"Damsel" fails to meet expectations, on two counts. The trailer with the protagonist wielding a sword triggers in your subconscious a trained giant-killer such as Arya in Game of Thrones. Similarly, the opening VO (which every film critic quotes) is tantamount to innuendos that the "reverse damsel" (I coined) here is a veteran combater. In this move, the "damsel" is really no different from any ordinary damsel-in-distress. She survives only because she has above-average courage, wit, and luck.
The plot is simplicity personified. The prologue shows a king charging into a gothic cave, only to have his entire platoon vanquished by the fire issued from the nostril and mouth of a hideous dragon. The king is spared; a deal is made. Some years later, in a poverty-stricken vassal state, the lord received a royal summon: the king wants his daughter to be the prince's bride. To the capital and the palace they journey, lord and lady, bride-to-be and her young sister. Elodie (Millie Bobby Brown). Is dazzled by the opulence which reveals "my limited definition of wealth". Their reception however is not exactly warm. "Your family needs money. Our family needs a bride. But we (the rich side) don't need more family", the queen states bluntly. But of course the marriage has more than meets the eyes. It involves deception, bloody sacrifice and a dragon. The plot is simplicity personified.
The main draw of this movie, to me, is Millie Bobby Brown. I can take the neurotic, suffering hero in the TV series "Stranger things" or the clever, resourceful girl-detective in the movie "Enola". I think I get a bit of both. While the movie disappoints somewhat, Millie Bobby Brown doesn't. As to the star-grade support case - Ray Winstone, Angela Bassett and Robin Wright - they don't really have much to do.
The plot is simplicity personified. The prologue shows a king charging into a gothic cave, only to have his entire platoon vanquished by the fire issued from the nostril and mouth of a hideous dragon. The king is spared; a deal is made. Some years later, in a poverty-stricken vassal state, the lord received a royal summon: the king wants his daughter to be the prince's bride. To the capital and the palace they journey, lord and lady, bride-to-be and her young sister. Elodie (Millie Bobby Brown). Is dazzled by the opulence which reveals "my limited definition of wealth". Their reception however is not exactly warm. "Your family needs money. Our family needs a bride. But we (the rich side) don't need more family", the queen states bluntly. But of course the marriage has more than meets the eyes. It involves deception, bloody sacrifice and a dragon. The plot is simplicity personified.
The main draw of this movie, to me, is Millie Bobby Brown. I can take the neurotic, suffering hero in the TV series "Stranger things" or the clever, resourceful girl-detective in the movie "Enola". I think I get a bit of both. While the movie disappoints somewhat, Millie Bobby Brown doesn't. As to the star-grade support case - Ray Winstone, Angela Bassett and Robin Wright - they don't really have much to do.