WARNING! Mild spoilers ahead, read with caution.

The movie Damsel was directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and released on March 8, 2024. This new fantasy story stars Milly Bobby Brown, best known for her roles in Stranger Things and Enola Holmes, as Elodie, a princess from an impoverished realm. She is wedded to a wealthy prince in a bid to rescue her faltering kingdom. However, her wedding day takes a dark turn when her new husband offers her as a sacrifice to a dragon right after the marriage ceremony, casting her from a cliff into its den. The dragon is seeking vengeance on the royal family and their blood for the slaying of its only offspring years prior. The dragon decrees that the king's atonement for the death of its children is the sacrifice of his own daughters across three generations. It’s an interesting watch but is it actually worth it? Meh.

If you enjoy a movie that has a strong female lead that doesn’t need the help of a man, this one’s for you. However, I felt as though this movie was missing a bigger plot. The film leaves you unsatisfied and wanting more. The special effects aren't the best, which tends to be the case with Netflix's budget-friendly productions. However, it's the film's rhythm that's the real issue: it starts off fast, setting the stage for an early reveal. As a result of this, most of the movie just depicts Elodie facing a series of similar challenges, which gets tedious quickly due to the lack of variety. To top it all off, the explanation for her predicament, when it finally comes, doesn't quite hit the mark. 

The movie extended beyond an hour, centering on the protagonist's fight for survival. While it did manage to create tension in certain sequences, the prolonged suspense sometimes made it challenging to maintain engagement. Nevertheless, watching Millie Bobby Brown portray a formidable female lead was a breath of fresh air. Despite the narrative's shortcomings, her solo performance in front of a green screen was notably impressive. Damsel wasn't a complete letdown but had several elements that could have been improved. The initial half-hour, dedicated to character introductions, lacked depth and was uneventful, leading to a monotonous middle, and concluded with a final ten minutes that felt hasty and incoherent.

The main takeaway from Damsel is that having a “strong female lead” doesn't automatically make a movie compelling anymore. It takes more than that – a robust supporting cast, a solid storyline, and an understanding of what keeps viewers engaged. Even a stereotypical strong lead character needs depth, with genuine ambitions and flaws. A perfect, one-dimensional protagonist might be inspiring, but it isn't very relatable. It is the sort of movie you watch once but won’t feel compelled to revisit.