“Damsel” is a newly released movie that can be found on Netflix. The movie is based around the princess named Elody, played by Millie Bobby Brown, who lives with her family in a suffering kingdom, and in order to make ends meet she agrees to marry a prince from a far away kingdom named the kingdom of Aurea. What she thinks is a dream come true quickly turns into a nightmare when she becomes a sacrifice and is thrown into a cave that contains a dragon. She is forced to fight to escape the cave, otherwise death is inevitable. I think that this movie is very good and is a great movie to pick if you don’t know what to watch. It has a good storyline, music soundtrack, and characters and actors.

The movie starts with the introduction of Elody and her family, and how they have been asked for Elody to marry the prince of Aurea. With much gratitude they accept the offer and set out to travel to the Prince’s kingdom. Very quickly there seems to be an unsettling feeling portrayed in the movie before anything is even known. The families prepare for the wedding which happens only a day or two after Elody’s arrival. Once they are married, Elody and the prince head to a traditional ceremony that happens after the wedding. This is when the main plot or story of the movie gets set in place, because at the ceremony Elody is sacrificed to the dragon in the cave down below where she will be hunted and expected to die. This whole time Elody’s father knew that this would have happened to her, but still allowed her to marry into the royal family.  Meanwhile Elody’s stepmother wasn’t aware of what would happen to her, but she was very suspicious and concerned with what would happen to Elody after her marriage. As for Elody’s sister, she was excited for Elody and was not aware of any ill intentions.

The music and soundtrack was very good in my opinion. The movie used music to seamlessly influence the emotion of certain moments and their importance. In the beginning of the movie some of the music used was almost like women chanting in a very specific way that created an eerie and suspicious feeling before you as a viewer can even know for a fact that something bad is about to happen. This I think was used brilliantly as it hinted at something big happening even when the major plot event wouldn’t have happened yet. This keeps the viewer on edge knowing to expect something but not when to expect it. Aside from that form of music, the movie mostly has instrumental music or pure quietness. These types of music are used perfectly as they blend into the emotion and importance of the scene so smoothly you may not even notice it. The quietness and instrumental music can be comparable to the “Quiet Place”, which I think is a perfect example of a really well crafted movie soundtrack.

I think the acting and character variation in this movie was also very good. The protagonist, Elody, tends to work in roles that portray a powerful leading woman. She did a really good job at exemplifying conflicted emotions and determination in her role. The cast of the movie also has many other well known actors such as Angela Bassett, Nick Robonson, Robin Wright, and many more. I think that overall the whole cast does a really good job of authentically showing a wide range of emotions presented in many different situations, which makes for a really good movie. I think that Nick Robonson especially did a great job in his role. He played the prince, and with that he had to be able to be an antagonist that appears as a protagonist. He did a great job at appearing kind and well intentioned, but was also able to seamlessly show guilt and regret at the same time. The acting in this movie can be comparable to Tom Hiddleston and his role as loki. This is because in the marvel universe we can see Loki be both a ‘good guy’ and a ‘bad guy’, similar to some characters in “Damsel”. The acting and characters in this movie can also be comparable to “Enola Holmes”, because in “Enola Holmes” we see Enola be a powerful leader despite what is expected of her. 

I think that the story and plot of this movie was pretty good, but I do think there could be improvements. I believe the story itself is very good. The story takes off pretty quickly as the plot gets set into action almost right away, and there is a lot of foreshadowing which keeps the viewers intrigued. I feel like there are many captivating moments in the movie and you are often kept on edge, which is a very good thing. My only criticism is that I feel that at one point the movie feels like it drags on. I feel like the end of the movie could have been shortened a little bit, as I found myself bored or just wishing it could have ended sooner. As far as the quality of the movie, i think the set and cgi were very good and realistic. Overall the movie has a positive ending and was good. I think the plot and storyline of the movie can compare to “The Princess Bride” in some ways. This is because there are many different challenges the protagonists face in the movies, and both movies include a lot of suspenseful moments.

Overall, I would recommend this movie to a friend. While it may not have been my favorite movie of all time, it was still a very good movie to watch on a night where you are looking to watch a fun movie with friends, family, or just yourself! If you like movies with a little bit of action and suspense, I think you would like this movie. Whereas if you don’t like those types of movies, this might not be the movie for you. 

For me personally, I would overall rate this movie a 7.5/10.