Without a popular actor or a big promotion, “Warrior Nun” suddenly became a popular series in the past week. Warrior Nun ranked 2nd in the Top 10 most-watched movies on Netflix. I watched the whole season 1 of this series in two days. And there are many things to say about it.
“Warrior Nun” is a fantasy action movie project based on a manga of the same name about a warrior in a nun’s habit. The film revolves around Ava (19 years old), saved by a church from the dead and revived with supernatural powers from the holy circle. In her new life, she was tasked with fighting the forces of evil in the mundane world.
On September 28, 2018, Netflix released the first episode consisting of 10 episodes. Directed by Simon Barry, the production of Warrior Nun is done by the same team behind the Game of Thrones. And 23-year-old Portuguese actress Alba Baptista is starring. Filming is mainly in Sevilla and Spain from March 11, 2019, to July 5, 2019.
When it was officially released to the public in July 2020, the film received many positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an 80% rating with an average rating of 6.8 / 10, based on 15 reviews. On Metacritic, the film has an average score of 66/100.
Ava, after being saved by accidentally getting the holy circle inside her back, tries to turn away from her destiny and then comes to terms with it. Her path is easily predictable, from escaping to accepting to be a part of a nun’s team to fight with the evil forces.
This series is not only about religion, but also the conflict between science and religion by creating a science lady, Jillian Salvius, who wants to harness the magic metal Divinium of the religious shield to open up a portal into heaven with the purpose of saving her son’s life.
Another reveal about the religion is that Cardinal Duretti tries to replace the Pole. He gathers a team of nuns, who are also the assassins. These nuns kill the people who try to stop Duretti from owning the power of a Pole.
Despite being criticized because of inappropriate religious images and showing Catholicism as an unquestionable force of good, the thing I appreciate about this show is that it dares to show the dark sides of religions, which Catholicism is one of them. Each religion has its own dark sides that it tries to hide from the ordinary people to completely achieve and gain their beliefs. Therefore, this show proposes a question for everyone about their religion, and as a result, let them automatically choose how to believe in religion.
The show, even while having Ava say, “The Catholics get a little twitchy about who gets to be resurrected,” is coy about specifics. Never mind, as “Warrior Nun” is full-on pulpy fun with superbly choreographed fight sequences.
Apart from being exceedingly good-looking, the cast is as diverse as it is committed. Portuguese actress Alba Baptista makes an assured English language debut as Ava. Toya Turner is Shotgun Mary, the nun that is not a nun. Thekla Reuten is Jillian who is looking for the carpenter and not a priest for that stairway to heaven. Lorena Andrea as Sister Lilith commits the deadly sin of covetousness. Kristina Tonteri-Young is Sister Beatrice who pays for being different. Tristan Ulloa is Father Vincent, Obi-Wan to Ava’s Luke — or is he? Joaquim de Almeida is excellent as always as Cardinal Duretti. Emilio Sakraya as JC, (really?) Ava’s love interest, flaunts his bulging biceps and sensitivity. Peter de Jersey plays Kristian Schaefer, who left the church for science when he couldn’t see the point of prayer.
In general, “Warrior Nun” is a good series to watch. It is easy to predict what is going to happen, but still attractive for people who want to enjoy an action movie without feeling stressed.