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Damsel -
This is a subpar fantasy flick that may satisfy your craving for the genre in the short term but will leave you hungry for something better. Millie Bobby Brown is quite good as Princess Elodie, always giving you the impression she is trying to elevate the material. The same goes for director Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) for how he similarly tries to turn this into a work of art despite of Netflix's demands to stick to the algorithm. The visuals are cheesy on the whole, especially the dragon's, but my overall impression is positive thanks to the much less cheesy-looking magical glow worms taking up residence in the dragon’s lair and Portugal's natural beauty. Unfortunately, the positives are marred by the movie being too predictable and for insulting your intelligence too much. If you have any familiarity with this genre, whether via movies or video games, your early guesses as to where it will go will likely be right. On top of that, it gets there in a way that hopes you're looking at your phone most of the time because characters repeatedly make uncharacteristically dumb decisions. Elodie knows what will put her in the dragon's crosshairs, but she does it anyway, while the dragon has multiple opportunities to turn her into ashes but conveniently does not take them, for instance. Also, the supporting cast of Ray Winstone, Angela Bassett and Robin Wright may have also enticed you, but I ended up feeling embarrassed for all of them.
If this writeup seems generic - well, moreso - it's because the movie does too, both as a member of its genre and in general. I can't help but think Netflix produced it solely so there would be an option if you filter on “fantasy” while browsing their catalog. Its aesthetics are the best thing going for it, so if you're also a fan of them and more willing to stomach all of the above, it may be worth your time. However, you would be better off queuing up an Enya playlist and browsing a Frank Frazetta coffee table book for the same length of time instead.
This is a subpar fantasy flick that may satisfy your craving for the genre in the short term but will leave you hungry for something better. Millie Bobby Brown is quite good as Princess Elodie, always giving you the impression she is trying to elevate the material. The same goes for director Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) for how he similarly tries to turn this into a work of art despite of Netflix's demands to stick to the algorithm. The visuals are cheesy on the whole, especially the dragon's, but my overall impression is positive thanks to the much less cheesy-looking magical glow worms taking up residence in the dragon’s lair and Portugal's natural beauty. Unfortunately, the positives are marred by the movie being too predictable and for insulting your intelligence too much. If you have any familiarity with this genre, whether via movies or video games, your early guesses as to where it will go will likely be right. On top of that, it gets there in a way that hopes you're looking at your phone most of the time because characters repeatedly make uncharacteristically dumb decisions. Elodie knows what will put her in the dragon's crosshairs, but she does it anyway, while the dragon has multiple opportunities to turn her into ashes but conveniently does not take them, for instance. Also, the supporting cast of Ray Winstone, Angela Bassett and Robin Wright may have also enticed you, but I ended up feeling embarrassed for all of them.
If this writeup seems generic - well, moreso - it's because the movie does too, both as a member of its genre and in general. I can't help but think Netflix produced it solely so there would be an option if you filter on “fantasy” while browsing their catalog. Its aesthetics are the best thing going for it, so if you're also a fan of them and more willing to stomach all of the above, it may be worth your time. However, you would be better off queuing up an Enya playlist and browsing a Frank Frazetta coffee table book for the same length of time instead.