In the Lost Lands is an adaptation of a short story by George R. R. Martin, known for writing the novels that eventually became Game of Thrones. Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, the film is about a queen desperate for love who sends witch Gray Alys (Milla Jovovich) to the Lost Lands to give her the power to turn into a werewolf. Gray sets out on this mission with a hunter named Boyce, played by Dave Bautista. The Guardians of the Galaxy star brings some screen presence here, particularly with his opening monologue, but right from the beginning, something looks a little off about this movie.
This trailer is quite deceptive, as most of the best-looking shots in the film are in it. For the most part, the dreary landscapes we find ourselves in look hideous. Much like Megalopolis from last year, every single shot looks artificial, as if it’s been processed through a computer. Nothing looks believable about any of the settings in this film. Glen MacPherson’s cinematography is genuinely hard to look at. While the bleak color palette seems intentional, it’s not well-executed.
As a matter of fact, most of the shots have blown-out highlights. The lens flares look atrocious; it often feels like we’re getting blinded by this world. Even though there’s production design and Anderson is approaching this with a vision, In the Lost Lands looks less like a movie and more like a well-rendered video game. Despite the budget being north of $55 million, this film looks cheaply constructed. With a star caliber like this, that’s unacceptable, even if you can see Anderson trying to make this movie look and feel different from his previous work.
This movie can best be described as a bunch of people playing dress up. The politics of this world feel so insane in this heightened reality that it’s hard to buy into. Everything feels like an approximation of an authentic conversation. This comes from the direction of the performances and even little moments where a character pronounces the word “infidelity” as “inifdelity.” I’m 100% convinced that this was a typo in the script that the actor spoke out loud because it’s such a major flub that made me rewind the movie just so that I could make sure I heard my ears correctly.
Bautista has proven himself to be one of the better wrestler-turned-actors of recent years. He’s sought out the chance to work with skilled filmmakers like Denis Villeneuve, Rian Johnson, and M. Night Shyamalan, allowing himself a strong career beyond his high-profile work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Drax. But this role was a misstep. While he’s generally a strong performer, it does sometimes feel like he’s taken a leaf out of Vin Diesel’s book: whisper all the dialogue, and then scream a line when your character gets angry.
How are the action scenes? The editing fails them. There are a few fights in In the Lost Lands that could have been good, but they’re filled with too many cuts and slow motion. The deaths can get comically repetitive after a while, too. There’s one action scene involving a bus hanging off a cliff that could have been phenomenal, but Anderson does not choose the right angles to shoot it, nor does he know how to pace the sequence to allow the right moments of tension and release. The action all becomes noise at some point.
It’s also hysterical that Gray can overpower her adversaries by giving them visions. At one point, her opponents get the upper hand on her by wearing sunglasses. Sunglasses! Remember how Superman’s weakness is kryptonite? Well, Gray’s weakness is a pair of Ray-Bans. Protect yourself from a witch and protect your eyes from UV rays with this all-in-one pair of shades. This movie is so unserious and absurd, but the fact that it’s taking itself so seriously makes it so much worse. It gets so melodramatic at points that it becomes hilarious, especially as the final act offers plot twist after plot twist with increasingly insane dialogue.
When we look at movies and say they remind us of films from the 1990s or 2000s, it’s often meant as a compliment. For In the Lost Lands, it unfortunately applies in the most derogatory, direct-to-DVD, bargain-bin way possible.
SCORE: 2/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 2 equates to “Terrible.” Almost irredeemable, it is likely a waste of time for almost everyone involved.
Disclosure: ComingSoon received a screener for our In the Lost Lands review. Tickets are now available.
