Desert Warrior

by Mike McGranaghan

There’s some good stuff in Desert Warrior, but you have to wade through a lot of nonsense to get to it. That includes star Anthony Mackie’s terrible Middle Eastern accent. Aside from sounding bad, the actor looks unhappy onscreen. He phones in a lackluster performance, possibly because shooting in the desert wasn’t fun, or maybe because the title doesn’t really refer to his character.

Mackie plays Bandit, a mysterious figure who offers help to Princess Hind (Aiysha Hart). Emperor Kisra II (Ben Kingsley in a brief cameo) has ordered all the daughters in the kingdom to become his concubines. Her father, King Al-Numan (Ghassan Massoud), whisks her away into the desert to prevent her from meeting that fate. When a mercenary (Sharlto Copley) is sent to retrieve her, Bandit agrees to help Hind find safety – for a price, of course.

Despite Mackie’s star wattage, Desert Warrior is really Hind’s story. The movie follows her as she finds her power, leaning less on Bandit and figuring out how to enlist other tribes to her cause. That could make for an interesting story, except that far too much effort is spent introducing minor supporting characters who are too thinly drawn to make an impression. There is also an overabundance of talky scenes that accomplish nothing other than needlessly elongating the picture’s running time. Hind’s journey is portrayed utilizing the most obvious cliches, making it feel more tedious than inspiring.

Director Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) at least gives the film a beautiful look. The actors are placed in breathtaking desert locations that go a long way toward providing the right sort of ambiance. In that sense, the production is impressive. So are the action scenes. There’s a chase early on that finds Bandit executing amazing trick-riding moves on a horse. The final half-hour is one big action sequence, with dueling armies, hyenas, elephants, and camels. You can’t say Desert Warrior doesn’t end with a bang.

Unfortunately, exciting battles can’t overcome a dull plot and weak characterization. Long stretches of boredom separate the parts that actually work. Of the actors, only Copley manages to bring a spark. An attempt was clearly made to create an epic motion picture. Visually, they succeeded, but the storytelling leaves a lot to be desired.