A stunning historical epic with captivating performances and mesmerizing cinematography. I love the brutality in the action; there are so many battles, yet the choreography never gets stale. The main characters have such a fascinating shade of gray to them, reminding me much of other anti-heroes like Amleth in The Northman.

This is a film about preserving your culture, no matter the cost. And even though historically speaking the end in slave trading was later reverted by the king of Dahomey, the movie never needed to cover that aspect. It's more about using these characters to explore an array of insightful themes rather than replicating a thorough documentation for the sake of “accuracy.” That's what cinema is about. Please see this blockbuster. (And please see The Underground Railroad.)