In a northern land ravaged by frost and famine, Lord Bayford (Ray Winstone) is sent a letter from Queen Isabelle (Robin Wright) of the Kingdom of Aurea requesting princess Elodie's (Millie Bobby Brown) hand in marriage to her son Henry (Nick Robinson). Once in Aurea Elodie and her family are taken aback by how rich and elegant the kingdom is while Elodie's stepmother Lady Bayford (Angela Bassett) feels something isn't quite right. After Elodie and Henry are married and engage in a ceremony commemorating a tragedy that befell Aurea from an ancient beast that resulted in sacrifices to maintain prosperity with Elodie now the latest sacrifice as she is tossed into the caves. Within the caves lurks a fire breathing dragon (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and now Elodie must repurpose her royal trappings and use her wits if she wishes to escape the caves with her life.
Damsel sees Netflix reteam with star Millie Bobby Brown and producers Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum with the streaming having worked with Brown on the very successful Stranger Things TV series and Enola Holmes films while Roth and Kirschenbaum previously gave them the YA fantasy film The School for Good and Evil. Netflix secured the rights to Damsel shortly after the success of acquiring Enola Holmes in 2020 and after waiting for Covid conditions to die down and shoot the film and having its release delayed by the strikes last year, Damsel is now available on Netflix and if you're looking for a straightforward but well-made inverted fairy tale this is reasonably entertaining.
Much like prior Joe Roth fantasy productions, Damsel features some polished looking kingdoms with ornate and elaborate sets and costume designs but the movie is at its strongest when it steps away from those trappings and instead opts for grittier and modest surroundings like Elodie's winter-ravaged northern kingdom or the elaborate cave system that serves as the dragon's lair. In many ways it feels like it's not too far removed from the universe of Joe Roth's films like Snow White and the Huntsman or The Huntsman: Winter's War even down to Robin Wright's Queen Isabelle inviting comparisons to Charlize Theron's Queen Ravenna from those films (while also being the least interesting part of the movie proper in what's a pretty thankless role). Where the movie exceeds however is in Shohreh Aghdashloo's vocal performance as the dragon who creates a memorable, menacing, and often times frightening antagonist and making herself a welcome addition to the pantheon of cinematic dragons (especially ones that speak). Not only does the dragon sound good, but it's also well designed with a striking, distinct, and expressive face that the effects team are to be commended for crafting.
But this of course leads us to the titular Damsel of the film and much like Millie Bobby Brown's prior headlining features she's no less good here and shows strong presence in lengthy stretches where she's the only character on screen and has to react to effects that will be put in later. We've certainly seen this kind of "anti-princess" fairy tale setup before with the Joey King movie The Princess coming to mind as a recent example, and while its become a well-worn trope at this point Damsel doesn't linger too hard on it and keeps its focus primarily on the survival game which is its strong suit. Angela Bassett also feels like she's kind of wasted in a role that has promise with her being a more benevolent stepmother in contrast to the fairy tale trope, but unfortunately like Robin Wright it feels more like a placeholder role that doesn't allow too much.
Damsel creates a memorable antagonist and a solid hero and pits the two against each other in entertaining and often brutal ways in an efficient and effective manner. Some of producer Joe Roth's tropes with the fantasy genre are showing their age with diminishing returns, but there is enough new added elements especially with Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's taught direction that fans of grittier fantasy fare such as Dragonslayer will find plenty to appreciate.
Damsel sees Netflix reteam with star Millie Bobby Brown and producers Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum with the streaming having worked with Brown on the very successful Stranger Things TV series and Enola Holmes films while Roth and Kirschenbaum previously gave them the YA fantasy film The School for Good and Evil. Netflix secured the rights to Damsel shortly after the success of acquiring Enola Holmes in 2020 and after waiting for Covid conditions to die down and shoot the film and having its release delayed by the strikes last year, Damsel is now available on Netflix and if you're looking for a straightforward but well-made inverted fairy tale this is reasonably entertaining.
Much like prior Joe Roth fantasy productions, Damsel features some polished looking kingdoms with ornate and elaborate sets and costume designs but the movie is at its strongest when it steps away from those trappings and instead opts for grittier and modest surroundings like Elodie's winter-ravaged northern kingdom or the elaborate cave system that serves as the dragon's lair. In many ways it feels like it's not too far removed from the universe of Joe Roth's films like Snow White and the Huntsman or The Huntsman: Winter's War even down to Robin Wright's Queen Isabelle inviting comparisons to Charlize Theron's Queen Ravenna from those films (while also being the least interesting part of the movie proper in what's a pretty thankless role). Where the movie exceeds however is in Shohreh Aghdashloo's vocal performance as the dragon who creates a memorable, menacing, and often times frightening antagonist and making herself a welcome addition to the pantheon of cinematic dragons (especially ones that speak). Not only does the dragon sound good, but it's also well designed with a striking, distinct, and expressive face that the effects team are to be commended for crafting.
But this of course leads us to the titular Damsel of the film and much like Millie Bobby Brown's prior headlining features she's no less good here and shows strong presence in lengthy stretches where she's the only character on screen and has to react to effects that will be put in later. We've certainly seen this kind of "anti-princess" fairy tale setup before with the Joey King movie The Princess coming to mind as a recent example, and while its become a well-worn trope at this point Damsel doesn't linger too hard on it and keeps its focus primarily on the survival game which is its strong suit. Angela Bassett also feels like she's kind of wasted in a role that has promise with her being a more benevolent stepmother in contrast to the fairy tale trope, but unfortunately like Robin Wright it feels more like a placeholder role that doesn't allow too much.
Damsel creates a memorable antagonist and a solid hero and pits the two against each other in entertaining and often brutal ways in an efficient and effective manner. Some of producer Joe Roth's tropes with the fantasy genre are showing their age with diminishing returns, but there is enough new added elements especially with Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's taught direction that fans of grittier fantasy fare such as Dragonslayer will find plenty to appreciate.