Millie Bobby Brown has had quite a bit of success on Netflix, and not just with Stranger Things. The actress charmed audiences as the titular character in two Enola Holmes mysteries, and up next she’s starring in the epic survival fantasy Damsel alongside actors like Angela Bassett, Robin Wright, and Shohreh Aghdashloo as the voice of the dragon. Critics have seen the film before it becomes available to those with a Netflix subscription, and they are not in agreement on whether we should add this one to our watch lists.
Damsel sees Elodie (Millie Bobby Brown) agree to marry a handsome prince, only to learn that his family intends to kill her in a ritual sacrifice. She doesn’t die and chooses to fight back, using her wits and survival instinct to escape the fearsome dragon and those who wish her dead. ScreenRant’s Alex Harrison says the weak script strands the actors and robs the movie of its potential. The critic rates the movie just 1.5 stars out of 5, writing:
Damsel is a lifeless experience. The filmmakers have assembled all the constituent parts of an interesting fantasy adventure film — genre-bending premise, a starry cast, locations with character, and some creative creature design — but the connective tissue is paper-thin. The movie isn’t devoid of ideas, but it feels they were taken for granted as all that was required for a satisfying feature, as if production spontaneously started the moment there were enough bullet points on the whiteboard.
Nick Schager of The Daily Beast says “Skip This,” because although Millie Bobby Brown is formidable as the “scrappy” princess, the rest of the project is a paint-by-numbers, predictable fairy tale adventure. Schager continues:
Revisionist feminist fairy tales are nothing new, and Damsel finds scant ways to distinguish itself from the happily-ever-after pack. A tween fantasy that trades in familiar reversals, sloppy storytelling, and lots of girlboss posturing from headliner Millie Bobby Brown, director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s Netflix adventure, premiering Mar. 8, has its heart in the right place but little else, starting out competently and then slowly falling apart with each clumsy step along its Game of Thrones-lite path.
Other critics recognize the film’s faults but feel the lead actress and the message push it into passable territory. Mireia Mullor of Digital Spy rates it 3 out of 5 stars, admitting the script could have been stronger but complimenting its entertaining adventure and twist on traditional fairy tales. Damsel is a celebration of female empowerment, and even when painted with a broad brush like in this movie, that’s worth a weekend watch, Mullor says, continuing:
The backbone of the story feels like lazily-written padding and deep down we wish it was more inspired by The Descent and less like a chapter from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Still, the movie manages to soar above it most of the time. Even the cheap-looking CGI landscapes of this medieval kingdom could be interpreted as a metaphor: the dreamy wedding proposal is as fake as those mountains and fields. The strength of the movie relies on the leading heroine.
Peter Debruge of Variety says the choice to eliminate “in Distress” from the film’s title is an important one, and a message that’s embodied throughout the “pleasantly disruptive” fantasy flick. Millie Bobby Brown has no trouble falling into this role, Debruge says, writing:
Deliciously improper at times, Damsel adheres to codes that can feel a bit calculated, less organic than crafted in response to a newly progressive corporate agenda (the signs are there at all levels, from inclusive casting to occasionally self-righteous dialogue). But role models like Elodie remain all too rare, and if the movie changes the way young women say the word ‘damsel’ going forward — no longer daintily, but with a growl — then it’s moved the needle.
Nell Minow of RogerEbert.com rates Damsel 3 out of 4 stars, saying that some sections of the movie play out like a video game, with some scary surprises and a twist at the end that makes this worthy of a movie night at home. Minnow writes:
It’s too bad this is not on a big screen, because the settings are filled with enticing details that bolster some of the weakness of the screenplay. Even on the smaller screen, though, the fresh, female-led take on the traditional tale, including a bit of a sisterhood-is-powerful twist near the end, makes it worth a watch.
It sounds like some critics think the twist on the classic fairy tale and the message of the damsel not needing a prince to save her from distress make this a worthy enough endeavor. Others, however, see too many faults adding up to be able to recommend the upcoming Netflix movie.
If you’d like to check this movie out, you can do so starting Friday, March 8, on Netflix, and be sure to check out our 2024 movie schedule to see what other films are headed our way soon.