Hulu seems to have taken a break from its weekly rom-com release and has finally shifted its focus on something feministic- The Princess. A historical action drama, the film is directed by Le-Van Kiet with a screenplay from Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton.
The film stars Joey King in the titular role alongside Dominic Cooper as Julius, Olga Kurylenko as Moira, and Veronica Ngo as Linh. The cast also features Martin Taskov and Ivo Arakov. It has a runtime of 93 minutes.
– Hulu’s The Princess Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –
The Princess: Is This Yet Another Brave?
2012 was a good year for Pixar, starting from Cars 2 to Tangled getting a sequel, things just seemed right for the animated world. The cherry on the top was, of course, Brenda Chapman and Mark Andrews’ Brave which set a different precedent to be a princess in a Disney Pixar movie. No longer wedding bells and etiquette training, the 2012 film targeted the nuanced princess in all of us, who just wanted to be free and kind.
The trailer for Hulu’s The Princess set some similar expectations. With Joey King’s character not only looking similar to Brave’s Merida but, also resonating with rebellious nature and the desire to be greater than just a pretty princess with a crown, The Princess was a faithful promise to be something greater than just another princess movie. And, well, it sure, did try.
The film opens with Joey King’s character, who is called The Princess throughout the film, waking up after possibly being drugged into sleep. She is chained, in a wedding gown and utterly confused. Stuck in a high tower, the princess fights her way out to get a grasp of the situation and what is up with the Kingdom. However, escaping a guarded palace is no easy task and, one mistake can land our princess again in the tower forever.
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A simple and decent premise that takes place less in dialogues and emotional building but, tells the story in flashbacks as our princess fights all throughout the film for her life. Yes, it feels like the love child of a Die Hard movie and a James Bond movie with the Disney twist of being the Kingdom’s darling in satin and silk. The direction by Le-Van Kiet is frantic but, maybe that is what gives the narrative the appropriate rush it needs to not become boring. Because, otherwise, the plot does not have much to offer.
The actors are more like props to the grand action sequences and there isn’t much to do or know about the characters to feel anything for them. Of course, there is the theme of how patriarchy never lets women be free and do what they desire with the overtone of wanting to be capable to fulfil one’s duties but, this is the only aspect of the story that tugs at your conscience and makes the story non-generic down the line.
The Princess attempted to be the new-age Brave but, the latter took much more effort and exposure to construct a world and wrap us in that world. One reason why The Princess might have failed to capture the essence of Brave, although it got the bull’s eye on the theme right is the urge to wrap us all up in a climactic story that takes place only over a matter of a day. Even the flashbacks, that try to tell us the princess’ story are not instrumental enough for us to really care about our protagonist.
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The film also doesn’t have many high stakes to rely on. With the few hilarious but, engaging fights and good cinematography, the audience from the very start somewhere knows that the princess will be safe, irrespective of anything and everything. It could be because we see Joey King just slash through some huge guards in a matter of minutes before we even get to know her properly or maybe the nature of King’s escape in the place where she rarely gets caught in a palace apparently full of guards swarming around.
The Princess: Final Verdict
The Princess really gets a lot of things right to make it a good movie but, it struggles with a good script and cast which is why it constantly feels like there is a missing spark in the movie. It definitely makes up for an entertaining watch but, is not one you can dwell on and can sure dampen your experience if you go in with high expectations.
You can watch the movie now on Hulu as well as Disney+ Hotstar.
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