The Princess (2022)

"The only reason to watch really is for Joey King, an underrated actress who is open to any challenge. If only this film was confident enough to really give her one."

"There is no glory for anyone involved here, nor any enjoyable, diversionary escape for a viewer."

"The plot proceeds like an arcade game."

"You’d be hard-pressed to find a fantasy movie that does less in the way of world-building, either with its story or its sets..."

"The film... clicks on its own, highly specialised terms, and King is terrific fun as the damsel capable of dishing out her own distress."

"An unabashedly feminist action-adventure in which the central character rises from her dormancy to slash the patriarchy. It couldn’t be more timely, and it’s a good time too."

"The movie’s anonymous eponymous protagonist isn’t a proper character so much as a one-dimensional empowerment symbol..."

"While the timing seems right for a princess who rescues herself, there's precious little substance to this violent fantasy..."

"Throwing... a few feminist quips into the script does not make (this film) any less conventional, or necessarily any more empowering."

"Ultimately this misplaced white knighting of the female empowerment fantasy is likely due to The Princess being penned by two men and directed by a third..."