In the Lost Lands
In addition to cutting royalty checks to source material author George R.R. Martin, the producers of In the Lost Lands should set aside some dough for another George — one Mr. Miller, whose influence is all over Paul W.S. Anderson’s latest film.
Nearly every detail of this post-apocalyptic wasteland owes a debt to the world of Mad Max, particularly recent installments Fury Road and Furiosa. From its oil-burning, fortified compound to its giant skull exterior-decorating to its white-painted mindless soldiers, the overlaps are tough to ignore.
There's even a big chase — albeit on horseback and train — to hunt down a renegade resident and bring them to justice before a tyrannical leader. However, these hunters are disciples of a fanatical church, and the hunted are witch Gray Alys (Milla Jovovich) and her cowboy guide Boyce (Dave Bautista), which grants Anderson's film a Wild West/mystic/supernatural angle that Max Rockatansky’s sandy, reality-rooted existence lacks.
These persecuted misfits head towards the titular dangerous wasteland so that Gray Alys can fulfill a promise to kill a mythical beast and transfer its shape-shifting power to the Queen Overlord (Amara Okereke) before the full moon.
Long before the onset of this improbably truncated timeline — even in hindsight, good luck justifying the distance our heroes travel under this deadline — it's clear that Constantin Werner’s script isn't the film's strongest asset. But by then, it's also firmly established that Anderson's imagery is the main attraction, and the creativity he wields within this obviously digital realm is cause for celebration.
Among the numerous visual treats are skeletal demons, Gray Alys’ trippy mind tricks on those who oppose her journey, and a shotgun that’s home to flying venomous snakes. (!!!) The director pulls off these and other action sequences with an intoxicating mix of sincerity and winking playfulness that Jovovich and Bautista are happy to oblige, leaving the necessary one-note, plot-advancing behavior to the supporting cast.
Though the duo’s mission is a serious one with major consequences, the core players know In the Lost Lands is far from a serious film, and that acknowledgement makes the difference between it succeeding and failing.
Does it all add up? Who cares? It moves well and has snakes jumping out of a shotgun. What more could you want from this kind of movie?
Grade: B-minus. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.
(Photo: Vertical)
