Running Time: 101 Minutes
Certification: 15
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Dave Bautista, Arly Jover, Amara Okereke, Fraser James, Simon Lööf, Deirdre Mullins, Sebastian Stankiewicz, Jacek Dzisiewicz
Now, here is a combination that feels surprising. Following 2020's Monster Hunter, director Paul W.S. Anderson (Event Horizon, most of the Resident Evil film series) brings alive an adaptation of a short story by author George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones). The combined efforts from these two creatives delivers In The Lost Lands, a feature which embodies the former's filmmaking sensibilities and the latter's writing style.
The story opens with mysterious gunslinger Boyce (Dave Bautista) facing the camera, delivering a warning to audiences that this tale of magic and witches holds no happy endings. Within this world, twisted creatures live within the lost lands while the remains of humanity stay inside a single city ruled by domineering religious forces. Viewers then see those forces sentencing to death Gray Alys (Milla Jovovich), a powerful sorceress whose beliefs of helping all in need goes against the religion's ironfisted ideals.
Alys soon makes her escape, which leaves her undeterred from helping anyone asking for her help. She soon meets with the Queen (Amara Okereke), who asks to be granted powerful abilities that can only be found in the lost lands. Guided by the aforementioned Boyce, Alys embarks on a perilous journey with the religious forces in pursuit.
As the duo who are central to the narrative, Jovovich and Bautista are effective in their roles. Admittedly, the pair can only do so much with their underwritten roles, which leaves a struggle to buy into how their characters develop, including their growing romance. A special mention is deserved for Arly Jover, a standout performer who relishes her nasty role as The Enforcer.
Within the city, a battle for control is unfolding through the methods of political backstabbing. The religious forces wish to maintain their rule through whatever means possible, while the ambitious Queen has grander aspirations free from the religious might. These simmering power-plays feel at home for R.R. Martin, which screenwriter Constantin Werner adapts with promise, yet the execution sadly feels lacking.
It feels interchangeable with other dystopian fantasy stories, to the point that it feels like a Mad Libs approach was taken to the mythology. If somebody took the script and changed the names, one feels that it could be reused for many bargain bin works of the subgenre. Not helping matters is W.S. Anderson's direction, which includes a distracting overuse of slow-motion, and a garish looking filter which cannot mask the distracting CG landscapes. As a result, the film feels as though it tried to deliver what the creators believed was "cool", but struggled to fulfil that very idea. This leaves In The Lost Lands to ultimately feel hollow and empty.
In The Lost Lands is available to buy now on 4K UHD, Blu-Ray, and Digital
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