Studio: Vertical Entertainment
Release Date: 6/10/2025
Rating: R
Film Grade: D
The Story: In a world devastated by a worldwide apocalypse, only a single city of humanity remains. Ruled by a tyrannical, theocratic government, the population is oppressed by rigid rules. Living in the shadows is the witch, Gray Alys, a recognized enemy of the religious state, wanted for the practice of dark arts and growing influence among the oppressed working class. Some still find her talents of great use, which prompts a journey to the ravaged outskirts of the sheltered city – the Lost Lands.
My Take: As a fan of the fantasy genre, the description of this movie piqued my interest, but I should have read further to see that the director and cowriter was Paul W. S. Anderson. Advance apologies to fans of the man’s catalog of movies, but his work has always left me deeply disappointed. This movie can be lumped in with the rest of that group. It’s the kind of movie that gives fantasy a bad name.
I had not read the George R. R. Martin short story that this movie is based on, but reading a summary of it after watching the movie makes it clear that much was changed in this slapdash retelling. You have some of those classic Martin themes, such as political power struggles and moral ambiguity, but none of them are used to any great effect here. They’re simple plot points, used and discarded as needed, and never developed into anything cohesive. They only drag down the story, one that is more interested in nonsensical twists and turns and showcase action pieces rather than creating a rich or involving narrative.
Milla Jovovich stars as the witch, Alys. If you’ve seen her in any of Anderson’s other movies you know exactly what to expect. A strong female character who always knows what’s going on and can hang equally with anyone in a fight. She has mysterious powers that are revealed and used as needed, but conveniently forgotten and ignored when they should have affected the plot. Dave Bautista plays Boyce, a hunter from the Lost Lands, tough and gruff, he’s more than the equal of any man. His line reading ranges from flat and wooden to unintentionally laughable, making his portrayal of Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies look like a masterfully subtle exhibition.
The real problems are with the script and direction. The movie takes itself 100% seriously, with dialog written in the most melodramatic and clichéd ridden way imaginable. As a result, none of the characters have any measure of depth or interest. Motivations alternate between muddy and shallowly obvious. To do the story justice, more time would have added to its short runtime of 101 minutes. As presented, the movie slogs on for far too long, with poorly staged action pieces serving as the only real interest.
The one saving grace is the production design. Although hampered by frequent sub-par CGI that has become far too common these days, there are some captivating visual elements to the movie. The city is filled with detail befitting a post-cataclysmic world, a hand-crafted map logs the characters’ journey, outside creatures have a genuinely menacing look to them, and some of the costume designs match the setting. While it’s hardly enough to make up for the tediously dull story, it did bring the overall grade up a notch, and the talent behind the camera deserves the chance to display their skills on future productions.
Visuals: Video quality is mixed, with some banding evident in the opening and closing segments. As mentioned, the CGI is also uneven, with some passable shots, but others looking only partially rendered and indistinct. Certain segments almost look like they could have been inspired or even created by AI. Some of the green screen work is obvious and distractingly poor. Live action shots have a good use of contrast and detail, but there’s nothing here that is showcase worthy or extraordinary.
Audio: The 5.1 Dolby mix is just passable. There are a few instances of panning, and some nice bass hits during the action. The score is of the generic heroic fantasy style but offers nothing memorable in theme or melody. Dialog is clear, allowing the audience to groan along with each instance of hackneyed delivery.
Special Features: As one might expect from a product of this caliber, there are none to be found.
Final Verdict: If you’re in the mood for a fun, escapist movie, look elsewhere. The plodding story doesn’t do any favors to the subject matter. A few spots of levity could have lightened it up, but there isn’t even a single instance to be found. The only amusement comes at the expense of the subpar production itself, with one left wondering in disbelief how a studio could have OKed something this nonsensical.
Personal misgivings aside, if you’re a fan of the rote formula used by Anderson and wife, Jovovich, you may find some measure of enjoyment in this one. While the typical story shortcomings are all on clear display, there are some interesting visual designs and the bare bones of something that might have been entertaining to the rest of us.
For others, I can’t recommend viewing this, even on a so-bad-it’s-good level. My wife and I both regretted the time spent watching it.
One Formulaic Quotes of too, too Many: “Find them.”
I normally warn against spoilers in trailers, but if you want to see all of the “best” parts without sitting through the whole thing, here you go:
My Review System:
JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
Oppo BDP-93
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup
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