A fantasy adventure about an imprisoned princess battling her way through an army of enemies to save her family and kingdom, The Princess delivers plenty of energetic action and impressive choreography, though the story takes much longer to find its footing.
I woke up today and started thinking about the movie Damsel. I’m not sure why exactly, it’s only an alright film, but I liked that the young woman was able to take care of herself instead of needing a prince to fight her battles. I was curious whether there were similar films I’d never heard of, and came across this.
The Princess is about a teenage princess who awakens in a tower, chained and in a wedding dress. Fighting her way out, she discovers that the man she is set to marry has taken over the castle and imprisoned her family. Her goal is to get this man and his henchmen out and save her people, the king, the queen, and her younger sister, Violet.
This movie has thematic similarities to Damsel, but it’s actually quite different. The Princess is about 80% action and 20% story – and you don’t get to the story part of it for about 55 minutes.
I am not sure how many words are spoken in the first two acts of the film, but I would guess that it’s in the lower hundreds. This is a fast-paced, high-energy revenge-type film that begins with the princess (who has no other name) killing two men, and rarely lets up after that.
The action itself is well-choreographed and acrobatic, and if you like a good fight sequence, you’re going to enjoy this. The issue I have is that it takes so long to put together any semblance of a story that you never invest in the princesses’ plight. At least in John Wick, they killed the man’s dog. It happens quickly, and he spends the rest of the movie fighting, but they killed the man’s dog! That’s all I needed to know as he hacked through hundreds of people.
The story does pick up in the third act, though. I was unsure if it was too late for me to care, but they did it in such a way that I developed a tiny bloom of emotional interest, and that carried through to the end.
I imagine that there are two camps when it comes to this movie. The first finds the kinetic, relentless action sequences fantastic to watch, and the underdeveloped plot a bit of a relief. It’s not necessary. The second thinks the action is inventive and brutal, but it slowly wears out its welcome next to the thin plot. I find myself closer to the second camp because I do want to invest in some way at some point, so I leave this movie feeling like it was fine. But if you are all in on the action, you might love it. Take your best guess.
Runtime: 94 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: R
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes, if you like action films
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 2/5 Stars
Available: To rent on Prime Video or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
I woke up today and started thinking about the movie Damsel. I’m not sure why exactly, it’s only an alright film, but I liked that the young woman was able to take care of herself instead of needing a prince to fight her battles. I was curious whether there were similar films I’d never heard of, and came across this.
