In the far future, Boyce (Dave Bautista) is a bounty hunter hired by Gray Alys (Milla Jovovich), a witch. Alys is looking for a shapeshifter, so she can kill it, skin it and earn her freedom by helping the Queen take over the Lost Lands. But the Queen isn’t the only one hunting for power…

I’m not a GRRM fan in the slightest but I’ll always give Paul W.S. Anderson movies a go and this is typically fun. It’s a post-apocalyptic western which is always a good time, and one Anderson has a lot of fun with. The bleached, washed out colours of the Lost Lands are a good fit for the low budget, hyper real approach that’s taken and the movie never shies away from choosing spectacle or invention over budget. Anderson is good at action, and always has been, and there are three pieces here that really stand out. The closing fight is a lovely piece of fun, up close and personal fight choreography and an earlier sequence involving a fight on a school bus turned cable car is also great fun. The standout though is a night-time clash in an abandoned power station that uses Alys’ powers, a ring of flame and the small budget to create something pleasingly gnarly.

The cast are fun too. Bautista’s deceptively gentle Boyce is charming in the exact dangerous way that’s needed. Bautista also brings a welcome sadness to the role and his screen presence carries the movie through its weak points. Jovovich too is great, and like Bautista is an endlessly consistent performer. They’ve got great chemistry too, two world weary badasses doing their best in a universe that doesn’t care.

Verdict: There’s nothing especially new in In The Lost Lands but that’s not the point. The point is that this is an energetic, fun B-movie that knows exactly what it is and does its job well. If you like either lead performer, GRRM, Anderson or two headed snakes you’re going to have a great time. 7/10

Alasdair Stuart

 

In The Lost Lands is on Netflix now.