A queen sends the pow
erful and feared sorceress Gray Alys to the gho
stly wilderness of the Lost Lands in search of a magical power, where the s
orceress and her guide, the drifter Boy
ce m
ust outwit and outfight man and demon.
This Europudding production plods unrewardingly through the murky and humourless te
rrain of science-fantasy; it is a movie of flabby characterisation, dull sto
rutelling and midprice VFX work. German screenwriter Constantine Werner has adapted a story from fantasy author George RR Martin and the res
ulting dialogue lands like a se
ries of sandbags on a co
ncrete floor; director Paul WS Anderson handles the ma
terial with stolid determination.
The setting is some postapo
calyptic futureworld where humanity’s remnants gather in an urban hellhole, while ou
tside in the “lost lands” chaos reigns. Anderson’s partner Milla Jovovich bring a persistent blandness to the part of Gray Alys, a witch who, by defying the theocratic tyranny, has come to symbolise a growing resistance; she is being menaced by hatchet-faced, crop-haired witchfinder Ash (Arly Jover).