In Theaters Now
SummarySet in seventh-century Arabia, Princess Hind (Aiysha Hart) defies her fate, refusing to become a concubine to the ruthless Emperor Kisra (Sir Ben Kingsley). Fleeing into the desert with her father, she is hunted by a merciless army and forced to trust a legendary bandit (Anthony Mackie) with secrets of his own. Rising from fugitive to fearless wa... Read More
Directed By:Rupert Wyatt
Written By:Erica Beeney, Gary Ross, David Self, Rupert Wyatt
Desert Warrior
Metascore
Mixed or Average
41
User score
Generally Unfavorable
2.7
My Score
Drag or tap to give a rating
Hover and click to give a rating
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
41
17% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
50% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
33% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Apr 23, 2026
70
Rather than extend the epic sweep of this picture into the cosmic ineffable, he just wants the viewer bouncing along and rooting for its female hero. And the film succeeds admirably in this respect.
Oct 7, 2025
50
The lack of a satisfying human connection between key characters is a stumbling block, but Wyatt does deliver plenty elsewhere.
Apr 23, 2026
42
The movie’s endless middle is so dull and uneventful that Desert Warrior can’t help but belie its true purpose at every turn, as whatever momentum its hyper-fictionalized story was able to conjure at the start begins to sour into the stuff of a glorified commercial.
Apr 24, 2026
40
Though it's an often beautiful showcase for the Arabian desert landscape, Desert Warrior is a slow, awkward jumble, trying so hard to be cool and lacking any of the style or charisma to pull it off. The climactic battle has some redeeming qualities, but after waiting 90 minutes to see it and finding it so choppily edited as to be distracting, the prevailing feeling I carried with me after it ended was still disappointment.
Apr 23, 2026
33
The movie’s basic appeal––that of rebels rising up against evil empires––still works to some extent, but Desert Warrior does little to make it memorable beyond its historic production.
Oct 7, 2025
20
Wyatt’s big-budget foray is an oddity, as it feels like it should be truly epic and a film for Hollywood studios to gobble up, but something went seriously wrong when making it.
User score
Generally Unfavorable
2.7
14% Positive
1 Rating
1 Rating
43% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
43% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
May 29, 2026
4
Easily the worst movie of 2026 so far. It is completely mind-boggling how a film with a reported $150M+ budget can look and feel this bad. The biggest issue is the total lack of logic and cultural authenticity—you have a story set in 7th-century Arabia, yet the director, writers, and lead actors are entirely non-Arab. Because of this, the film has no historical identity; the characters talk and act like modern people, completely ruining the immersion. Anthony Mackie is entirely miscast, delivering a completely bland performance. To make matters worse, the editing is atrocious—the film cuts around so abruptly that it feels like you are watching a series of disjointed video game cutscenes rather than a coherent movie. I couldn't even finish it. A massive, expensive disaster.
Production Company:
- MBC Studios
- AGC Studios
- JB Pictures
- Studio Mechanical
Release Date:Apr 24, 2026
Duration:2 h 6 m
Rating:R
