‘Desert Warrior’ review: Visually stunning Saudi Arabian epic lacks an emotional core

Dir: Rupert Wyatt. Saudi Arabia. 2025. 126mins

Arabia, the 7th century. A wily nomadic Bandit (Anthony Mackie) comes to the aid of the exiled Princess Hind (Line Of Duty star Aiysha Hart) and her father, the now deposed King Al-Numan (Ghassan Massoud). The Bandit’s reluctant assistance sets in motion a chain of events, culminating in an immense battle between Hind’s forces – an uneasy truce of warring desert tribes – and the army of the despotic Sassanid Emperor, Kisra (Sir Ben Kingsley). Helmed by British director Rupert Wyatt, old-school epic Desert Warrior makes a persuasive case for Saudi Arabia as a stunning shooting location. Yet it’s a cumbersome piece of storytelling that may struggle to connect with international audiences. 

 Utilises every last grain of the arid, cinematic splendor of the desert

Desert Warrior premieres at the Zurich Film Festival following a protracted journey to the screen which proved to be every bit as rocky as the locations. It was originally shot in 2021, against the spectacular backdrop of the mountain country of Tabuk Province in Saudi Arabia, and utilises every last grain of the arid, cinematic splendor of the desert.

Where it stumbles, however, is in bringing depth and humanity to the rather sparsely drawn characters. Plus there’s the knotty question of exploring Arab history (the film is loosely based on an actual event) using a largely non-Arab cast and crew.  The filmmakers will likely be hoping that this lavish production, with its impressive combat sequences and forceful female leader, might connect with viewers who responded to Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Woman King. Wyatt proved with Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes that he knows his way around big-budget spectacle, and Desert Warrior doesn’t lack for action muscle – but it’s missing an emotional core.

The plight of Princess Hind and her father is rooted in an unreasonable demand made by the Emperor: all the Kings in his realm must give up a daughter to be a concubine in the imperial boudoir. King Al-Numan refuses, and is duly toppled from his throne. The emperor sends his best snarling, battle-scarred bad guy, Commander Jalabzeen (Sharlto Copley), after the pair. Thanks to – or perhaps despite – the assistance from the Bandit (like several key characters, we never learn his name), Hind and her father are offered sanctuary by the honorable Chief Hani (Sami Bouajila, delivering one of the film’s stronger performances), the leader of the Shaybani, one of the many warring tribal people.

Kingsley only appears in one scene as the emperor, but makes it count with an almost Shakespearean display of quixotic malice as he instructs his minions to exterminate the entire Shaybani tribe. Hind, meanwhile, decides to return to her homeland and take her rightful place as ruler; her friendship with the somewhat unknowable and unscrupulous Bandit is tested when he demands sacks of gold in return for his assistance.

The lack of a satisfying human connection between key characters is a stumbling block, but Wyatt does deliver plenty elsewhere. The production clearly favoured practical effects rather than CGI, and it looks terrific as a result. Vast numbers of extras swarm into frame in the kinetic battle sequences, and frequent aerial drone shots give an arresting sense of the immense scope of the undertaking.

Horse and camel-back stunt work is daunting and daring. And the editing and framing is crisp and distinctive, particularly at the beginning of the picture. Dan Levy’s score has no special allegiance to any one musical style, but it has moments of galvanising tension: there’s a metallic quality to some of the percussive numbers which sounds as though it is being beaten out with swords and shields. And astute costume design by Bojana Nikitovic helps us keep track of who is who in the bloody melee of the battle scenes.