Based on a George R.R. Martin short story, In the Lost Lands feels like a dystopian video game that's all style and no substance
As as sci-fi fan, I will forever be chasing the high of taking a chance on a film like The Fifth Element and being rewarded. It's rare that a standalone, non-franchise movie delivers these days, and I love supporting new ideas, however absurd they may seem. I wanted so badly for Jupiter Ascending, for example, to be great. (It is, but in a terribly silly way.)
Thus, when In The Lost Lands appeared on my radar, I was excited. Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson of video game movie renown, it tells the story of a decaying future civilization and a witch's journey. And like The Fifth Element (and all of Anderson's Resident Evil movies), it features Milla Jovovich, who is absolutely breathtaking on screen. She is Grey Alys, a sort of Jessica-from-Dune-type witch who also, for some curious reason, can never refuse a job. She teams up with Dave Bautista, who plays what is essentially the Gunslinger from Stephen King's Dark Tower series.
Which brings to me the setting, arguably the most interesting part of the movie. I'm a sucker for a wasteland, and this movie seamlessly creates a world that is equal parts Mad Max: Fury Road, Fallout, and the aforementioned Dark Tower. The biggest debt is to Mad Max, as the looming citadel structure even features a craggy skull-shaped entrance and a fleet of black-smudged faces à la warboys. Everything is dusty, dirty, and church bells ring out in slagged iron cathedrals.
My favorite (and most interesting) part revolved around the clearly evil post-capitalist and christo-mechanical church faction—sort of a post-apocalyptic Templar deal. Their motivations and machinations aren't ever clearly explained, but the vibes are high. They're the bad guys, and they have on Templar smocks, have dirty faces, and wear aviator sunglasses.
Overall, the movie trucks along fine. There are a few interesting battles and fights, and the sweeping shots give "crumbling civilization" in some visually epic ways. At the end of the day, though, it's a movie cigarette—probably bad for you, but entertaining for a few brief moments. Folks familiar with Anderson will probably already know this.
The most unbelievable part of the movie for me wasn't the unexplained character motivations or gravity-defying stunts: It was the fact that three different women are attracted to Dave Bautista, the main gunslinger character. I've only really ever noticed him as Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy, so it was wild seeing him as a leading man.
Unless you're an Anderson head, you'll probably skip this one. But if you have some to kill, it's a perfectly fine movie to watch on a rainy Saturday and enjoy.
Nerd Coefficient: 5/10.
POSTED BY: Haley Zapal, NoaF contributor and lawyer-turned-copywriter living in Atlanta, Georgia. A co-host of Hugo Award-winning podcast Hugo, Girl!, she posts on Instagram as @cestlahaley. She loves nautical fiction, growing corn and giving them pun names like Timothee Chalamaize, and thinking about fried chicken.
