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[jason10mm]

I made it to the "Some fairy tales are about how a prince must rescue the princess....this is NOT one of them" opening narration then had to punch out.

Might swing back around but there have been a couple of these "Imma medieval girl but I can still kick butt!" that seem to miss the point of a Joan of Arc type story or any attempt to cast a realistic looking warrior woman in favor of an openhanded slap to the face of misandry.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Imma medieval girl but I can still kick butt!

this is not this movie

 

[DrFigs]

She's suddenly pretty now wtf

 

[Atrus]

I liked how the colours pop in the images but overall they are generic and devoid of style. I’m not sure if this is based on a book or prior source material but it lacks that curation and effort that writers put in to develop a setting.

It comes across like a movie pitch from the Netflix marketing team.

Millie Bobbie Brown. Fantasy genre. Trope inversion. Make each princess a different race to hit the quota even though all but one major character is white.

In the end it’s forgettable. I’d have thought the target audience would be for little kids but there’s a lot more violence than expected as you watch people burn or get squished into pulp. Story plays out as you’d expect it to.

 

[jufonuk]

I liked how the colours pop in the images but overall they are generic and devoid of style. I’m not sure if this is based on a book or prior source material but it lacks that curation and effort that writers put in to develop a setting.

It comes across like a movie pitch from the Netflix marketing team.

Millie Bobbie Brown. Fantasy genre. Trope inversion. Make each princess a different race to hit the quota even though all but one major character is white.

In the end it’s forgettable. I’d have thought the target audience would be for little kids but there’s a lot more violence than expected as you watch people burn or get squished into pulp. Story plays out as you’d expect it to.

 

[John Bilbo]

I made it to the "Some fairy tales are about how a prince must rescue the princess....this is NOT one of them" opening narration then had to punch out.

Yeah I think the movie could have been better if that line was cut out. Also the movie should have been titled something different.

 

[ADiTAR]

It's cute. fun turn off your brain movie.

 

[jason10mm]

So does it have good action or something? Tons of wit like Princess Bride? Just not sure what the point would be unless it's a retelling of Dragonslayer or something.

Which, BTW, was AWESOME! It's been a while and spoilers, but I seem to recall at least one princess in the film getting carted away and devoures by baby dragons. METAL AF!!!!



And that curly haired Richard Simmons looking MF brought the pain!

 

[Melon Husk]

So does it have good action or something? Tons of wit like Princess Bride? Just not sure what the point would be unless it's a retelling of Dragonslayer or something.

Which, BTW, was AWESOME! It's been a while and spoilers, but I seem to recall at least one princess in the film getting carted away and devoures by baby dragons. METAL AF!!!!



And that curly haired Richard Simmons looking MF brought the pain!

Thanks I've been trying to remember the name of this movie for years!!! I kept thinking Liam Neeson was in it but nope, it was way older.

 

[jason10mm]

Thanks I've been trying to remember the name of this movie for years!!! I kept thinking Liam Neeson was in it but nope, it was way older.

You are thinking of

Which is #1 on my list of films that deserve a high budget treatment.

 

[belmarduk]

Solid trailer. Is it out now? I'd give it a chance at least.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

So does it have good action or something?

It has violent action

 

[Dacvak]

Solid trailer. Is it out now? I'd give it a chance at least.

Yeah, looks like it’s out. It doesn’t seem incredible to me but probably worth an hour and a half. Might check this out tomorrow.

 

[jason10mm]

Ok, back watching this and I think I see where it is going and goddamnit I'm on board with it. Fuck that Robin wight Penn bitch, I'm team Angela basset!

 

[Hardensoul]

You are thinking of

Which is #1 on my list of films that deserve a high budget treatment.

Then Rise of Skywalker brought flying horses!

 

[jason10mm]

Then Rise of Skywalker brought flying horses!

F that noise!



And the Stephem Donaldson horses that would know whem you needed them and come far in advance.

Bloody hell, need to reread the Thomas covenant series...

 

[Hardensoul]

So does it have good action or something? Tons of wit like Princess Bride? Just not sure what the point would be unless it's a retelling of Dragonslayer or something.

Which, BTW, was AWESOME! It's been a while and spoilers, but I seem to recall at least one princess in the film getting carted away and devoures by baby dragons. METAL AF!!!!



And that curly haired Richard Simmons looking MF brought the pain!

I love Dragonslayer, very underrated. But Damsel isn’t the same. In Damsel the Kingdom tricks other Princesses into marriage to sacrifice them right after the ceremony. Maybe parents of Princesses knew but the Princesses definitely didn’t know.

But the movie minus the forced diversity cast was ok. It’s more of a survival, Dragon hunts the Princess in the lair. Elodie certainly isn’t a Mary Sue. She has to use her brains to survive.

Ok movie, not worse movie I’ve seen! Watch if you are bored!

 

[Hardensoul]

F that noise!



And the Stephem Donaldson horses that would know whem you needed them and come far in advance.

Bloody hell, need to reread the Thomas covenant series...

I love Krull, I recently bought a special edition DVD with box that looked like VHS tape.

Krull (Retro VHS Packaging) (Blu-ray)
https://www.walmart.com/ip/326286222

 

[jason10mm]

Sooo, solid middle act but stumbles a bit on the end landing. Nice twist on the classic "feed me virgins" trope but didn't really have much to say beyond "hey, I don't like being fed to a dragon".

I did like how Millie Bobbie Brown got sexier the dirtier and more ragged she became. Went from plain Jane to VA VA voom! as she lost clothes and gained burns and scars

 

[Jenov]

It was solid. Nothing mind blowing, just a mid level popcorn, action/survival flick that most of the family watched and enjoyed. The dragon was the best part, good CG. And they did a perfect match by getting that one super smoker-voiced, European actress to voice it. It doesn’t hit you too hard with girl power or woke stuff. Just plainly, a girl in a dungeon with a dragon.

Edit: whoops not European, she’s Iranian
Shohreh Aghdashloo

 

[John Bilbo]

Nice twist on the classic "feed me virgins" trope but didn't really have much to say beyond "hey, I don't like being fed to a dragon".

That's actually what I found refreshing about this movie: it was a straight forward story being told without agendas stuffed in your face or hidden meanings affecting the narrative.

I mean one can argue there is "wokeness" in this movie but I think even viewing the film through that lense the "agenda" stays only on the surface level when regarding the story. Maybe nature is healing? I hope so.

--

Thinking about the story maybe there is an allegory of facing the dragon and coming to terms with losing your mother and accepting your step-mother as your new caretaker and part of your family.

I think there are some half baked ideas in this movie they could have delved in deeper.

 

[ClanOfNone]

You are thinking of

Which is #1 on my list of films that deserve a high budget treatment.

Krull is so great, an insane genre mishmash that could’ve only been birthed in the 80’s. The Glaive, a weapon so dumb that only 80’s kids would see it and think “that’s AWESOME.”
They crammed so much character and lore into that run time, alien invaders, crystal spiders, flying horses, teleporting fortresses, topped off with a James Horner banger.
Also, lots of people remember Liam Neeson in this, but another member of his band of ruffians is Robbie “Yer a wizard ‘Arry” Coltrane.

 

[Pejo]

Looked like a solid premise and a good teaser until the very end where she picks up the sword in a "I DON'T NEED NO MAN - FIGHT THE PATRIARCHY!" kind of way.

Not expecting much.

*edit*

Just noticed it's already out now. What the hell, I'll give it a shot.

 

[nkarafo]

So tonight you join a long line of women who have helped to build this kingdom

So they only helped? Didn't actually build the kingdom themselves?

 

[Senua]

You are thinking of

Which is #1 on my list of films that deserve a high budget treatment.

And that curly haired Richard Simmons looking MF brought the pain!

Decent romps but all pale in comparison to the king

 

[jason10mm]

That's actually what I found refreshing about this movie: it was a straight forward story being told without agendas stuffed in your face or hidden meanings affecting the narrative.

I mean one can argue there is "wokeness" in this movie but I think even viewing the film through that lense the "agenda" stays only on the surface level when regarding the story. Maybe nature is healing? I hope so.

--

Thinking about the story maybe there is an allegory of facing the dragon and coming to terms with losing your mother and accepting your step-mother as your new caretaker and part of your family.

I think there are some half baked ideas in this movie they could have delved in deeper.

That is a good thought, if they had explored the relationship with Basset and Brown more then that bit at the end would have been more poignant. My working theory was

Spoiler

that the "V" girl was related to basset and she had been prepping El-oh-DIE to win this ritual without her being aware of it

but that doesn't seem to be the case.

The prince

Spoiler

going out like a beta cuck

ticked me off as well, man up and defend your shit! At least have the guy slip it to each of these girls as a way to make him more sinister and complicit and elodies anger more personal and focused.

 

[jason10mm]

Decent romps but all pale in comparison to the king

Deathstalker has entered the chat....

And of course who could forget that wicked ass three sword thing that could launch blades from Sword and the Sorcerer?!?!

And we haven't even gotten into the serious T&A fantasy films!

 

[John Bilbo]

That is a good thought, if they had explored the relationship with Basset and Brown more then that bit at the end would have been more poignant. My working theory was

Spoiler

that the "V" girl was related to basset and she had been prepping El-oh-DIE to win this ritual without her being aware of it

but that doesn't seem to be the case.

The prince

Spoiler

going out like a beta cuck

ticked me off as well, man up and defend your shit! At least have the guy slip it to each of these girls as a way to make him more sinister and complicit and elodies anger more personal and focused.

To support my theory they should have maybe introduced the protagonist's mother in the story maybe in a form of couple of flashbacks and have the protagonist be more in denial of her death and make the dragon mirror her denial in some sort of way.

I didn't like the V girl and her ghostly form it was just silly and not explained in any way. But then again there were a dragon and some miracle healing bugs also and especially the bugs didn't raise any sort of wonder from anyone so they must have been quite a common occurence in the world... Again they could have built the world better and with more care.

Yeah the prince sucked ass. His story arc was lacking. It could have been better if Elodie was his first or second wife not maybe a hundreth... Also it could have worked better if he didn't know about the sacrifice but learned about it during the film and would have had to make a decicion to either stand up or live with the guilt of being a fucking pussy. Missed potential.

Also the random girl in the tower who was sacrificed a day before(???) Elodie was handled poorly.

They should have cleared the time span between sacrifices. I don't know if they sacrifice one wife per day or what. Maybe once per ten years would have been better. The dragon is supposed to be a wise adversary. The dragon cannot be so stupid that it thinks humans reproduce once per day? Again, wasted potential in the world building and characters.

 

[jason10mm]

To support my theory they should have maybe introduced the protagonist's mother in the story maybe in a form of couple of flashbacks and have the protagonist be more in denial of her death and make the dragon mirror her denial in some sort of way.

I didn't like the V girl and her ghostly form it was just silly and not explained in any way. But then again there were a dragon and some miracle healing bugs also and especially the bugs didn't raise any sort of wonder from anyone so they must have been quite a common occurence in the world... Again they could have built the world better and with more care.

Yeah the prince sucked ass. His story arc was lacking. It could have been better if Elodie was his first or second wife not maybe a hundreth... Also it could have worked better if he didn't know about the sacrifice but learned about it during the film and would have had to make a decicion to either stand up or live with the guilt of being a fucking pussy. Missed potential.

Also the random girl in the tower who was sacrificed a day before(???) Elodie was handled poorly.

They should have cleared the time span between sacrifices. I don't know if they sacrifice one wife per day or what. Maybe once per ten years would have been better. The dragon is supposed to be a wise adversary. The dragon cannot be so stupid that it thinks humans reproduce once per day? Again, wasted potential in the world building and characters.

All good points.

I thought there was gonna be a little girl on girl with how elodie looked at balcony girl or the prince was gonna drop that he was in love with a coachman or something, but we were blessedly free of virtually any bad romance.

I gotta think this film was chopped up to death in the editing room. The intro scene had that king stick his sword in the wall like it would matter later but....nope. as you'd expect after CENTURIES in a damp cave. But there was no magical weapon or talisman or anything, really. The dragon went down like a chump to a dagger and a quick poke with a sword, AND IS BURNED BY ITS OWN FIRE. Wtf????

All we got was this "it's all lies" stuff wrapped around a sacrificing cult sooooo transparent it .makes elodie and the dragon seem retarded for falling for it.

 

[John Bilbo]

All good points.

I thought there was gonna be a little girl on girl with how elodie looked at balcony girl or the prince was gonna drop that he was in love with a coachman or something, but we were blessedly free of virtually any bad romance.

I gotta think this film was chopped up to death in the editing room. The intro scene had that king stick his sword in the wall like it would matter later but....nope. as you'd expect after CENTURIES in a damp cave. But there was no magical weapon or talisman or anything, really. The dragon went down like a chump to a dagger and a quick poke with a sword, AND IS BURNED BY ITS OWN FIRE. Wtf????

All we got was this "it's all lies" stuff wrapped around a sacrificing cult sooooo transparent it .makes elodie and the dragon seem retarded for falling for it.

Hehe.
Yeah I found it silly the dragon burned itself it was lame... but I don't really know how dragons usually work in stories.

It got me thinking of a venomous snake biting itself... does a venomous snake die from its own venom if it bites itself? I don't know. If it does maybe that was the logic behind it?

The lies stuff did not need to be there.

But I have to say I grew fond of the father character and how in the end the story revolved around the meaning of family.

 

[INC]

....is monumentally annoying

 

[jason10mm]

Hehe.
Yeah I found it silly the dragon burned itself it was lame... but I don't really know how dragons usually work in stories.

It got me thinking of a venomous snake biting itself... does a venomous snake die from its own venom if it bites itself? I don't know. If it does maybe that was the logic behind it?

The lies stuff did not need to be there.

But I have to say I grew fond of the father character and how in the end the story revolved around the meaning of family.

most dragon stories have dragon scales being resistant, if not impervious, to dragonflies, often the ONLY this that is. Dragonslayer had this as a plot point, not only did the hero have to get a magic Lance, he gets a shield made from shed dragon scales as well.

Now if the dragon is shown to have air igniting flame (that Matthew McConaughey/Christian Bale dragon hunter did this IIRC) then possibly the dragon would burn like anything else since it is just spraying a flammable substance, not generating the fire itself. But in Damsel the dragon "charges up" a wad of lava like fire INSIDE ITSELF so it seems odd she would get so burned by it. Obviously we have stomach acid but it's pretty weak acid and if we vomit it doesn't dissolve our flesh like Brundlefly.

Anyway, it's just another point of oddness for this film and inconsistent world building since it seems like this dragon is unstoppable but is actually quite easy to defeat if you'd use, I dunno, ANY thought to your ambush (instead of standing around in the open to get blasted).

This is bad YA level writing, at least in the version we see on screen. If this was adapted from something I'd be pretty surprised,

 

[John Bilbo]

most dragon stories have dragon scales being resistant, if not impervious, to dragonflies, often the ONLY this that is. Dragonslayer had this as a plot point, not only did the hero have to get a magic Lance, he gets a shield made from shed dragon scales as well.

Now if the dragon is shown to have air igniting flame (that Matthew McConaughey/Christian Bale dragon hunter did this IIRC) then possibly the dragon would burn like anything else since it is just spraying a flammable substance, not generating the fire itself. But in Damsel the dragon "charges up" a wad of lava like fire INSIDE ITSELF so it seems odd she would get so burned by it. Obviously we have stomach acid but it's pretty weak acid and if we vomit it doesn't dissolve our flesh like Brundlefly.

Anyway, it's just another point of oddness for this film and inconsistent world building since it seems like this dragon is unstoppable but is actually quite easy to defeat if you'd use, I dunno, ANY thought to your ambush (instead of standing around in the open to get blasted).

This is bad YA level writing, at least in the version we see on screen. If this was adapted from something I'd be pretty surprised,

Yes I thought as well it would make more sense the dragon's scales to be lava / heat resistant since it produces lava in its stomach.

The idea of a dragon spewing lava instead of just fire is cool though.

The world building is inconsistent and poor... but at least they tried!

 

[poppabk]

I'll allow this - but hopefully this puts a pin in the subverting princesses from fairy tales sub genre.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Was bored, watched it while I was downloading shit. Was kinda below average. Why was she wearing so much makeup tho? The dragon was fucking stupid lmao. Theres one thing to toy with someone and another to just be poorly written plot armor. I was expecting some cool twisted dark shit to happen but gee fuck it was the safest fantasy movie ever. Eh, avoid it. I'd bang Milly tho.

 

[DeafTourette]

I watched with my sister... We both enjoyed it. This is one of those movies you watch with others.

No Mary Sue ish... No wokeness... It's a fantasy world and Angela Bassett works here. Millie Bobby Brown was great... She looked like she was really suffering.

 

[Fart Knight]

Ill watch Dune Part Two again.

 

[ResilientBanana]

Saw it. It wasn’t special. The acting was mediocre, the story was.. ok. Your typical Netflix movie.

I’m not going to lie, her, her father and her mom reminded me of Disenchanted.