Year of Release: 2025
Director: Paul W. S. Anderson
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Dave Bautista, Arly Jover, Amara Okereke, Fraser James, Simon Loof, Deirdre Mullins, Sebastian Stankiewicz
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
Watch it on Amazon
Synopsis and Review
Writer, producer, director, Paul W. S. Anderson is back following his prior video game adaptation, "Monster Hunter" which premiered in 2020 during the pandemic (to anemic results, even if the film itself was actually somewhat entertaining). This time around, he and Constantin Werner are adapting a short story from George R. R. Martin. The narrative takes place on a dystopian wasteland called The Lost Lands. What is left of the civilized world is ruled by an Overlord, while policing and order is maintained by the Church. One of the targets of that church is Gray Alys a witch, whom we originally encounter being hanged by them. Leveraging her powers she manages to evade them. She is subsequently sought after by The Queen, wife of the Overlord, who wants the power of shapeshifting. Gray Alys states she can never deny someone's request/wish, and therefore she agrees to deliver the Queen's request. The Queen's long time friend, Jerais, also visits Gray Alys and also performs a request, aiming to stop the Queen's aspirations. Gray Alys knows that in order to get the powers of a shapeshifter she'll need some additional assistance, and she seeks out the help of man by the name of Boyce (who is coincidentally one of the Queen's lovers). While Boyce isn't thrilled by the prospect of going deeper into the Lost Lands, they eventually set their course, knowing they only have a few days to make it there.
Paul W. S. Anderson is a director who has worked in genre films for so long that he has acquired a consistent following. While his output isn't as uniquely distinctive and "auteur" driven as say John Carpenter, some of his films do manage to be quite entertaining, even if the screenplays of his films always have some issues that are never fully well resolved. That seems to be the case with "In the Lost Lands", which starts really strongly, illustrating a new world in broad strokes, and placing one of the central characters in a dire situation, which she manages to escape thanks to her resourcefulness and powers. Sadly much of the information about that character, Gray Alys, or her sidekick Boyce, are largely eschewed in detriment of the mission in which they find themselves, and also of the buddying relationship emerging between them. These are some of the aspects of the film that feel a bit stunted, since both the relationship between Alys and Boyce could be more openly developed, the same going for their backstory, which feels remarkably shallow. Mr. Anderson is always quite good at staging action scenes, which is also the case on this film, but sadly this one also lacks a powerful enemy force, one that counterbalances Alys and Boyce, and ends up robbing the film from a satisfactory arc. All these aspects aside, there's quite a bit to enjoy from this film, starting with the easy chemistry between Milla Jovovich and Dave Bautista, and also the world building the director is able to illustrate. The cast is dominated by those actors, with the production team also doing a solid work of illustrating this dystopian universe, starting with Glen MacPherson's cinematography, Lukasz Trzcinski's production design, and Milena Jaroszek's costume design. It's a film with limitations, but watchable nonetheless.
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