After the killing of her family by the enemy in an effort to leave her land without a male heir, Boudica is taken in by group of people who nurse her back to health and help her train to become the legend we now know.
Written and directed by Jesse V. Johnson, the film is an entertaining action romp through the past with some level of historical accuracy, but that is not the central point of the film here, so go into it expecting some historical inaccuracies. That being said, the film is an engaging action drama that gives lead Olga Kurylenko a part that she can really sink her teeth into, with emotions and some great fight sequences. This is very much a Jesse V. Johnson film, it’s full of fights and they are glorious. The film’s story here is interesting and it does lead one to care about Boudica beyond the fact that she’s a legend at this point.
A strong point of the film here is the fights. The stunts team here did fantastic work which is why they come before the cast in this review. The fight coordination and direction is more than good, it’s done with a flair for the dramatic and an attention to detail that helps the viewer get into them. Also, the cinematography by Jonathan Hall and the editing by Matthew Lorentz allow the viewer to see the action, to get into the fights by allowing them the time to be on screen without too many quick cuts. Yes, there is some creative editing here to work around the switch of actors to stunt persons, but it works. The fights here are well choreographed and well shot with editing that gives the images time to b seen, that allows the punches to land before the film moves onto the next.
The cast here is one that does action quite well, in some cases better than they do drama which this film also has plenty of. Lead Olga Kurylenko is fun to watch once her character gets to be reborn following the death of her family. She does well with the drama, but she does even better with the action here, looking like a total badass, in part due to her own work and in part due to her stunt double Charlotte Yates. In a smaller part that has a lot of impact, Nick Moran does his best slimy leader who will cut anyone to get ahead in the part of Catus Decianus. He’s the icky Roman here, he wants Boudica dead, he wants her land, and Moran plays him with an attitude that makes him instantly dislikable. The way he plays this part is straight up icky, for lack of a better word. The cast overall works here, some of them better than the others, and of course some just a little off, but generally, the off performances are rare and not that far off.
Boudica: Queen of War is historical fiction with a heavy tangent into action. It’s a film made to showcase Kurylenko and the fights her character gets into. It’s made with the right amount of heart and a seriously talented stunt team. The film starts off more like a drama, but once it gets really doing, it’s fun and entertaining in a revenge-against-the-power in place sort of way. The film is clearly made more for action fans than history buffs, but it works well this way.
OPENING ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27 IN THEATERS, ON-DEMAND, AND ON DIGITAL