"The Princess" starts bumpily, hitting branches on the cliche tree with medieval-y flutes and mediocre CG castle environs. It gets cringier as we fly through a tower window to find the titular Princess (Joey King) prone in bed, Sleeping Beauty-style. But the ruse is quickly over, and the film shows its true colors with violent and exciting badassery.
Two brutish guards learn the hard way this princess isn't waiting for a Prince Charming. A game King springs into action and shows off entertaining fighting skills that are anything but period, but who cares? The film has fun earning its R rating. And by the way, King acts her way through the combat: The Princess can wield a sword and spin and kick like a martial artist, but she's slight and smaller than her enemies, and King roots the moments in a consistent reality.
The Princess has been promised in marriage to odious Lord Julius (Dominic Cooper) by her very traditional king dad (Ed Stoppard). Dad loves her but needs to marry her off to secure the future of the kingdom. When the Princess says a planned life of submission to a cruel, unworthy husband is "like something out of a fairy tale," it's clear she's not talking about a happy ending.
