Given the phenomenal success of “Game of Thrones,” which began broadcasting 14 years ago, it’s somewhat surprising that “In the Lost Lands” represents only the second time author George R.R. Martin’s work has been adapted for the big screen (the other being 1987’s low-budget sci-fi horror “Nightflyers”). Fans of that cable series and its spinoffs shouldn’t expect the same scale or intricacy of epic storytelling from this feature, which is taken from a short story. But on its own terms, the ninth collaboration between director Paul W.S. Anderson and star Milla Jovovich is perfectly serviceable popcorn fantasy entertainment — an attractive, action-packed ride, making up for in fun what it lacks in depth.

A begrimed Dave Bautista as mercenary drifter Boyce begins relating this “tale of magic and witches, of quests and of monsters, of good and of evil” in direct camera address. Actually, that description is a bit grandiose for what ensues, as the journey he then recounts is more like a “Mad Max” installment with sword-and-sorcery fillips than it is “Lord of the Rings” (or “Game of Thrones,” for that matter). 

The witch in question is Jovovich’s Gray Alys, introduced on the brink of being hanged as a heretic by Ash (Arly Jover), a fervent enforcer in a dystopian future ruled by both a royal house and cult-like church. But she manages to escape and is soon paid a surreptitious visit by Queen Melange (Amara Okereke). That scheming lady wants to be granted “the power to become a beast,” like certain werewolves found well outside humanity’s last urban enclave. Once she leaves, her smitten loyal vassal Jerais (Simon Loof) begs Gray Alys to fail that task, as such power can only corrupt his amour. Our heroine is bound to honor all wishes, so the story proper begins with her committed to two contradictory outcomes.

Regardless, she must travel into the dangerous Lost Lands to find a “Shapeshifter” and steal its essence for the Queen. For that purpose, she hires grizzly Boyce as her guide/bodyguard. Among other assets, he’s got a double-headed rattlesnake coiled around his shotgun that will strike any target his bullets miss. Then again, Gray Alys is not exactly helpless herself — indeed, she has so many disparate magical powers (eventually revealed), we begin to wonder why she requires chaperoning at all. Needless to say, this is one of those movies where it is best not to question the fantasy logic, lest the whole enterprise fall apart.

Anderson makes that suspension of disbelief easy enough, however, through skillful orchestration of atmospheric and action-ful eye candy. While angled a bit differently, the general aesthetic approach here is familiar from having been refined through the “Resident Evil” installments that made a name for the director-star couple: Visual notes of gothic horror, steampunk and video game graphics; slo-mo and muted color palettes; outlandish stunts further pushed over the top by CGI. 

The stylization is so extreme, it doesn’t really demand any tethering to “reality.” That’s probably just as well, given the jerry-built pile of episodic events in the director and Constantin Werner’s script. Even with a throne/church schism and eventual “revolution” by oppressed peasantry, there’s very little going on beneath a busy, detailed surface. But that surface is always engaging, thanks in considerable part to the accomplished work of production designer Lukasz Trzcinski, costumer Milena Jaroszek, and visual effects supervisor Dennis Berardi, not to mention Glen MacPherson’s handsome widescreen cinematography and editor Niven Howie’s ever-alert pace. 

While some of these contributors no doubt came tied to the production’s shoot in Poland, others are longtime Anderson associates. They’ve obviously got the visual world-building teamwork down to a science. Lending “In the Lost Lands” a character at least somewhat distinct from prior collaborations is the evoking of a Western flavor during the film’s midsection, as the two leads race across desolate regions pursued by Ash’s de facto posse. If you weren’t clued into that genre homage by the images’ pervasive dusty sepia tint, Boyle’s Sergio Leone-ready attire rams it home. 

You can’t help but be entertained by set-pieces as gaga as a mano-a-mano battle on a schoolbus-turned-aerial-cable-car creeping across a vast gorge. It doesn’t matter much that we have scant emotional investment in these characters — or that the leads don’t have any great bantering (let alone romantic) chemistry. They’re asked to perform variations on what we’ve seen them do many times before, complete with the usual heavy butt-kicking duties. Still, both are more than able, and the supporting players are well-cast in one-dimensional roles. 

Of course, nobody expects much in the way of nuance or psychological complexity from such joints — unlike more elaborate, lengthy and costly equivalents such as “Dune,” perhaps. Paul W.S. Anderson’s ouevre has become primarily an ode to the joys of a highly-worked veneer, one closely aligned to fantasy video games and graphic novels. When the results are as diverting as “In the Lost Lands,” you might as well shut off any buzzkill yearning for something “more,” and enjoy. It’s an untaxing pleasure only as guilty as you make it.