THE PRINCESS

It's not all that unusual to see a cinematic princess being held captive at the top of a very high tower waiting to be saved, Disney have been doing it since the dawn of time. What Le-Van Kiet's The Princess manages to do with the concept flips it on its head and serves its audience one hell of an entertaining action ride. 

When a beautiful, strong-willed princess (Joey King) refuses to wed the cruel sociopath to whom she is betrothed, she is kidnapped and locked in a remote tower of her father's castle. With her scorned, vindictive suitor intent on taking her father's throne, the princess must protect her family and save the kingdom.

Wasting no time in kicking things off, The Princess starts at the top of the tower this titular princess is being held. We've seen plenty of films where the mission is to go from the bottom to the top to save the day yet The Princess does the opposite, the typical damsel in distress mould being shattered right from the off as Joey King faces challenge after challenge on her way down the tower to save her family and kingdom.

It makes for a really refreshing experience as she doesn't shy away from any opponent throughout, whether they're bigger or stronger than her, Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton writing a female hero who has the bravery of a Disney princess and the combat skills of Sarah Connor. The action is the star of the show and it's handled rather well by Kiet, the utilisation of Lorenzo Senatore's cinematography in some moments key to giving the audience a proper rush of adrenalin. That one sequence on the stairs is one of the most entertaining sequences of the year.

Joey King has always been one to throw herself into projects that involve action, appearing in films such as White House Down and Independence Day Resurgence at a young age. Here in The Princess, King delivers a performance fully committed to bringing bombastic action to the fore, the physicality of it all something to be truly applauded. The rest of the cast, including Dominic Cooper and Olga Kurylenko, are clearly having a blast knowing full well the kind of film they're in, and it serves the film well.

The Princess really took me by surprise and it's a film that would do well with a crowd rather than being dumped on a streaming service without any fanfare. Think of a fairytale version of The Raid and tell me that doesn't sound like tons of fun.

Verdict: ★★★