Look, I like a good sword and sandals movie, but it’s got to be really good, like, The Odyssey or Lawrence of Arabia. On its own, that genre — which refers to biblical epics, mythology movies, and historical dramas taking place around the Mediterranean and Middle East in Greco-Roman times — doesn’t do a whole lot for me. But if you’re an indiscriminate lover of these kinds of movies, there’s a new one coming to Hulu on September 1 that you might want to check out.
Set in Arabia in the seventh century, Desert Warrior is the story of Princess Hind (Aiysha Hart), who refuses to become a concubine of Emperor Kisra (Ben Kingsley). She flees her home, with the emperor’s army in pursuit, and allies herself with a bandit named Hanzala (Anthony Mackie). The two then unite several rival tribes to stand up against the emperor, leading to a historic battle in the desert known as “The Battle of Ze Qar.”
Desert Warrior features a mix of real Arabian history and folklore and was meant to be a vehicle to invigorate the Saudi Arabian film industry. The Saudi government funded the movie, which began with a $70 million budget before ballooning to more than double that. Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) directed the film, a process that took five years. The movie first opened in 2025 internationally before premiering in America in April. All told, it grossed less than $1 million around the world, making it a candidate for the biggest box office flop in history.
Having watched Desert Warrior last night (a choice I regret), the problem with the film is that it’s just really, really boring. Princess Hind’s whole journey never caught my attention, and the movie plods along very slowly, until it suddenly speeds up during out-of-place action scenes. Once the fight ends, the narrative slams on the brakes again and the movie slows back down.
I think what Wyatt was trying to do was take a sweeping, picturesque narrative like Lawrence of Arabia and combine it with modern action sequences. And at times, Desert Warrior is beautiful — but it’s never interesting. Just staring at the desert for two hours is not what I want out of a movie, and because the story never grabbed me, the action didn’t either because I didn’t feel the stakes. The fast action and slow story also do not marry well. They feel like two different movies (and both are bad).
Another huge problem is Mackie, who just feels super out of place in this movie. I mean, this guy was born in Louisiana and is currently playing Captain America. The dude feels American. Just putting a turban on him and having him do a Middle Eastern accent does not seem credible. It honestly feels oddly dated. I thought we were past the point where a movie about a certain ethnicity is led by an American star, and only the supporting players are actually of the proper ethnic makeup. While this obviously isn’t “whitewashing,” Mackie feels incredibly out of place and at no point did I buy him as the Middle Eastern thief from more than a thousand years ago.
A very brief defense of Desert Warrior
Then again, maybe you’ll love Desert Warrior. The production design comes off as authentic, with impressive costumes and villages constructed for the film. And there are some really beautiful images of Saudi Arabia in the movie. It’s the kind of film that makes you want to visit Saudi Arabia — just as long as Desert Warrior isn’t the in-flight movie.
Desert Warrior is streaming now on Hulu.
