This $150 million action-adventure tale, set in seventh-century Arabia — “a vast land where tribes fight over territory and water,” a helpful onscreen text informs the viewer — is being touted at the most expensive motion picture produced in Saudi Arabia. And it does look it. There are horses and camels running around, elaborate costumes and sets, and an expansive cast from Europe, Africa, the United States and the Middle East.
In addition to flaunting the production value, “Desert Warrior,” directed by the English filmmaker Rupert Wyatt, attempts a little indirect outreach concerning an issue for which Saudi Arabia has been criticized, namely women’s rights.
The movie presents a wide variety of fighting men, but the actual desert warrior of the title turns out to be a woman: Hind (Aiysha Hart), who balks at the prospect of serving as a concubine for Emperor Kisra (portrayed by a quietly magisterial Ben Kingsley), and by the end of the movie is commanding an army to oppose him and his reign. Her initially unwanted comrade in arms is a bandit played by the always charming Anthony Mackie, while Sharlto Copley commands as a bounty hunter leading Hind’s enemies.
Wyatt, the director, who also helmed the commendable 2011 film “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” is not David Lean and this isn’t “Lawrence of Arabia,” but that’s not Wyatt’s aspiration here. Rather than extend the epic sweep of this picture into the cosmic ineffable, he just wants the viewer bouncing along and rooting for its female hero. And the film succeeds admirably in this respect.
Desert Warrior Rated R for violence. Running time: 2 hours 6 minutes. In theaters.
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