In the Lost Lands (2025)

With mankind reduced to living amidst a god-fearing zealousness in a city under a mountain where they are ruled by a decrepit overlord and his much younger queen (Amara Okereke), it would appear that their only hope of salvation from that salvation rests with the witch “Gray Alys” (Milla Jovovich). If she can make direct eye contact with you, then she can manipulate what you think and see. She has only narrowly escaped the “Enforcer” (Arly Jover) when she receives a couple of visitors who ask her for a favour. She cannot decline their request so long as they pay, and so must accept their challenge to obtain a shape-shifting wolf for them. The only place that this could be found is in the lawless “Lost Lands” and for that she needs the help of the legendary hunter “Boyce” (Dave Bautista). He hasn’t his troubles to seek either, but after a bit of mutual rescuing, they ally and set off on their quest. Of course, the “Enforcer” is in hot pursuit on an heavily armoured train and so with volcanoes, demons and her crusading troops on their tails it’s not easy task to stay alive in the first place let alone track and catch their quarry. By about half an hour in, we have plundered just about everything from “Indiana Jones” via “Lord of the Rings” (I’m sure I saw “Treebeard here”); “Underworld”, “Harry Potter and the” (take your pick) and, of course, “Mad Max” as this derivative dystopian story lumbers along in an entirely predictable fashion. There’s not the slightest hint of chemistry between the two stars at the top of the billing and what jeopardy there is comes straight from the CGI folks who do, admittedly, manage to create quite an imaginatively crafted world of dilapidated human civilisation to compensate for the writer’s rather mundanely crafted one of human collapse. It’s not remotely scary and the combat scenes are repetitive; the scheming and plotting with Okereke and her eye-candy henchboy “Jerais” (Simon Lööf) are lacklustre and the conclusion leaves virtually nothing to the imagination, even in the dark! It’s an easy way to kill some time in a cinema, but I doubt anyone will ever remember it afterwards - even if you were in the thing.

'In the Lost Lands' is oddly one that didn't do it for me. I say oddly because I really enjoyed all of the cast here, it's just the story that totally failed to claw me in; I honestly would struggle to give you a suitable recap of the plot even so soon after watching it. Those onscreen, however, are all pluses. Dave Bautista is good, so is Milla Jovovich. Arly Jover works, as do Amara Okereke and Fraser James. Simon Lööf is the weakest main cast member and even he is fine. It is rare for me to not like a film where the cast bring positive displays. The world built and the effects used looked pleasing enough to me too, it really is just the plot that hampers this one for me personally. That's a shame, really. It feels like a missed opportunity.

"in the Lost Lands" is a basic watch, accompanied by a dose of the by now predictable, DEI indoctrination. This feels like a paired down "Resident Evil" sci fi, with a medieval fantasy overlay and a few spaghetti Western elements, thrown in. You could also draw comparisons, to the series "Into the Badlands" but this film is nowhere near, as polished or engaging. This a fundamentally, a simple, exposition driven affair, with a basic story, incorporating the usual DEI prerequisites and a lots of CGI green screen, "not so special", effects. Acting from the cast actually lifts this film somewhat but it never really escapes, the prison of its own self imposed, mediocrity. In summary, if you like sci fi, fantasy mash ups, you'll probably find this a "mostly" acceptable, if unremarkable watch.