The lady dances alone. Millie Bobbie Brown screams like a real princess

Exactly on Women’s Day, “The Lady” – a film with Millie Bobby Brown in the main role – was released on Netflix. The actress, as a princess, fights for survival in the complex maze of the dragon’s pit. There’s a lot of blood, a lot of screaming, and a satisfying ending – as well as zero surprises.

“The Lady” is a burnt princess fighting for her life

In “The Lady” we move to a fairy-tale land, where there is the cold and poor North and the South flowing with milk and honey. The father of a northern princess finds her an extremely wealthy prince. It is not really known why the prince’s family agreed to this marriage, but no one asks difficult questions – in the end, the South will pay a nice dowry, for which the North will survive another winter. Shortly after the wedding, questions are no longer necessary, because the prince’s wife is to be a one-day wife. And so our Eloise ends up in the pit of the dragon, which turns out to be an intelligent (and certainly talkative) beast, possessed by the desire for revenge for centuries.

“The Lady” is a combination of the game “Skyrim” and the movie “Buried Man”, both very delicious things. This does not mean, however, that two advantages have become one very big advantage. In “The Lady” there is a lot of action, a lot of mediocre special effects (although the animations of lava and fire are decent), a rather awkward dragon and the whole thing is as predictable as any fairy tale. If you’ve seen the trailer, the film won’t surprise you with anything – after half an hour of watching it, you’ll know how it ends. But it’s still a very pleasant show, filled with gut-busting, injuries to our main character, a talking dragon (but this dragon is a bit short of Benedict Cumberbatch and Sean Connery) and a pleasant atmosphere of revenge.

‘Lady’ Photo Netflix

Oh, stop complaining, it could have been worse

I’ve seen a lot of unfavorable reviews about “The Lady”. That it is uncomplicated and predictable, that AGAIN we are dealing with a strong heroine who utters empty phrases. That it’s a shell, with no life inside. Of course, we have all the tropes here that have been used before in adventure films and TV series. The damsel in distress starts to fend for herself, there is a conspiracy, there is revenge, there are fried knights… But what more can you expect from this type of film?

This is not a production that is intended to change the viewer or make them think. This is not even a criticism of arranged marriage, although there is some criticism of the rich who buy impunity. This is a nonsense fairy tale that provides a lot of fun – and if that’s all you expect from it, you won’t be disappointed. One may have reservations about the visual aspect – it is a dark film, like… like the caves through which our titular lady squeezes. The cavities were illuminated with spots, either with fluorescent bugs or with light-reflecting crystals. Despite this, much of the action takes place in the dark, which means savings on many troublesome issues. The clothes of the nobles were borrowed from the set of “Bridgerton”, the armor from “The Witcher” and thanks to this it was enough to employ three world-class stars for the film. Robin Wright was happy to play the villain, Angela Bassett played the role of the good stepmother, and Millie Bobby Brown was quite convincing as a damsel in distress. There’s really nothing else here, but it’s an hour and a half of nice entertainment. The film doesn’t waste anything if you have less time and watch it at a slight speed – long scenes of squeezing through tight corridors will no longer be long. The music in this film is completely secondary, the set design is appropriately fairy-tale, the chambers are either claustrophobically tight or even impressively spacious. The whole thing is a single actress’s play, and the plot is as simple as a pin.

‘Lady’ Photo Netflix

Of course, you can complain about the lack of looseness and excessive pomposity of this production. If a more “Dungeon & Dragons – Thieves’ Honor” approach had been chosen here, “The Lady” would only have benefited from it. However, it was decided that it was better to take everything seriously and that makes it quite painful at times. But if you expect little, you gain a lot. “The Lady” is not boring, it can be watched in one sitting (thank you for the film format instead of the TV series format!), it presents a new interpretation of the monster, which is a bit better than our “The Witcher” and worse than those from “Rom of the Dragon”. Yes, there are better productions than “The Lady”. It’s probably better to watch the old “The Last Dragon” and enjoy the voice of Sean Connery. Or “The Hobbit”. Or “The Buried Game.” But you can also give “The Lady” a chance, because it is something new, although not necessarily very fresh. And it has the advantage of being accessible from the couch from now on.