Anthony Mackie made $150m historical epic Desert Warrior four years ago – so why has it only just premiered?

by

Anthony Mackie stars in the historical film Desert Warrior, which cost $150 million to produce and was completed four years ago. It recently had its first showing at the Zurich Film Festival. Critics have now shared their reviews of the action-packed historical drama, which faced numerous delays before its release.

Rupert Wyatt directed the film and also co-wrote the story with David Self, Erica Beeney, and Gary Ross. The movie features Mackie and Aiysha Hart in leading roles.

So, I just watched this movie, and it’s set way back before Islam, focusing on a huge battle between the Persian-Sasanian Empire and different Arab tribes. I play this character, Hanzala – basically a bandit – and my job is to save this Arabian Princess, Hind (played by Hart), from the really nasty Emperor Kisra (Ben Kingsley). It’s a pretty epic rescue, let me tell you!

What to Read Next

When Hind refused to be Emperor Kisra’s concubine, she and the Bandit united the tribes to fight against Kisra’s army in a climactic, decisive battle.

The story centers around Hanzala, a noble but enigmatic wanderer. He earns the wrath of Emperor Kisra when he aids a king and princess who are fleeing through the desert.

I was so excited when they first announced this film way back in November 2021! But it’s been a bit of a rocky road to get it finished. I heard the shoot was really tough, filmed right there in the Saudi Arabian desert, and that caused a lot of delays. It’s been a while, but I’m still really hoping it’s worth the wait! You can find more information here about the production challenges.

According to Deadline, production on Desert Warrior was put on hold when Wyatt left the project due to disagreements with MBC Studios about the film’s length, overall mood, and speed. The director came back to lead the movie a few months later.

The movie apparently hit further snags when an initial test screening showed that viewers weren’t responding well, which made several large US studios hesitant about the work-in-progress version.

Initial reviews for Desert Warrior are coming in after its debut. Deadline described the film as starting strong as a fun, low-budget action movie, but then becoming slow and drawn-out. They noted that after establishing a basic setup-similar to a classic Sergio Leone Western, with a bandit (Anthony Mackie) and a bounty hunter (Sharlto Copley>)-the film unexpectedly becomes heavy-handed, overly long, and focuses on feminist themes within a pre-Islamic context, comparing it to a story about Gandhi.

Screen Daily noted that the movie didn’t quite succeed “in developing the characters with enough depth and feeling, as they were somewhat underdeveloped”, but they did commend Kingsley’s short appearance as a “performance reminiscent of Shakespearean villainy and whimsical wickedness”.

The review goes on to say that while the emotional connection between the main characters feels weak, Wyatt still excels in other areas. The filmmakers made a conscious choice to use real effects instead of computer-generated imagery, and the visual outcome is stunning.

Wyatt’s expensive film is strange; it Next Best Picture wrote that it feels like it *should* have been a grand, blockbuster hit for a major studio, but clearly something went wrong during its creation. You can really feel the issues from the film’s difficult production in how disappointing the final product is.

The new edition of Living Legends is here! Buy Gaga in newsagents or online, priced at just £8.99.

Read More

2025-09-30 19:20