Chief of War review – Jason Momoa is an underwater shark wrestler in this gory historical epic

The Guardian

6 days ago

There is, probably literally, only one man who could have done it. Whatever claims Hollywood likes to make for itself regarding meritocracy and diversity, only Jason Momoa has the Hawaiian heritage and the commercial clout needed (via such roles as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones and various outings as Aquaman in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) to get an endeavour like Chief of War on to our screens.
Momoa co-created with Thomas Pa'a Sibbitt the nine-part historical drama, co-wrote every episode, executive produces and stars as the protagonist Ka'iana, a Native Hawaiian warrior who would become instrumental in the fight to unify the four Hawaiian kingdoms at the turn of the 18th century. It opens with lingering shots of O'ahu, Maui, Kaua'i and Hawai'i, each island so spectacularly beautiful, so inviting, so intriguingly different from anywhere else and so lovingly captured by director Justin Chon that it all begins to take on a vaguely hallucinatory quality.
Fortunately, Momoa's buttocks soon make an appearance and, though hardly less impressive than a volcanic island, their familiarity helpfully grounds us. Chief of War may be a passion project, but it still needs someone helming it who knows his assets and is willing to deploy them in the service of bringing lesser known historical events to the masses. Thus our introduction to the phenomenon of Ka'iana is him diving off a boat to wrestle a shark before killing it, after the appropriate rituals, for his people to eat.
No sooner has he done this, however, than he is summoned to attend the leader of the kingdom of Maui, Kahekili (Temuera Morrison), whom he once served before becoming disillusioned by the chief's lavishly bloodthirsty ways. Many of Kahekili's men consider him a deserter and want him dead ('I would feed your heart to the pigs' says his second-in-command). This animosity sparks the first of many action sequences as Maui's top spear expert starts throwing the things at him as he approaches the chief, until Ka'iana puts a stop to this nonsense by catching one in his mighty fist and pushing it through a meaty fold of his attacker's flesh.
This is about the least gory of the frequent fight and battle scenes, which are there to punctuate and leaven the complicated history that is being imparted elsewhere with a ponderousness that is perhaps inescapable in any passion project.
Kahekili apologises for his previous bloodthirsty ways and Ka'iana agrees to come back for one last job – defending the islands from O'ahu, which has mustered a large army and is bent on conquest. Oh, Ka'iana. Never go back to your toxic ex-chief. He'll only exploit your strategic, tactical and muscular talents to slaughter an entire civilian population and take an island for himself. You must know this.
The massacre at O'ahu (after which Kahekili builds a tower from the skulls and bones of the dead – not a subtle man) sets up the series of events that will see Ka'iana separated from his family and on board a ship full of post-Cook explorers, learning English, getting familiar with firearms and garnering the kind of knowledge that will make him even more valuable to chiefs trying to unite the islands in the face of approaching colonisation.
Chief of War is a dense business. The story is so unfamiliar that, even allowing for the battle scenes, it could have done with a little more unpacking. The script rarely moves beyond the 'perfectly serviceable' range and too many of the actors have little more to do than scowl and growl (the men) or play the feisty-but-loving beauties that pass for well-rounded female characters these days.
But perhaps to ask for more is to ask for too much. This is the first time the history of Ka'iana and the islands he hailed from has been told for a mainstream audience. It has a mountain to climb and it handles its heavy baggage pretty well. Momoa plays to his strengths – which, yes, include his bum, but also his air of intelligent integrity and, for all his mountainous muscularity, a stubborn gentleness that makes him credible as a reluctant warrior. It is a worthy endeavour, and if it occasionally feels too much like that, it does relax and gain confidence as it proceeds. And it will be thanks to Momoa that we can look forward to other, perhaps even better, ones in the future.
Chief of War is on Apple TV+