Stranger Things Millie Bobby Brown stars in Damsel, a new Young Adult film from Netflix. Brown plays Princess Elodie, a young woman whose family has fallen on hard times. The fix? Marriage to a charming prince. However, it turns out to be a deceitful scheme, leading her to face a daunting challenge in a cave with a fierce, fire-breathing dragon. Now, with only her intelligence and determination, she must navigate this perilous situation to stay alive.

Millie Bobby Brown burst onto the scene playing Eleven in the hit series Stranger Things. As her career has grown, she has made a name for herself by playing incredibly smart and strong young women. Her character in Damsel is no exception. Elodie loves her family and her country so much that she’s willing to ignore the warnings of her stepmother, Lady Bayford (Angela Bassett).

The family she’s marrying into is portrayed by Robin Wright (Wonder Woman 1984) and Nick Robinson (Snack Shack). They seem kind and loving, but they hold a dark secret that Elodi falls victim to.

DAMSEL IS FUN BUT NOTHING NEW

Netflix’s Damsel is very reminiscent of the Hulu film, The Princess starring Joey King (Bullet Train). However, this time instead of the “damsel” fighting her way through a castle and its guards, Elodi is trying to find her way out of a cave so that she won’t be eaten by a dragon.

The world of the cave and the puzzle-solving done by Elodie was really fun to watch. The dragon, whose voice I recognized immediately as Shohreh Aghdashloo (Run Sweetheart Run) was delightfully spine-chilling. Damsel successfully sidesteps many, if not all, of the visual cues that typically signal a Netflix mockbuster rather than a genuine blockbuster. While it wouldn’t look great on a large screen, Damsel does do a good job of showcasing the dragon with CG that’s good enough for Television.

All this said, with Damsel’s 110-minute runtime, the film runs out of steam. The cave’s gloomy setting has interesting rooms and creatures but gets repetitive fast. We also spend so much time in there that when Elodie finally escapes it feels like the story should end…but it keeps going. I wish we were able to explore more of the world, characters, and history before tossing Elodie into the cave. Without it, I’m not invested enough in the characters to care about the outcome.

Damsel is now streaming on Netflix!

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