The Woman King

Not only is this a great film to watch as part of Black History month, this West African-set tale of women warriors is also likely to please menopausal women everywhere as Viola Davis fiercely shows that being 57 years old is no barrier when it comes to kicking the arse of bad guys and the patriarchy.

The emphasis is firmly on action rather than history - although the Dahomey Amazons were a real thing and Gina Prince-Bythewood's film doesn't shy away from some unpleasant truths about a certain level of complicity on the part of tribes like theirs in the slave trade. The fact that it allows for this sort of moral complexity is one of its strengths and, if nothing else, it's likely to prompt people to want to find out more about them.

This is, first and foremost, though, an epic actioner which has the sort of beautifully choreographed fight scenes that, though less balletic and more bruising, recall the grace and sweep of wuxia films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. While its battle scenes are well realised by Prince-Bythewood, writer Dana Stevens (working on a story developed with Maria Bello) doesn't forget to include plenty of emotional beef beneath the brawn.

Davis plays Nanisca the leader of an army of women, known as the Agojie, who are tasked with protecting the Kingdom of Dahomey by the king (John Boyega, suitably imperious without being a playboy). Their defence is no easy feat given that they rely mainly on hand-to-hand combat with machetes while their enemies have been given guns and horses by the slave traders.

Beyond the battlefield, the film is built on relationships sparked by new recruit Nawi (rising star Thuso Mbedu, who can also be seen in The Underground Railroad) who is sent to the Agojie after refusing an arranged marriage. We watch as her wilfulness comes up against that of Nanisca - who is dealing with demons from her own past with the help of her long-time friend Amenza (Sheila Atim, bringing plenty of gravitas). Meanwhile, Lashana Lynch (No Time To Die and in the upcoming Matilda) threatens to steal every scene she is in as Izogie, who becomes Nawi's mentor.

All the ingredients of the epic are here including a whiff of romance with European incomer Malik (Jordan Bolger), whose mother was enslaved, although this feels a bit tacked on compared to everything else, largely because its the emotional sparring between the women - as fierce as anything on the battle ground - that really holds the attention. As with many epics, this may be a little sprawling at the edges, but the core of this film has a blazing intensity and delivers the emotional goods.