Critic Reviews
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Black experts from across the diaspora, including observations from a modern Woman King, Queen Diambi Kabatusuila of the Bakwa Luntu people, assist Oni in bringing Njinga to life. The details drawing her as a leader capable of expansive nobility and grave horror are enthralling, but the actor realizes her as a woman whose family is the source of her strength and a significant military weakness.
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If it’s slightly frustrating that this project only seems to be scratching the surface of Njinga’s complexity as a real ruler or narrative potential as a fictionalized heroine, it’s only because it mounts such a compelling case for her appeal to begin with.
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Narrated by executive producer Jada Pinkett Smith and benefiting greatly from the writing of Peres Owino and NneNne Iwuji, “African Queens: Njinga” at times feels a little bit like homework — but it’s a subject well worth our attention, and a lesson plan executed in well-paced, entertaining fashion.
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Despite the fact that the interview portions of African Queens: Njinga feel more like window dressing than anything else, the dramatic segments are well-written and acted, making those talking head segments less intrusive.
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These dramatised sections are pretty workaday stuff, of the same indifferent quality you would expect from equivalent scenes in a daytime-scheduled, Channel 5 Tudors doc. ... In general it lacks context or deeper analysis beyond the straight recounting of Njinga’s biography.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 0 out of 7
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Mixed: 0 out of 7
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Negative: 7 out of 7
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Mar 7, 2023
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Jun 7, 2023