Subject: REVIEW: DRAGONHEART (1996)

From: [email-masked] (Lucas Wolenczak)
Date: 4 Jun 1996 13:07:00 GMT

DRAGONHEART
                       A film review by Lucas Wolenczak
                        Copyright 1996 Lucas Wolenczak

with Dennis Quaid as Bowen and Sean Connery as Draco

images can be found via ftp at
ftp.stgenesis.org/pub/Fantasy/DragonHeart

	Well I must admit - this movie shocked me. Not with blood and gore I
expected to go see - but with it's ability to tell a story - a
realistic story.  A story which left you spellbound from the beginning
until the end.  
	This movie is spectacular - from the graphics to the humor - it held
me in awe throughout.  The usage of Morphing techniques gave the
Dragon (named Draco after the Draco constellation) all the
characteristics of Sean Connery.  It's a tale of the old ways - the
days of King Arthur - the struggle for power and glory while still
attaining those now ancient respects.  It reminds us that even the
purest of people have evil lurking within and through courage and
honor - these evils can be repressed and molded instead into something
greater.
	The movie opens with a prince and his teacher learning the art of
swordsmanship and fencing.  The prince is quick and forgets to fight
with his head and heart instead of his body.  The knight, his teacher,
reminds the prince of the old ways, molds the boy into the perfect
king.  However in the middle of their lesson - a kings advisor
disrupts them to request their presence at a nearby battle.  A battle
where the peasants have built themselves a small stronghold with which
to fight back against the king's tyranny.  The king does not return
from this battle. As the peasants tear him from his horse and proceed
to beat him to death, the king's son rides to his father, and hiding
among the debris and machinery he claims the crown.  Suddenly, a young
maiden falls from above, and the heir to the thrown is peirced by the
heart - a mortal wound.
	Calling upon the Dragon, the prince's mother pleads for her son's
life.  In his last words, the prince honors the dragon's wishes and
promises to be a better King than his father, to end to tyranny, the
destruction and slavery.  To return to the ways of King Arthur and his
men.  The Dragon, removes part of his own heart, and shares it with
the prince, with hope that the good of the Dragon's soul will purify
and devour the soul of the King's within the boy.  
	Evil however cannot be cured with one pure drop of blood for the
prince, now the King, enslaves those who rebeled and murdered his
father to build himself a grand castle.  The King truely spoiled and
rotten finds joy in taunting and making life for the commoners pure
hell.  His teacher, disgusted by the King, breaks from the King's
service and goes in search for the Dragon which poisoned his
teachings. Convinced the Dragon was truely evil, he sets out hunting
down all Dragon's he can find. Making a small profit on the side for
his duties.
	Laced with Humor, the knight, Bowen meets his match.  In a fast paced
and long fight, the Dragon (proclaiming he *is* truely the last dragon
left) and Bowen join together in an attempt to keep them both alive.
The begin going from town to town conning the locals for their gold.
The Dragon pretends to attack, and harmlessly burns feilds and flys
around menacingly. Bowen rides in claiming he will kill the Dragon for
a bag of Gold.  The first town agrees (they stiffed him on a previous
Dragon slaying and now paid two bags of gold in advance).  Bowen fires
a harpoon like device - the Dragon catches it and swiftly brings it
under his wing crying out in fake agony and crashes into the lake.
The lake being dep enough covers the Dragon completely, and the Dragon
then swims away.  The town rejoices and the two move to the next town.

	The second town proved to be a bit more difficult.  The young maiden
who's father was responsible for the original uprising against the
King's father, had earlier been imprisioned after attempting to murder
the King (he had burned her father's eyes out for killing his father).
He declared she was to be his bride, however the King's mother,
ashamed of her son, leads the young woman to safety.  Now outside the
walls of the castle and back in her own village she attempts to rally
her people again against the King.  They return in throwing food at
her and soiling her face and clothes as well as taunting her as well.
Nevertheless, the Dragon rides in again scaring the locals.  Bowen of
course is there to save the day, and mistakenly mentions that the
Dragon does accept young maiden sacrifices instead but he'd leave that
up to them.  Assuming they'd pay him instead he's rather surprised
when they tie up the young maiden and offer her to the Dragon.  Bowen
is in trouble.  He tells the Dragon to eat her or something - anything
to get him out of trouble.  The Dragon reluctantly agrees and upon
returning, Bowen is shocked to find the Dragon and maiden singing and
chatting with each other rather than seeing him picking his teeth of
her remains.  Much to their enjoyment, the King returns to claim his
bride, claiming that she had become lost.  Responding to her wishes,
Bowen tells the King that she seems to want to remain lost - however
this does not please the King.  Instead Bowen and the King draw their
swords in an attempt to settle the King's whim.  In a last attempt,
the King prepares to kill Bowen as the Dragon comes to his rescue.
Frightening the King - the trio is now onto the next town.
	Before reaching the town the maiden discusses at length how and why
they should rebel against the King.  Bowen isn't listening very well,
however little does he realize the surprise he's in for at the next
town.  Upon Arriving, the town agrees to pay Bowen to rid them of the
Dragon (who this time aparantly is eating their pigs - their only
means of survival).  The maiden, disgusted at their plans, attempts to
foil them however is nearly laughed out of town when she tries to
convince the commoners that the Dragonslayer and the Dragon are in
cahoots.  Bowen again sets up their trap - the Dragon catches the
harpoon and plumments to earth - his body submerges in the lake about
two feet before an earth shattering thud is heard and the Dragon falls
flat on his back.  "Think think think..." Mutters Bowen to Draco.
"It's not getting any deeper" responds Draco.  The villagers however
dont' care - they have a huge peice of meat before them they can
slaughter and be fed for weeks.  Draco isn't for that and immediately
he's up and runs off flying out before they grill and broil him as
well.  The villagers are not happy, however the maiden, Bowen and the
travelling Bard who has joined them will still satisfy them for a good
meal.  Draco returns in time and swoops all three away.
	As the movie continues we learn more about Draco and Bowne and their
past as well as their sour feelings towards the King.  The Young
Maiden convinces them to attack back against the King and eventually
they agree.  The locals are against the entire idea at first - they
had been there once before with her father - and remembered the
aftershock as well. However, when they saw and met the Dragon who
would be on their side - the immediately began to learn and
manufatcture weapons of all kinds.  
	When the King learned of their camp - he gathered all of his men
together and made sure they were ready for these rebels.  The Kings
mother even offered him a gift of the three finest Dragonslayers
around.  As the rebels approached the Castle, the Kings men went to
meet them.  The locals turned and ran into the shetler of the Forrest
- luring the King and his men with them into their fight.  A massive
battle ensued - as the King realized he was defeated, he called for
the retreat. Bowen refused to let the King live and get away to rally
more troops - he called to the trees for the bard/monk to stop the
king.  The bard shot the King in the chest - immediately we see the
Dragon double over and fall as well.  The King pulls the arrow free
and suddenly realizes why he still lives.  Turning, he rode back to
the castle - they had now captured the Dragon and the King wanted to
be sure that the Dragon remained safe - forever.  The link between
King and Dragon were realized - the King knew the Dragon was his only
life link, if the Dragon died, so did he.  
	The Rebels banner together again to storm the castle through the
entrance which the maiden first left with the Kings mother - they
galantly fought their way through to the Dragon.  Bowen refused to
kill Draco however since the King's mother's attempt to kill Draco
failed (she originally hired the Dragon Slayers to "Fix a mistake i
never should have let live") - Draco knew the only way to bring down
the king, would be if Draco died.  Draco held the life of the two
hearts, and without his beating, the King would die.  Draco begged
Bowen to kill him and in a shocking slow motion ending, Bowen swung
his axe into the opened heart of  Draco.  The King fell to the ground
and died almost immediately.  Draco remained alive for a few more
minutes, then lay down peacefully and died as well.
	The last Dragon had fallen, once Bowen's enemy, and now his best
friend had to be sacrificed for the good of the kingdom.  And in the
tale of Draco's ancestors expressed early in the movie, Draco's body
vanished into dust and took to the stars - he joined his great
ancestors as a star among the Draco constellation - the resting place
for the Dragon's who truely made a difference and were great.  Bowen
and the maiden took the throne and led their people to happiness and
greatness as Draco watched over them from above.
	
	The movie is truely spellbinding.  The animation, morphing, humor and
amazing directing talent and truely gifted story writing brought a
life to this film unlike any others.  I went to the movie expecting to
see a cross between BraveHeart and Hamlet (truely great movies) but
was not disappointed to see something totally different.  It was a
movie which made you think, yet you didn't have to know anything about
the era of which this movie took place, or know anything about Dragons
and Monarchy or the language of the times to thouroughly enjoy this
movie.  This is a movie that portrays Hollywood in it's truly
spectacular light - it shows what the movies represent - present day
story telling.  It didn't engross you with details, or blood and gore,
it didn't trick you with riddles and puzzles.  It was a mature,
humorous film.  One which involved the humor of present day without
making us think it was a movie done in 1996 about the 900 AD times.
It truely placed you in the middle of the movie - It involved you so
thouroughly in mind and spirit, that you left the movie with a peice
of the DragonHeart.

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