User reviews

You cannot make a film about the iconic British warrior Queen with this lack of budget, production values, script, bad CGI or directorial talent.

The cast looked great on paper, Kurylenko was well cast, as were the two guys from Vikings, Nick Moran and dear old Rita Tushingham. However, I had major problems with the 'magical flying sword' and the ghost twins. I was fine with the 'sixth sense' reveal about the twins halfway through, but to constantly consult them on battle tactics was ludicrous.

Also Boudica did not die by the sword, she did of poisoning/ fell ill, but hey, don't let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Shame. I wonder what Ridley Scott would have done with this.

Boudica: Queen of War (2023) is a historical film directed by Jesse V. Johnson and starring Olga Kurylenko as Boudica, the legendary Celtic warrior queen who led a rebellion against the Roman occupation of Britain in the first century AD. While the film has some potential, it ultimately falls short due to its uninspired direction, underwhelming action sequences, and a lack of historical accuracy.

One of the film's biggest problems is its direction. Johnson's lack of experience with large-scale action films is evident in the film's battle scenes, which are poorly choreographed and lack any sense of scale. The film's budget is also clearly limited, as evidenced by the use of cheap-looking sets and costumes.

Kurylenko is a talented actress, but she is not given enough to work with in this role. Her Boudica is a one-dimensional character who is defined by her anger and rage. The film does not explore her motivations in any depth, and her character arc is predictable and uninspired.

The film's historical accuracy is also questionable. The film takes liberties with the historical record, and there are several scenes that are simply not plausible. For example, the film depicts Boudica as having a magical sword that can fly through the air. This is a complete fabrication, and there is no evidence to support it.

Overall, Boudica: Queen of War (2023) is a disappointing attempt to bring the story of Boudica to life. The film is poorly directed, lacks scale, and is historically inaccurate. It is a missed opportunity to tell a truly epic story about one of history's most fascinating women.

I couldn't get "gender-swap braveheart attempt" out of my mind while trying to get through this, but even that would be an insult. With the exception of some of the fighting scenes, this had too big of an execution gap to take seriously. Really ham fisted script, costumes, and directing causes too many wonky scenes that I just couldn't keep myself from cringing on. I think the blonde helper (Ingrid from Vikings?) that was in this would have made a more convincing barbaric queen. I'm guessing the dialogue about how women cant lead and must be flogged was a narrative requirement to get this funded, or at least it came across that way. Some of the fighting scenes weren't awful though for the budget. Watch only if you can brush off a cheap and unconvincing execution.

Not sure even where to start with this one. The script has to be one of the worst ones ever written. Why even bother to make a "historical" movie if you are going to pepper it with modern speech.

It is cringingly bad in this respect.

Boudica spent most of her time looking like a hippy art teacher complete with smock.

Obviously shot on a low budget, they tried to make 9 or 10 Romans look like 80. Lots of gore, the action wasn't bad at first but soon became very repetitive as Boudica took on the elite Roman centurions one at a time and dispatched them with ease.

And apparently Boudica or Boedicia took advice from her dead daughters. Of course !

Please stop making such terrible films about actual interesting historical figures.

Absolutely awful to the point that it approached the level of a comedic parody. It has damaged Kurylenko's career and probably neutered other hopefuls in the rather thin cast. I suppose some of the fault could be assigned to what was likely a very low budget. It looked like a school play really or a production on the stage at a renaissance faire.

The costumes and scene design were cheap, unimaginative and not even close to authentic. They looked like the costume design team had gone down to Jo Annes Fabrics at their local strip mall and dug around in the discount bin.

The editing only made the wooden acting and the strange script more awkward. This is a career killing film and laughably bad. 2 out of 5 stars!

Imagine Gladiator, but with nowhere near the budget, script, pacing, actors, effects, or directorial flair, but which does share the playing fast and loose with actual history bit, and you've pretty much got the picture.

Thus if your idea of a worthy historical portrayal of the Celtic Britton queen Boudica's revolt against the Romans, is to have a Ukranian actress play the eponymous main character, then have her daughters played by two girls of Fijian descent for some bizarre reason, all of whom couldn't act their way out a wet paper bag. Then have them go up against cardboard cutout pantomine villains which make Dick Dastardly look like a credible real-life character, then this is the movie for you.

Seriously, the performance by those two girls is more wooden than the wheels on Boudica's chariot. It's almost worth watching just to see how bad they are.

Of course movies of this type are going to tweak history a bit to make them enjoyable to watch, but this script alters the truth so extensively that there are episodes of Scooby Doo which are more historically accurate. Then again, if you like films with more blood and guts than the average Saw movie, you might at least like those parts of it. But having said that, whilst it is undeniably true ancient sword and spear battles were certainly bloody affairs, just when you think, 'well at least this bit is reasonably accurate', get ready for Boudica's magic sword. Yes really. By the power of Grayskull!

So what we have here, is essentially a cheap sword and sandal fantasy slasher flick, masquerading as an ancient historical biopic. The historical events and characters in the film are limited to the following: yes there was such a place as Ancient Britain and a native Iceni/Trinovantes army led by a woman nicknamed Boudica which conducted a briefly successful revolt against Britain's Roman occupiers, and yes one of the Romans who provoked the rebellion was called Catus Decianus.

And that's about it; everything else is pretty much not even remotely true, grossly misrepresented, or just plain incorrect, and that includes the costumes, armour, weapons, tactics, military units, scenery, dialogue, behaviour of the people, social conventions and even the reasons for the revolt in the first place.

Add to that some mind-numbingly bad script-writing and pacing and nowhere near the budget necessary to portray a revolt which, in truth, involved an army which most historians put at about 120,000 Celts, which killed and tortured an estimated 80,000 people - including a lot of Britons as well as Romans incidentally - and you've got this travesty of a movie.

Seriously, this thing makes Team America look like a documentary.

Where to begin?

The acting is embarrassingly bad. The casting is embarrassingly bad since this is a historical drama... But I can't say exactly how and why without risking being banned and doxxed and deprived of life, love, liberty, and income, because that's the right way to run a civilization, for sure™.

The movie wasn't a total waste. I did find it hilarious how the brass sword magically healed and floated through space and made that ridiculous ringing sound. No, seriously, my sides hurt from those scenes, and in all sincerity, I thank you.

As far as the rest of the movie, it's about as faithful a reference to historical events as you should expect if your I. Q. is above around 95. Meaning, it's total garbage.

And now, I'm tired of typing.

What a weird way to butcher such an iconic historic figure! This movie claims to be "based on real events".

Well to note a few of the gazillion historical inaccuracies,

• Boudica was a redhead. Not blonde
• Throughout the movie, the Roman soldiers wear a helmet that was only worn by the Ottomans in the 16th century
• For a movie that's "inspired by true events", Boudica all of a sudden turns into a witch. Has a floating bronze sword (like she's discount thor).

• Also the movie insists that iron is stronger than bronze. Which it really isnt.

Terrible acting, plot has holes bigger than sinkholes, awful dialogues. I'd give this a 2/10 overall. Don't watch this garbage.

The real story of Boudica is inspirational. This movie makes a mockery of that. First, instead of showing a woman who is successful through her own force of will, intelligence, and courage, this movie injects magic as the cause. (Is this male chauvinism?) Second, I'm a guy who likes some violence on screen, but this level of blood letting is absurd and gratuitous. There are never-ending screen shots of swords through eye sockets, beheadings, and decapitated skulls being bandied about. The dialogue is stilted. The acting is forced.

I'm so very disappointed as I've wanted to see her story on screen for many years. Don't waste your time on this. JPL.

I have always been fascinated with the story of Boudica, so I thought I would give this interpretation of the story a go. For what it is worth, I was not disappointed. For the budget it was actually quite remarkable what they were able to achieve.

Though the storyline strays a little here and there, I think that the cast did incredibly well with what they were given to bring this story to life on screen.

Obviously I would love to see a big budget version of the story of Boudica, something a long the lines of Gladiator.

This film is definitely worth a watch, if you take it with a grain of salt and there interpretation of Boudica.

This was pretty awful, couldn't even finish it. Kurylenko was not a good choice, she is way too old, small and unathletic to carry the character of a warrior queen. And her face fillers take you out of the time setting, what kind of "barbarian" has fish lips and fixed forehead, it's obviously a 21st century look. The barbarians are cheezy with eyeliner. There is that whole narrative in the story that they made very loud, of because you are a woman you get nothing plus punishment. Which is kind of an overplayed pandering in movies these days. Tired of all the modern virtues being shoved at every opportunity.

Just watched Boudica: Queen of War (2023), I certainly enjoyed it though the crowd scenes were a tad compressed, likely due to a relatively low budget, Still, the battle scenes were impressive enough in their gore and savagery. The mystic elements of the Celts/Britons/Iceni are very much stressed as is the role played by the Druids. Boudica herself has visions and wthe dead advise her on how best to proceed, she should have paid more attention to them. Like King Arthur she wields a mighty sword, in her case it's a bronze one which she retrieves from a river after it is cast there by a scornful Celtic Chieftain, Wolfgar (Peter Franzen), he is won over to her cause and carries a torch for her until the end. The woad used was more realistic than the face paint we usually see in films portraying Roman Britain. Great performances by Olga Kurylenko as Boudica and Lucy Martin as Cartimanda a warrior woman who is constantly at her side. Plenty of evil Romans! Boudica and Cartimandain their battle chariot charging at the Romans set my Celtic blood racing. Much better than the IMDB rating would suggest. Written & Directed by Jesse V. Johnson. On Netflix. 7.5/10.

Boudica is a brilliant and moving historical drama about the British tribal resistance to Roman occupation under the reign of Emperor Nero.

More specifically, it is the tale of a woman called to fight oppression and occupation of her land after the death of her husband and the brutal murder of her children.

Olga Kurylenko stars in the lead, as an ordinary woman called to champion the cause of justice and unity as David against the Roman Goliath. While she may not be the Boudica by birth, she assumes the mantle with ferocity and leadership and depth. Kurylenko is perfect in this role. She provides the perfect balance between her roles as the compassionate, supportive wife and mother when we meet her early in the film, and the fearless, resilient warrior as she leads the Inceni people in the insurmountable challenge of taking on an Empire.

Nick Moran plays his role of Catus Decianus, the procurator of Roman Britain, with remarkable precision. He is actually captivating, in what might be his best performance to date.

Peter Franzen and Rita Tushingham offer depth and soul to the resistance, as they round out the cast of stellar performers that make this film so Boudica is Brilliant and Moving deeply moving. The young actresses that play Kurylenko's daughters are a wonderful addition to the film. I do delight seeing the long standing relationship that Johnson has with many actors and could not help but smile seeing The Mercenary's, Dominique Vandenberg, in a small role in this one.

The strength of the film is founded in the passion that writer and Director Jesse V Johnson has for it. He has sat on the idea of the story for the better part of his life, according to him, and that may be why it feels so finely fleshed out. "My mother shared the Victorian version of the Inceni rebellion on a visit to Thomas Thornycroft's wonderful statute when I was child, and I've been obsessed with the Boudica story ever since." Nothing is rushed here, nor is anything treated dismissively. This is efficient storytelling and filmmaking. That is high praise for historical dramas, which often fall victim to overly dramatic storytelling and poor use of time. Not this one.

Like Johnson's Hell Hath No Fury, Boudica manages to effectively use the historical setting and facts to tell a story of people and humanity that transcends the time in which it is set. The time is 60 A. D. in the Roman Empire, but it could easily be 2023 Ukraine, or any story of resistance.

Taekwondo Life Magazine readers know Johnson from his highly regarded martial arts, action films starring the likes of Scott Adkins, Louis Mandylor, and other notable action stars. This film has the potential to broaden his audience significantly.

This violent, action packed story is well filmed and well Directed. The cinematography, set designs, and costumes are first rate. This may easily be the highest budget film Johnson has ever headlined, but a lifetime of working on smaller budget, "A" rated films lent itself to a stunning production. This film easily stands up against Mel Gibson's Braveheart and Ridley Scott's Gladiator, two similarly themed, historical films whose budgets, most certainly, trump this one by a lot.

This film releases in limited capacity on October 27th and Signature Entertainment will be releasing it digitally in the UK on October 30th. I am not sure what the expectations are for this one; however, I would not be shocked to see it mentioned, and mentioned again, when awards season rolls around

The film is a worthwhile and I highly recommend it. At its core it has good storytelling, good acting, and good Direction. Boudica is Brilliant and Moving.

Where do I start with something thus bad?

Boudica, and iconic, historical, English warrior Queen, has a French accent.

The actress is built like someone with an eating disorder. None of these things give any credibility to the film.

We have a sword that changes appearance, floats and rings aloud.

Why anyone would want to decimate the memory of such an heroic figure is beyond belief.

I get that it was low budget, but that doesn't mean you should ruin what could have been another version of a classic film.

I can only hope that the director and producer only ever work at Subway going forward. The whole thing was embarrassing.

Don't waste your time with this one ,it could have been a great movie but obviously the funds required to make it epic were not there!

Fight scenes with warriors stabbed to death and no blood !

The directorship was terrible!

Large crowds apparently cheering with 20 or so actors onscreen, all close ups Just stupid!

Then trying to copy Braveheart with the makeup ,it just didn't work for me!

It has some good actors ,so I was very surprised and the quality of the movie, I think they were duped into making this one 😀 It would be great to see her story portrayed by a better director with a bigger budget!

Anyway ,I thought it was crap!

Maybe I can make a better film. Wow how can you spend so much money on a film and cast set and not have basic knowledge about Christianity in Britain which did not enter Britain for at least 500-600 years after Boudica died?

What a joke to therefore show Christians getting punished and her walking past them lmao.

Really it's disappointing to watch films like these they can really distort your vision of history which we use these as tools to help educate ourselves in entertainment.

You've then got various other parts showing life back then traders talking about 'imported cosmetics' which I don't trust as accurate way they spoke back then along with the rest of the film and type of English used it does inspire confidence for those deeply interested in British history.

I was disappointed that they killed off Clive Standen ( Rollo from Vikings) but this epitomises this potentially great film. There's nothing wrong with the action, typically vicious and graphic for this genre. There's nothing wrong with the acting; Peter Franzen and Olga Kurylenko hold your attention and rightly take centre stage. The script is good enough to make it all believable with appropriate subtitles to emphasise the multi cultural aspect but my biggest grief is WHERE IS THE MONEY? Clearly the budget was big but then not realised! It needed a bigger cast and much better and bigger location. It makes the whole production look cheap and totally spoils it for me. May I add a personal gripe that clothes and uniforms looking like they have literally bee chosen off the peg means I have to suspend an amount of belief which is a shame.

I'll be the first to admit that historical movies aren't quite my go to movie for entertainment purposes, as I've reached my 50's now I've still managed to avoid the trip down historical lane.

However this being directed by Jesse V Johnson there was a certain compulsion that lead that piques my interest.

Predominantly known in his earlier career as a stunt man/co-ordinator Jesse made the mighty leap into the director's chair with such early fare as The Last Sentinel with Don The Dragon Wilson and Pit Fighter, strictly straight to video fare but no less engaging.

Over the ensuing years Jesse has honed his craft with the help of working with Scott Adkins and directing a number of high concept action vehicles that showed off not only Jesse's flare behind the camera but also allowed those not too familiar with Scott.

All of which I currently have in my collection, gems such as Avengement, Accident Man, Savage Dog and the Debt Collector Sequels.

As I discovered a while back, Boudica was a much cherished dream project and through his association with Bleiberg Entertainment he has been able to bring his dream to life.

Now just when you thought Jesse was all about stunts and no other substance, his visual eye is certainly to the fore with some stunning set pieces.

I have no doubt given the running time that certain aspects of the story have been dramatically altered partially for cinematic effect.

However that's not to say that he has skimped on the dramatic element, to the fore in that instance is the show stopping performance from Olga Kurylenko as the titular character.

I won't go too much into detail plot wise as that to me would be seen as spoiler territory, needless to say we watch as Boudica goes from humble yet quietly outspoken wife to fearsome warrior queen.

I do believe that the movie has a certain ethereal quality to it, especially when all around her don't believe that Boudica has the power or indeed skill set to to be the warrior queen, the moment she dives into the water to retrieve the sword truly is a magical moment that Jesse captures on film.

The power of Jesse compels to to see his interpretation of this often told tale, through doing so, I certainly hope it adds more movie goers to his fan base, of which I am proud to be one.

Onwards and upwards for you young sir.

Ok so a redhead English warrior queen with a French accent. Oh the queen and her husband were both white but had brown kids. Both daughters but half way through they were ghosts but yet in some parts of the film other people interact with them so I don't know.

She has a magical flying bronze sword that makes a ringing sound. I'm writing this as I'm watching it cause it's that bad I couldn't wait. That roman has white socks on. Acting is terrible, the Romans have stopped marching for a while minute but he decides to shout halt after this.

Isn't this all supposed to be based of factual historical events? I was so excited to watch this movie because there's not enough of these kind of movies to made these days but I just can't wrap my head around this utter dogs food of a movie. Even the tactics that the fight scenes have are terrible.

The spear missed the Roman soldier but blood came out and he died, I'm so done.

Don't watch.

It's like a sixth form play.

It decides to introduce Boudica as a rich queen who is very genteel. She then gets taught how to fight by a woman from another tribe.

The actress playing Boudica has NO presence. Laughable portrayal.

The daughters are only there for expository purposes only - just to alert the audience to what's going on.

We know Boudica has become strong when she swears at a roman formally an ally!

Also Boudica has strange French accent.

She's not fierce/scary/commanding. She's frail and no one would follow her.

The guy from Lock Stock give it all and is a great villain. He's the star of this.

Why can't we make a good tv series or film about this AMAZING woman? King Arthur isn't real, Boudica is and she united some tribes to fight.

Anyways.... Don't watch - it's one of the worst films 'I've ever seen and hate to even give 1 star.