Director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s historical warrior action epic “The Woman King” hits theaters this weekend. After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, it kicks off the fall movie season, and it’s sitting pretty on Rotten Tomatoes at the moment with a cool 100% perfect score. Viola Davis stars in this film based on the Agojie, the female warriors of the Dahomey kingdom in West Africa (they are also the inspiration for the Dora Milaje warriors of Wakanda in “Black Panther”). Alongside Davis, who stars as a general training the new generation of Agojie warriors, the film also features Thosu Mbedu, “No Time To Die” star Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim and John Boyega.
While patiently waiting for “The Woman King,” take the time to revisit the filmography of Prince-Bythewood, who has steadily built a solid body of excellent, and varied, work over the past 20 years within an industry that isn’t always hospitable to women of color. In fact, in 2020, Prince-Bythewood became the first Black woman to helm a big budget action film based on a comic book with the Netflix movie “The Old Guard,” starring Charlize Theron. Based on the graphic novels about a secretive group of immortal warriors, “The Old Guard” was a chance for Prince-Bythewood to hone her action chops prior to “The Woman King,” and she delivered a film laden with fascinating characters, mythological lore and excellent action sequences. Stream it on Netflix.
Prior to “The Old Guard,” she made a splash with the music industry romantic drama “Beyond the Lights,” a riff on “The Bodyguard” starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw as a pop star who falls in love with a local cop (Nate Parker) who saves her from a suicide attempt. Minnie Driver co-stars as her controlling stage mother. Anchored by great performances and an emotional authenticity, “Beyond the Lights” told a great love story while casting a critical eye at the manipulations of the pop music machine. Stream it on Tubi or Kanopy or rent it online elsewhere.
