Millie Bobby Brown definitely shouldn’t pay the caterer for her wedding in Damsel, because she has to wind up squaring off with a bloodthirsty dragon—and it’s totally the fault of the wedding’s organizers.

Brown plays Elodie, a young maiden in a faraway land tricked into thinking she’s about become a princess—only to become the intended main course for a dragon (voiced creepily by Shohreh Aghdashloo) as part of a long-lasting tradition of human sacrifice.

Brown is quite good, breaking hearts when Elodie is first made the victim—and becoming a credible action hero when she squares off with the beast. She gets a lot dirtier here than she did with Godzilla.

This is a good story with a solid twist of an ending. The special effects are OK, if a little choppy at times. The supporting cast includes Ray Winstone as the universe’s worst dad, Angela Bassett as the sympathetic stepmother, and Robin Wright playing a far nastier royal entity than Buttercup from The Princess Bride.

Ultimately, Damsel is a good Saturday-night movie that’s quite suitable for Netflix. I’m not sure how this would’ve registered with me on a big screen, but it played just fine in my living room.

But be careful if you decide to watch it with young kids; some of the dragon’s kills are quite graphic, with lots of stomping, squeezing, stabbing and fiery deaths that push the limits of PG-13.

Damsel is now streaming on Netflix.

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