Gracie Mae's Reviews and Writings :-): Movie Review: "Damsel" 03/08/24

This is a movie review for "Damsel", released online on March 8, 2024. I watched this via Netflix on March 12, 2024. I think this is the soonest I have watched a movie after a release!

Trailer

Genre

Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Notable Cast

Millie Bobby Brown ... Elodie

Ray Winstone ... Lord Bayford

Angela Bassett ... Lady Bayford

Brooke Carter ... Floria

Nick Robinson ... Prince Henry

Robin Wright ... Queen Isabelle

Shohreh Aghdashloo ... Dragon (voice)

Plot

When an arranged marriage option comes up to save their people, Lord Bayford agrees to let his eldest daughter Elodie marry Prince Henry. The family she is marrying into is wealthy and mysterious. The prince is handsome. What could go wrong?

Well, how about the prince voluntarily throwing her in to a cave to be a sacrifice for a dragon? Damsel in distress situation with no one coming to rescue her... Can Elodie make it out? Can she survive? Can she uncover the truth behind the royal family's mysterious history?

Rating Criteria

0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.

1/5 – Barely worth any time.

2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.

3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.

4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.

5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around. – characters, music, theme, story line, etc.

4.5/5 - *SPOILERS* I know some have already said that this movie took a while to get to the point of the sacrifice and that it was already spoiled in the trailer but sometimes a slow start can be good. I enjoyed it. I liked watching the way that the Bayford family was enticed into the arrangement, but I did wonder what her father learned with the "we must talk about details" and he came storming out of a private meeting. Like, did he learn that she was going to be sacrificed? Or was it a "you will never see your daughter again and we don't want you here because you are a lower class of humans than we are", like Queen Isabelle was trying to tell stepmother Bayford? I have to knock it down a half star for that because he didn't feel right about this whole situation (how much did he know beforehand!?) but still let it pass. Her father, stepmother and sister see her marry Prince Henry in a reserved small ceremony and the newlywed couple is swept away in a fancy carriage up to the mountain. We're going to go "pay homage to my ancestors", which of course means 'let's get our scent and our blood on you so that the dragon doesn't know better, then toss you off into the cave to be a sacrifice'. This deserves all of the face-palm feels.

The way that Elodie comforted a burning bird in the cave, and apologized with the glow-worms when she realized they could heal, and the way that she dealt the final dealings with the dragon just made me so proud of Elodie. Like yes, this is how a good person should be! Even after all of the pain, struggling, and suffering, you can still have kindness, sympathy, and understanding. Stand up for what is right (showing the dragon that it was fooled and who did the fooling), not what seems right (taking the dragon down for causing pain on yourself).

In the end, her father tried to help her/ save her because she was worth more to him than the gold the royal family had paid him as "bride price", the royal family got what they deserved, Elodie acknowledged that her stepmother tried to warn her [called her "Mother" instead of "Stepmother"], and the hero rode off into the sunset with plans for the future.

Is this for everyone? No - fantasy violence, people/creatures burning alive painfully, sword-play, human sacrifice, lack of care for others' lives, etc.

For those that aren't put off by these things, I would recommend this movie if you like strong female characters and a twist on the typical "dragon with a damsel" theme.

I loved it! Would I watch it again? Yes. Have I already raved about it to a friend? Yes.

And I did a thing, for good or for bad.: