Paul W. S. Anderson tries to carve out his own epic sci-fi fantasy with ‘In the Lost Lands’, but it’s a mostly wasted endeavour when the story and writing are this lacklustre, ultimately proving a slapdash medley of genres and tropes.

Surprisingly, it is based on a short story by George R. R. Martin. Unsurprisingly, it stars Milla Jovovich in her umpteenth starring role for the director. She plays a sorceress who teams up with a drifter/hunter (played by Dave Bautista) to search for a magical power for the Queen of this barren landscape because… she doesn’t refuse anyone (her words). Cue lots of dull exchanges, characters that don’t matter, and all manner of unexplainable powers since it’s fantasy and the “how” and “why” don’t seem to matter. Truthfully, none of it matters. Even the simplistic is turned convoluted here, and the motivations of the protagonists are far from compelling.

The visuals cannot escape criticism either. There’s the occasional stunning image amidst its green screen-esque spectacle as events and action take place primarily in front of a sun-bleached or rain-drenched backdrop – while the aesthetic borrows elements from steampunk and Mad Max for some post-apocalyptic eye candy – but otherwise the performers don’t look quite right in the digitally rendered landscapes. Whether you don’t mind your movie experiences CGI-heavy or do, there’s always something more positive to be said about a film that does at least some location shooting before applying visual effects. What we have here is a director with a clear love of video games and a desire to create a whole experience looking like a video game cutscene. Like I said, some of the backdrops are indeed striking and lovely to look at but, crucially, they also don’t look realistic, whether you’re shooting a wacky fantasy film or not. Maybe an animated treatment of this story would have proved more beneficial.

Overall, ‘In the Lost Lands’ is another mediocre effort from Paul W. S. Anderson that takes a stab at fantasy, science fiction, horror, and western, but fails to make an impression at any. One action sequence stands out when the narrative isn’t stagnating with lifeless conversations and attempts to dole out uninteresting lore, but otherwise the majority of these shootouts are a choppily edited, generic mix with low stakes and no suspense. The 95-minute runtime is appreciated, but entertainment varies and a memorable, original epic this is not. The less said about the acting the better.

Score – 4.5/10