- DAMSEL
- Starring: Millie Bobby Brown, Robin Wright
- Directed by: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
- Rating: PG-13
- Running Time: 1 hr 50 mins
- Netflix
So many fairy tales contain damsels in distress who end up having to be rescued by some handsome prince or noble knight. The new Netflix fantasy tale “Damsel” attempts to put that tradition on its head by having the endangered female lead save herself rather than someone else doing the job. However, the movie falls rather flat with old video game visual effects, almost non-existent character development, and little to no suspense. It is more like the viewer is the one in distress and therefore needs to be rescued.
After a brief introduction to allegedly the last dragon in existence, the story travels centuries into the future where we go to a kingdom that is nothing more than a barren, cold wasteland. It is there that Elodie (Millie Bobbie Brown, “Stranger Things”) demonstrates that she is much more rough and tough than your normal princess. While she is not keen on the idea, she goes along with her parents (Ray Winstone and Angela Bassett) plans to marry her off to a faraway prince, which will mean a replenishment of gold in the unnamed kingdom.
After a long voyage, Elodie and her family arrive at a lush and prosperous kingdom ruled by the rather callous and forceful Queen Isabelle (Robin Wright) and her husband, who is given almost nothing to say. Elodie gets to meet her future husband, but everything feels awkward and not quite right. The reason for this is that during a weird, “Eyes Wide Shut” type of mountain ceremony, Elodie is tossed into a deep hole as a sacrifice to the dragon (Shohreh Aghdashloo). The reason for this is straight out of a below average Dungeons & Dragons role playing campaign.
Brown burst onto the scene with her role as the heroine, Eleven on “Stranger Things” and while she certainly has a bright future in cinema, “Damsel” is a waste of her talents. Her director falters with pacing and he asks Brown to do too much whimpering and screaming after initially presenting as tough and determined. The supporting cast are forgettable, and Wright’s performance is just an amalgamation of every evil queen stereotype from Disney. Worse, the dragon is a bad rip-off of “Lord of the Rings.”
Overall, “Damsel” may be one of the most boring films you could see all year.
“Damsel” receives ★ out of five.
