Editing was just awful. Trailer tried to hype a bit. Other than the shots in the trailer, there is nothing much in the movie. Could have done much better with characters and more war scenes. Nothing interesting at any point.

I saw the two glowing reviews here and decided to write mine. I watched the movie today at the cinema and I was left with a slight feeling of disappointment.

First off, the story is engaging and the the plot progression isn't bad. But something just felt missing.

The trailer is a bit misleading but I won't spoil anything here.

Let me start with the bad; the title gives the impression that Viola Davis is the central character but this is not so from what I saw, not really.

Thuso Mbedu's character seems to be the protagonist here and her delivery is nothing short of amazing.

Lashana Lynch is equally phenomenal as a supporting character, even outshining Davis.

As for John Boyega, his outing as the young king is one or the best things about this film. I didn't know the actor had such charisma.

Generally, the acting is good, especially from the aforementioned actors.

Nigerian born actor Jimmy Odukoya is a great villain who wasn't given enough screentime.

I believe the character would have been phenomenal if his backstory had been explored.

The cinematography is below par (I have seen Nollywood movies with better camera work) but perhaps the biggest letdown is the action.

The fight sequences came off as really disappointing as it was easy to see that it wasn't real combat despite the impressive choreography.

The romance was forced and written in such a way that at the end of it all, I asked myself why it was there in the first place.

The musical score is sublime and the songs and chants got my attention.

At the risk of being bashed, I will end my review by saying The Woman King is a good movie that should have and could have been far more.