Caught somewhere between a Cinderella spin-off and a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, Netflix’s Damsel scratches an action-adventure itch without a heavy investment from the viewer. The film features Netflix’s own mainstay/captive Millie Bobby Brown, in what’s an easily enticing role. As I’ve spoken about many times before, Netflix films come and go without much fanfare, but Damsel is enjoyable enough to belong somewhere in the upper half of the scrap heap.

Though the film certainly won’t win any praise from me for its screenplay, from Dan Mazeau (Wrath of the Titans, Fast X). At least it’s an original story that’s not taken from pre-existing property, uninspiring as it may be. Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later), Damsel opens with a King and his knights of indeterminate table shape as they look to slay a dragon within its mountain home. The knights are quickly slaughtered but the film moves centuries later before it shows the King’s fate. Cut to Elodie (Brown), the daughter of a lord of similarly indeterminate stature.

It’s not long before she learns she’s been chosen to marry Prince Henry (Nick Robinson) of a nearby kingdom. Fortunately she takes a liking to him, but this is before she’s literally thrown into a chasm to be fed to the dragon. She spends the remainder of the film scrounging her way through the bowels of the mountain, avoiding the dragon (voiced by Shohreh Aghdashloo) and its fiery breath.

Brown proves herself once again to be a charismatic actor, and Damsel gives her the ability to show her action bona fides here. Long stretches of the film are simply her alone, occasionally talking to herself, which can easily be a death knell for an actor. If nothing else, the film is enough to wish that someone outside of Netflix would give her an opportunity that matches her talents. Rounding out the cast in mostly thankless roles are Angela Bassett – doing her best attempt at a British accent – as Elodie’s stepmother, Ray Winstone as her father, and Robin Wright as Henry’s mother the Queen. 

Of course, no budgetary figures are officially available (though Wikipedia reports it’s around $60-70 million), but the film’s visual effects are impressive enough for a streaming exclusive film, especially for one that so heavily relies on computer generated imagery. Larry Fong similarly punches above his weight class with his cinematography, especially when Elodie has to find her way in the darkness of the mountain caves. It’s not awards-worthy work, but it helps the film stand out.

The film’s title and trailer hint heavily at the girlboss-ification of its subject matter, and while Damsel never really becomes eye-rollingly bad in this regard, it could easily be sanded down. Without spoiling anything, Elodie is the latest in a long line of female sacrifices by the royal family, and she relies on those that have come before her to find her way to freedom. 

The film hums along without any major surprises or hiccups, and you’ll likely be able to predict most major plot points without much difficulty. Like most first-quarter Netflix projects, the world won’t end if you don’t watch Damsel, and it won’t end if you do. It’s a showcase for one of the company’s major stars, and little more.

Damsel will premiere on Netflix on March 8.

OSCAR POTENTIAL:

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