‘Chief of War’ (2025) Apple TV+ Series Review - Jack of All Trades and Master of None

The four major kingdoms of the Hawaiian Islands - O'ahu, Maui, Kaua'i, and Hawai'i - get into conflict with each other, thanks to some demented rulers who are hungry for power. There is King Kahekili (Temuera Morrison), who galvanizes his men by speaking of prophecies that apparently only he can hear. What do these prophecies say? According to them, Kahekili is the man with the strength to unite the Hawaiian Islands. To achieve a historic mission like this, Kahekili must rule over the four kingdoms. But he alone cannot carry out such a large-scale assignment. He needs a strong fighter, a brawny warrior. Enter the shark-tamer, spear-dodger Kaʻiana (Jason Momoa). A character describes him as a "war chief who runs from war." And Ka'iana indeed has no interest in fighting for Kahekili's cause. He wants to live in peace with his wife, Kupuohi (Te Ao o Hinepehinga), her sister, Heke (Mainei Kinimaka), Heke's husband, Nahiʻ (Siua Ikaleʻo), and Ka'iana's half-brother, Namakeʻ (Te Kohe Tuhaka). Kahekili, though, easily manages to rope in Ka'iana for his selfish objective. He is, after all, a man who knows all about prophecies, and those prophecies tell him that Ka'iana will play a crucial part in the unification project. He — hold your spears — is the Chosen One. 

The most interesting thing about Chief of War (created by Thomas Paʻa Sibbett and Momoa), though, is that it has room for two Chosen Ones. Ka'iana is not the only "hero" here. We also have Kamehameha (played by Kaina Makua), who moved a rock and earned the title of the "Prophesied One." But Chief of War asks whether there is any merit to the chatter around prophecies, or if they are merely propagandist tools used by megalomaniacs to fulfill their own egocentric wishes (two women complain that it's the men who get to talk to Gods). Well, there is a Prophetess whose visions seem genuine, but people like Kahekili bend prognostications as per their desires. In Chief of War, these individuals take center stage, or let's just say that they get more screen time than that Prophetess. Like Kahekili, there is Keōua (Cliff Curtis) - another ruthless king driven by an insatiable lust for control and power. He doesn't care if Kamehameha is the Prophesied One. Keōua wants to make his own prophecy. In his eyes, he is the master of the four kingdoms, if not the entire universe. 

It's a potent concept: Men making and bending rules to propagate an autocratic vision. It's also quite relevant at a time when political leaders are sharing AI-generated pictures of themselves as the Pope or using mythological texts to plant seeds of hatred. The world of Chief of War, too, offers some delight in the form of zany rituals like people observing a married couple having sex on their wedding night and a sled-racing competition that provides an adrenaline rush as well as a verdict regarding a person's worth. Unfortunately, there is nothing beyond these minor, surface-level pleasures. Chief of War touches on dictatorship, women's empowerment, advanced weaponry, and complex interpersonal dynamics, but none of these elements is fully developed into cogent drama. They merely hang in the air like showy embellishments—frustratingly undeveloped. When Ka'iana gets separated from his wife and brothers for years, they reluctantly accept that he might be dead. Kupuohi eventually decides to move on with her life and becomes romantically involved with Namakeʻ, who has had a crush on her for a long time. But then Ka'iana returns from Alaska alive, and we brace ourselves for a juicy conflict, which, alas, never arrives. What about the sexual tension between Ka'iana and Kaʻahumanu (Luciane Buchanan), Kamehameha's wife? It never sparks any real eroticism. What about Prince Kūpule's (Brandon Finn) inner conflict between embracing his father's crazy orders and being repulsed by the man he has become? It stands like a signpost, tantalizingly hinting at something explosive. 

The characters who live outside the Hawaiian Islands (mainly the crew members of a ship) are referred to as Paleskins. One of them, John Young (Benjamin Hoetjes), becomes an ally of Kamehameha, while Ka'iana becomes friends with Tony (James Udom). John teaches the islanders English, and Ka'iana learns the language from Tony. The learning occurs through brief montages. What do the inhabitants of the island think about the new language? Do they have much trouble speaking certain words? Do they find some words or phrases funny? Did John and Tony ever show any interest in learning the local language? Did they find it too difficult and give up in the middle? Chief of War doesn't even pretend to go there. This could have been no big deal if it had done justice to its dramatic beats. To avoid major spoilers, let's just say that something terrible happens in an episode titled Day of Spilled Brains — something for which we, like Ka'iana, immediately blame Kamehameha, since the catastrophe stems from him being so ignorant, so benevolent, so kind. Sure, Kamehameha doubts himself for his actions, but those doubts come and go with finger-snapping speed.

Chief of War had so much potential. It's a pity that it fails to do anything significant with itself. Every director, from Justin Chon to Momoa (he directs the final episode), has shot Chief of War not for drama but for the scenery. The focus is on pageantry—the pageantry of green vistas and Momoa's derrière. The feverish madness for asserting dominance and claiming the royal seat might remind some viewers of Game of Thrones, while the embrace of Western weapons and the alliance between John and Kaʻahumanu hearken back to Shōgun (there is no romance between them, however). But Chief of War is neither as dense and exciting as Game of Thrones, nor does it have the suspense of Shōgun. Nothing matters here, not even the deaths of fairly important characters. The series is a jack of all trades and master of none.

Final Score- [4/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times
Note: All nine episodes of Season 1 are screened for this review.
Premiere Date: August 1, 2025, on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes, followed by one episode every Friday.