In the Lost Lands – REVIEW

Milla Jovovich and Dave Bautista in In the Lost Lands


It’s not obvious to see why I ended up going to see this in an empty theater, but I might as well start off with saying that I love going to the movie theater. A bad movie wouldn’t ruin my experience in the theater when it’s all said and done, but having an empty theater is one of the best feelings in the world. That being said, I was fully expecting to have an entire auditorium to myself with In the Lost Lands, the latest movie from Paul W.S. Anderson. If you don’t know that name, he’s mainly the director of the original run of Resident Evil movies with Milla Jovovich, who happens to be his wife. He’s also directed the original Mortal Kombat movie from the 1990s and the sci-fi gem Event Horizon. However, Event Horizon is really the only good movie he’s made out of what I’ve seen. His other movies I’ve seen, mainly the Resident Evil movies, are something I’ve dubbed “nu-metal.” It’s not unlike the subgenre of music where bands like Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Slipknot thrived at their respective peaks, especially since Slipknot had a song at the end of the first Resident Evil movie. They’re fun to listen to, but now in the year of 2025, I think about how people older than me not only listened to this but enjoyed it to that extent. Sure, there are some exceptions that I like, but imagine you’re time-traveling back to 1999 and seeing people excited to listen to Crazy Town or something. That’s how In the Lost Lands feels, a relic of the past that I should feel embarrassed about even being made. The only saving graces of this are the stars, Jovovich and Dave Bautista. I’ve always had a soft spot for Jovovich, mainly through the Resident Evil movies. It’s to the point that I’d probably even enjoy those movies if they weren’t tied to the video game, but they’re just so dumb too. Jovovich is the glue that keeps it together, and it's the same here, though. Bautista, who essentially leads the movie, is having a whole lot of fun as a part cowboy, part *INSANE PLOT SPOILER* wandering a post-apocalyptic wasteland. He gets a lot of insanely cheesy one-liners, and he’s probably why I even gave this movie a shot. He can go from this to M. Night Shyamalan to Gia Coppola without batting an eye, and I have to respect that. Outside of them, though, In the Lost Lands is bleak. Jarring effects and CGI/blue screen environments are everywhere to be found (if you have eyes to see), although there are some tree-like demons that pop up that have surprisingly well-done CGI. Reports are around that apparently a lot of the effects were done straight through Unreal Engine, and it’s pretty wild that you can do that now. That doesn’t make it good. Even the story, which is based on a short story by George R.R. Martin, just feels very bland. The *INSANE PLOT SPOILER* actually did get me, though, so good on them for that. Other than that, this is just about Rebel Moon in terms of sci-fi effects and sci-fi/fantasy in general. At least In the Lost Lands has two watchable actors.


Ryan’s Grade: D+