After decades of moviegoers begging studios to create female characters that were afforded the same well-rounded storytelling as their masculine counterparts, Hollywood finally answered the call by creating the caricature of personality that is now known as a “strong female character.” These characters don’t necessarily seek to defy the binary in any meaningful way; they still actively lean into the stereotypes that have grated on nerves for years. This new era of female characters often shirk the ideas of romance and marriage—telegraphing this idea that women can’t be strong and also want love. The options are limited to badass or romantic interest, whereas men can contain multitudes. On top of that, they’re perfect, unflawed characters, that make no mistakes, which makes it hard to fight against the loathsome notion of “Mary Sues.” After last year’s trite “girlbossification” of Cinderella, Hulu has decided to dip its toe into the waters of “I’m no damsel” with their action-packed and aimless feature The Princess, starring Joey King.
It’s clear that Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton think that their script is some “go get ‘em girls” feminism power fantasy, but at every turn, it is a weak imitation of what this story could have been. Every character in the film is given a name, except for its supposed heroine who is just “The Princess.” Many well-meaning writers presume that by opting not to name their female protagonists, they are somehow calling attention to and underscoring the importance of a name. Ultimately, this act feeds into the very issue that they seem to be trying to address by crafting a no-holds-barred action flick around a woman that would rather die in battle and go down swinging than marry some man she doesn’t know for her kingdom. There are other ways to address how women are treated as property that can be bought and sold for alliances than to strip them of their names. 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, Le-Van Keit. It’s frustrating that the screenwriters seem convinced that this is the answer to a long line of badass Disney princesses that weren’t badass enough in their minds. Sorry Mulan, Merida, and Rapunzel, you didn’t spill enough blood.
At its heart, The Princess is a glorified action film, with very little substance. For the better part of its ninety-four-minute runtime, the Princess spends her time hacking, slashing, fighting, and besting her way out of the seemingly high tower that she’s been locked away in by the cruel Julius (Dominic Cooper). The negligible strands of the plot are haphazard, at best, often attempting to relay vital information through poorly-paced flashbacks that feel like an entirely different movie. The film opens right in the midst of an ongoing story—our nameless heroine wakes up chained to a bed in a wedding dress as two oafish brutes arrive to check that the Princess is ready for her wedding day. She feigns like she’s still asleep, lulling them into a false sense of security so she can overtake them and fight her way out of this dicey situation.
Through the flashbacks, we learn that all the Princess has ever wanted to do is fight. Despite her father’s plans for his daughter, the Queen permitted her to train under the wise tutelage of Khai (Kristofer Kamiyasu) and Linh (Veronica Ngo), and given her impressive displays of adrenaline-fueled combat, it would seem that their training paid off. The Princess has dreams that she might one day be sent off to war, to fight for the kingdom like a male heir might, but her father’s only plans for her involve marrying her off to ensure the kingdom has strong alliances. The crux of the entire movie and the motivator for Julius’ sociopathic fight for the throne, is the fact that the Princess’ parents, King (Ed Stoppard) and Queen (Alex Reid), have produced no male heir, so naturally, he intends to strong-arm his way onto the seat of power of the kingdom. Never mind the fact that he has Moira (Olga Kurylenko) in his corner as both a badass combatant and lover. For a film that is trying so hard to prove that it’s some down-with-the-man powertrip, The Princess made every mistake in the book with Moira’s arc. You can’t be ambitious, competent, and have a little romance—otherwise, you’ll end up hanging by your own noose.
Despite the shallow chaos that serves as a plot, Joey King delivers a solid performance with what little she is given to work with. She can hold her own when it comes to impressive stunts, hand-to-hand combat, and she summons just enough moxy to deliver on-the-nose dialogue about how daughters are just as worthy as sons and how she wants to fight and be a hero. She even delivers a stirring piece of dialogue about why Julius should sleep with one eye open, were she to give in to his marriage offer.
If you’re looking for a shallow action film with some vague notion that it’s a historical fantasy, that sees a nameless heroine behead toxic masculinity incarnate, then The Princess is the film for you. If, however, you are hoping to watch a female character reclaim her agency, defy gender norms, and bring honor to her family… Disney’s live-action Mulan might appeal to you. Maybe The Princess could have been the battle cry that people need right now to fight against patriarchal oppression, but alas it has no idea how to shed the narrow-minded ideas of how to flip the script on all of these tropes.
Rating: F
The Princess is streaming now on Hulu.