(L to R) Milla Jovovich and Dave Bautista in ‘In the Lost Lands’. Photo: Vertical.
‘In The Lost Lands’ receives 2 out of 10 stars.
Opening in theaters March 7th is ‘In The Lost Lands,’ directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich, Dave Bautista, Arly Jover, Amara Okereke, Fraser James, Simon Lööf, and Deirdre Mullins.
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Initial Thoughts
(L to R) Dave Bautista and Milla Jovovich in ‘In the Lost Lands’. Photo: Vertical.
No one is ever going to mistake filmmaker Paul W.S. Anderson for, say, Paul Thomas Anderson. Or any other cinematic craftsperson of note for that matter. But with his latest misfire, ‘In The Lost Lands,’ Anderson veers precipitously close to drawing comparisons with the likes of Uwe Boll – not a pleasant prospect for a director once capable of at least some moderately enjoyable C-level fare like ‘Event Horizon’ or that one ‘Resident Evil’ entry you liked.
Based on a 1982 story by George R.R. Martin – one of the ‘Game of Thrones’ mastermind’s earliest attempts at fantasy – ‘In The Lost Lands’ wants to be an epic. But Anderson’s ambitions (he shares screen story credit with scriptwriter Constantin Werner) exceed his grasp perhaps more so than ever before, stranding stars Milla Jovovich and Dave Bautista in a sludge of cheap CG, flat characterizations, and a nonsensically convoluted narrative. Two months into 2025, ‘In The Lost Lands’ is easily one of the year’s worst and a new low for its creators.
Story and Direction
(L to R) Dave Bautista, director Paul W. S. Anderson, and Milla Jovovich on the set of ‘In the Lost Lands’. Photo: Vertical.
Untold years after human civilization has destroyed itself, leaving only ancient ruins, Gray Alys (Milla Jovovich) is a witch with the ability to create illusions in people’s minds. She is also unable to refuse anyone’s wish or request – for a price — among other somewhat nebulous talents. Alys is tasked by the Queen (Amara Okereke) of the City Under the Mountain – the last refuge of humankind – with venturing into the Lost Lands outside the city limits in order to find a rumored werewolf; Gray Alys, you see, can somehow draw out the creature’s shape-shifting powers, which Queen Melange covets (this is a future where science and magic are interchangeable to some degree).
To aid her on her dangerous journey, Alys (coincidentally also the name of Jovovich’s most famous character, Alice from the ‘Resident Evil’ franchise) procures the services of an enigmatic hunter named Boyce (Dave Bautista), who’s been to the Lost Lands and lived to talk about it. Almost as soon as they set out on their quest, however, the city’s fanatical religious leader, Patriarch Johan (Fraser James), incensed by the Queen’s recruitment of a witch, sends his own troops out to stop Alys, led by the sadistically cruel Ash (Arly Jover).
Since this is based on a George R.R. Martin story – one that seems to be a sort of short test run for his later, more massive ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ novels – there are layers of deceit, betrayal, and subterfuge involved, with most of the principal characters plotting against one another. But the characters are so lazily drawn from familiar archetypes, with many of the actors striving to ingest as much of the scenery as possible, that the story becomes needlessly complicated and heavy-handed, trying to give itself a weight it doesn’t have.
And none of this is helped by both the film’s clearly low-budget production values and Anderson’s own handling of both the material and the film’s look. Imagine one long cutscene and that is pretty much what ‘In The Lost Lands’ resembles – except that the 1990s called and wants its cutscene back (avid gamer Anderson has never escaped that milieu as a filmmaker). The CG on constant display – from the monsters to the explosions to the backgrounds — is laughably horrendous, while the film’s muddy gray-and-sepia visual palette would exhaust even Zack Snyder’s weary eyes, as would the now-trite speeded-up slo-mo battle scenes. We get that ‘In The Lost Lands’ is supposed to take place in a dark, almost mythical world, but there’s no attempt here to even anchor that world in the most basic kind of naturalism for audiences to cling to.
The end result is a movie that’s ugly to look at, steeped in visual effects that are glaringly poor, and full of people we don’t care about either killing or undermining each other, with none of it having the gravity or even melodramatic sweep the director clearly thinks he’s giving it.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Milla Jovovich and Dave Bautista on the set of ‘In the Lost Lands’. Photo: Vertical.
‘In The Lost Lands’ marks Milla Jovovich’s seventh collaboration with her husband, Paul W.S. Anderson, following four of the six original ‘Resident Evil’ entries, ‘The Three Musketeers’ (2011), and ‘Monster Hunter’ (2020). We’re not here to judge that decision or her taste, but the truth is that while Jovovich’s action chops are indisputable and she’s even showed flair as an actor in movies ranging from her 1997 breakout, ‘The Fifth Element,’ to 2010’s ‘Stone,’ even she seems bored here. Jovovich delivers most of her lines in a monotone, and the character’s vague motivations and abilities don’t give her much room in which to stretch further than that.
As for Dave Bautista, aside from one or two moments in which his stock in trade – the intimidatingly massive man with the wounded soul inside – gets to shine through, he’s similarly hampered by the thudding script and lack of depth in the material. A twist involving his character seems pretty obvious long before it happens, and even the nature of his ultimate fate is confusing in the film’s near-incoherent closing moments.
The rest of the cast – mostly little-known names plucked from various European countries – are asked to scream, rage, and vamp to make up for the lack of anything else to do.
Final Thoughts
(L to R) Milla Jovovich and Dave Bautista in ‘In the Lost Lands’. Photo: Vertical.
We’re awarding the movie its meager two stars for its actual two stars, Jovovich and Bautista, who both can hold the screen even in some of the direst circumstances. But we can’t give any credit to the director, who wants desperately to stretch his resources and the source material (which is shorter than many of Martin’s later, gargantuan works) but simply doesn’t have the imagination to do it.
In its own way, ‘In The Lost Lands’ is a seamless fit into Anderson’s filmography, which includes such mind-numbing fare as ‘Mortal Kombat‘ (1995), ‘Alien vs. Predator’ (2004), the ludicrous 2014 historical drama ‘Pompeii,’ and of course those ‘Resident Evil’ programmers. Just like many of those, ‘In The Lost Lands’ is derivative of many other, better properties (the more recent ‘Mad Max’ movies and, of course, ‘Game of Thrones’ among them), only done in an even more bargain-basement, knockoff style than before. This one’s a lost cause.
“She seeks the power to free her people.”
A queen sends the powerful and feared sorceress Gray Alys to the ghostly wilderness of the Lost Lands in search of a magical power, where the sorceress and her guide,… Read the Plot
What is the plot of ‘In the Lost Lands’?
A queen, desperate to find happiness in love, takes a daring step: she sends the powerful and feared witch Gray Alys (Milla Jovovich) to the “Lost Lands” to give her the magical gift of turning into a werewolf. With the mysterious hunter Boyce (Dave Bautista), who supports her in the fight against dark creatures and merciless enemies, Gray Alys roams an eerie and dangerous world. And only she knows that every wish she grants has unimaginable consequences.
Who is in the cast of ‘In the Lost Lands’?
(L to R) Director Paul W. S. Anderson and Milla Jovovich talk ‘In the Lost Lands’.
