From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jun 4 17:19:26 1996
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From: null@filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
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Subject: REVIEW: DRAGONHEART (1996)
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DRAGONHEART
A film review by Christopher Null
Copyright 1996 Christopher Null
It's going to be a long summer, at this rate.
Trying as hard as possible to be BRAVEHEART with a dragon (hell, look
at the title!), DRAGONHEART is a pretty dismal affair, punctuated by a
couple of good performances, a show-stealing computer-generated dragon
(with a heart of gold), and a really, really hackneyed story line.
The story line in question is this: young Einon (Lee Oakes) is heir
to the throne in 982 A.D. England. His mentor is Bowen (Dennis Quaid), who
tries to teach him "the Old Code" of honor and knighthood. When the King
dies, Einon suddenly finds himself the ruler of England, but not before a
nearly-fatal wound. Mom (Julie Christie) is quick to the rescue...
suggesting that the dragon on the hill (voice: Sean Connery) can heal him.
He does, by giving him half of his heart. Stop laughing; there's more.
Well, Einon (now David Thewlis) grows up to be a real jerk and Bowen
blames the dragon for this. He sets out on a quest to kill all the dragons
in the land and almost succeeds. When he meets one last dragon many years
later, they, well, they become friends. And then they overthrow the bad
king, and there are some more silly things that happen... but basically
this is just a story about a dragon.
The good things in DRAGONHEART are rather hard to come by. A number
of scenes are genuinely exciting. Pete Postlethwaite as a wayward monk is
the most fun of all the characters. And regular readers will understand
why Dina Meyer's crimson-haired sidekick character earns my special praise
as well. But of course, the only *real* reason to see the film is Draco,
the animated dragon. He's not quite Puff... but he kicks a lot of ass.
Then again, that may not be such a good reason at all. It's really
hard to get excited about computer-generated effects these days, especially
when they are used in place of a decent story. The really dumb script just
kills this picture. For example: the prince is such a jerk, I was ready
to kill him in the opening scene; Bowen's hatred of dragons is about the
most irrational thing in the world; can you imagine a dragon using the word
"Yikes?"; Bowen is essentially indestructible; how many dragons have a
voice like Sean Connery anyway--I think Bowen would be able to recognize
him by that alone; and much, much more!
DRAGONHEART also manages to pack every fantasy movie clich=E9 in the
world into the picture, from the big scene teaching the villagers how to
fight to the damsel in distress to the big mano a mano duel at the end.
The only original take on any of this is Draco running amok in the scenes.
Add to that an finale that's supposed to be touching but turns out to be
just plain goofy, and you've got an enormous mess on your hands.
The tagline to this film is, "You will believe." Insert your own joke
here.
RATING: **1/2
|------------------------------|
\ ***** Perfection \
\ **** Good, memorable film \
\ *** Average, hits and misses \
\ ** Sub-par on many levels \
\ * Unquestionably awful \
|------------------------------|
-Christopher Null / null@filmcritic.com
-Screenwriter-Producer / Novelist-Publisher
-Visit the Movie Emporium at http://www.filmcritic.com/
-and e-mail requests to join the movie review mailing list
From rec.arts.sf.reviews Thu Jun 6 22:39:49 1996
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From: jbh2m@sunny.urich.edu (Jonathan B. Hardison)
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Subject: REVIEW: DRAGONHEART (1996)
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DRAGONHEART
A film review by Jonathan B. Hardison
Copyright 1996 Jonathan B. Hardison
All throughout Rob Cohen's picture, DRAGONHEART, I found myself
trying to think of ways to make ASCII thumbs up/thumbs down symbols.
Ultimately, out of sheer confusion, I gave up.
DRAGONHEART is the story of a Young Prince who becomes King when his
father is killed in a peasant revolt. Out of the prince's greed for the
crown, he is actidentally mortally wounded by a young girl falling from a
hut. In desperation to save the new King, his mother and this Teacher,
Bowen (Dennis Quaid), take him to an old dragon, who revives the boy by
giving him half of his heart. In this exchange, the dragon makes him swear
not to be a tyrant like his father, which slightly resembles Bowen's
teachings in the first five minutes of the film. When the boy grows up to
be a tyrant, Bowen feels that the dragon polluted the boy with his evil
heart, and sets out to kill all dragons in order to avenge his (for lack
of a better term) "wonderful" teachings. Later, we also discover that the
dragon is condemned to "dragon hell" because he gave life to such a
tyrant (can't you tell I love saying "tyrant"?) Along the way the dragon
befriends Bowen after a fight ending in a mental, if not physical
stalemate; the young woman who wounded the prince initally wants revenge
on the prince for the death of her father, and then on everyone else in
the film for the same reason (even though she befriends Bowen); Bowen
changes his loyalties from the Dragon to himself to King Arthur
(Arthur??) multiple times; Bowen and the dragon (oh, by the way, did I
fail to mention the voice of the Dragon in Sean Connery?) lead a peasant
revolt (yes, again) agaist the prince; a poet/monk/scholar finds out he
can shoot anyone in any embarassing place on the body with an arrow; and
along the way we learn about the values of truth, loyalty, forgiveness, honor,
religion, parental upbrining, good hygine, and cooking.
Still with me? Good.
And this is exactly what pulls down DRAGONHEART, the story. The
writers tried to pack every shred of, well, everything into this movie.
There are enough plot points in this film to feul the rest of the writers
for three or four summers to come. The story is just so silly that we
tend to forget about it halfway through and just concentrate on watching
the Dragon, which is, of course, the point of this film.
As for the dragon, the attention to detail and the improvements
in CGI rendering (the same computer animation that brought us JURASSIC
PARK) really come through in this film for an eyeful of a dragon. One
scene with the dragon standing in the rain with water dripping off of
him is technically stunning. Just so, the film turns out just to be a
vehicle for the special effects and Sean Connery's humorous interpretaion
of the dragon. Connery makes the dragon the only really likeable (or
understandable) character in this film. Regardless of how bad the story
is, the dragon is fun to watch.
For this reason, I have to give DRAGONHEART a little better
rating than it deserves. No ground is broken here in the acting or in the
directing (by Rob Cohen), but as a vehicle for a visually stunning
dragon, this movie delivers. Of course, you could have made a film about
people dusting teapots interesting by inserting a well executed computer
generated dragon (interesting characters would do the same) Next
time, a coherent plot and a couple of characters are in order, and I'll
have mine Flambe'.
DRAGONHEART **1/2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
**** = Excellent. One of a kind. Must see.
*** = Entertaining. Worth the price of admission.
** = Fair. Nothing much special.
* = What were they thinking??
From rec.arts.sf.reviews Thu Jun 6 22:39:50 1996
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From: berardin@bc.cybernex.net (James Berardinelli)
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Subject: REVIEW: DRAGONHEART (1996)
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DRAGONHEART
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 5.0
Alternative Scale: ** out of ****
United States, 1996
U.S. Release Date: 5/31/96 (wide)
Running Length: 1:43
MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Violence, mature themes)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Cast: Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, Dina Meyer, Pete Postlewaite,
Julie Christie, voice of Sean Connery
Director: Rob Cohen
Producer: Raffaella De Laurentiis
Screenplay: Charles Edward Pogue
Cinematography: David Eggby
Music: Randy Edelman
U.S. Distributor: Universal Pictures
In the early summer sweepstakes, Warner Brothers has weighed in
with TWISTER, Paramount with MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, and now Universal with
DRAGONHEART, director Rob Cohen's swords-and-sorcery saga. No prizes
for guessing which is most likely to be the also-ran. DRAGONHEART,
which not only has the kiss-of-death of a De Laurentiis being listed in
the credits (Raffaella is the producer), is a remarkable example of how
not to fashion a solid adventure story. Crowds craving excitement will
be irritated by the numerous lulls; those hoping for something of
substance will feel cheated.
Why is it so difficult to make a good fantasy motion picture? It's
possible to count on one hand the number of passable efforts. Most
fantasy movies, including George Lucas' WILLOW, the CONAN twosome, and
last year's Arthurian FIRST KNIGHT, vary from mediocre to virtually
unwatchable. Fantasy is undoubtedly a rich and popular genre, but it
apparently doesn't translate effectively to the fast-paced, visual
medium of film. Even with ILM providing nearly-flawless special
effects, DRAGONHEART lacks a much-needed spark. It's obvious and
plodding, and only occasionally impressive.
One distinction this movie can claim is that it's almost certainly
the most unusual buddy movie of the year (KAZAAM not excepted). We're
not talking about two mismatched cops, self-destructive lovers, or
oddball losers. Instead, there's a beefy warrior-type and his new best
friend, Draco, who just happens to be a gargantuan, fire-breathing
lizard. You know, the kind J.R.R. Tolkien wrote about that are featured
prominently in the cult game DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS. In this case, the
scaly beast with the house-wide wing span and man-sized teeth not only
belches flames, but is quite talkative (not to mention philosophical) --
even if his voice does sound exactly like that of actor Sean Connery.
This isn't the first major screen appearance of a live-action
dragon. And, although the beast is a lot more impressive here than the
one featured in 1981's DRAGONSLAYER, not even the thrill of a dragon
attack can save this film. Part of the problem is that Draco, despite
looking imposing, is anything but that. With Connery lending his voice,
we immediately think of him as a helpful, friendly creature, and Draco's
affability makes it impossible for us to be in awe. In the end, he's
just Dennis Quaid's computer-generated sidekick.
Quaid, playing a knight wandering the earth in the late tenth
century, gives the film's most credible performance. He's believable as
the once-valorous warrior, Bowen, who, as the result of a series of
bitter disillusionments, has turned to mercenary means to earn a living
-- he'll kill any dragon for a bag of gold. Too bad that the character
is so flatly-written. The same gripe goes for his romantic interest, a
young peasant girl named Kara (Dina Meyer), who's trying to incite a
rebellion against the nobles. With her obvious, twentieth-century
American accent, Meyer makes Kara a living anachronism. Bowen's chief
nemesis is the evil king, Einon (David Thewlis), a former pupil.
Thewlis (NAKED) is an accomplished actor, but his unimposing villain
comes across as a pale imitation of Tim Roth's ROB ROY bad guy. Pete
Postlewaite (Oscar-nominated for IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER) portrays a
roving poet/monk who hooks up with Bowen, and Julie Christie has a small
role as Einon's long-suffering mother.
About the only thing rousing in DRAGONHEART is Randy Edelman's
bombastic score. While the dragon has a fair amount of screen time, the
spectacle soon wears off, and the script lacks the necessary vitality to
keep us riveted. DRAGONHEART boasts a few worthwhile moments, like the
image of a rearing Draco silhouetted against the setting sun or the
standoff between man and beast with Bowen inside the dragon's maw, but
there aren't enough of these.
In appearance, DRAGONHEART bears a resemblance to BRAVEHEART --
there are the same kind of dirty peasants, thatched cottages, and walled
castles. Unfortunately, the similarities don't extend to the battle
sequences. Scenes of Bowen and Einon crossing swords generate little or
no tension, and the clash of their respective armies isn't any better.
While BRAVEHEART kept us on the edge of our seats, there are times when
DRAGONHEART has us wishing we could crawl under them.
- James Berardinelli
e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net
ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
From rec.arts.sf.reviews Fri Jun 7 15:42:01 1996
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From: leigh@phoenix.net (Lucas Wolenczak)
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Subject: REVIEW: DRAGONHEART (1996)
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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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments may be sent to leigh@phoenix.net
Leigh - "Wolenczak"
http://www.phoenix.net/~leigh
phoenix.dal.net
From rec.arts.sf.reviews Fri Jun 7 15:42:12 1996
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Subject: REVIEW: DRAGONHEART (1996)
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DRAGONHEART
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1996 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: DRAGONHEART is an uneven high fantasy
with a few bad ideas but also some very majestic
scenes. Its major flaw is to build the dragon too
much around Sean Connery's looks and mannerisms and
to use topical humor that spoils much of the
fantasy atmosphere. DRAGONHEART seems aimed at a
younger set, but there are also enough very nice
ideas in the film and a sufficiently created world
to make this a film watchable by adults. Rating:
+2 (-4 to +4)
Some of my best friends do not understand why I am an admirer of
the film DRAGONSLAYER. I am not as a rule a reader of fantasy and when
I am culling my collection of books, the books that have dragons on the
covers seem to be among the first candidates to go. Dragons have been
almost as over-used in fantasy novels as vampire have been in horror
novels. Yet though I am not a fan of dragon stories, still I found
myself totally floored by DRAGONSLAYER for some of the plot turns, many
of the touches in the script, and especially for Vermithrax Pejorative,
the most magnificent dragon ever portrayed on the screen. It is
difficult to just put wings on a something that just looks like a
dinosaur or a serpent and expect that it will seem like something that
could fly. Yet it just takes one look at Vermithrax Pejorative to know
that she was meant to soar in the air and not walk on the ground. But
as much as I liked DRAGONSLAYER, I knew few people had my admiration
for that film. At least I thought they did not until I saw the
trailers for DRAGONHEART. They did not show a lot of the dragon, but
what I could see reminded me of DRAGONSLAYER and made it look like it
could almost be a sequel. Sadly, DRAGONHEART is not the follow-up film
I would have wanted, but it does have some moderately sophisticated
fantasy ideas and its dragon is a nice construction, if not as
aerodynamic as old Vermithrax Pejorative. In fact, one really doubts
that DRAGONHEART's dragon really would be able to fly.
In this film dragons are an old race that is dying out in large
part for having been killed off by humans. That seems particularly
short-sighted on the part of the humans since the dragons, we are told,
are mystical creatures who for some unexplained reason love humans and
want them to prosper and be happy. They seem to be perfectly happy to
forgive humans for wiping out their race. DRAGONHEART is the story of
the friendship between the last dragon left in the world (voiced by
Sean Connery) and the knight and dragonslayer Bowen (played by Dennis
Quaid), the man who killed the second-to-last dragon. Draco, as the
dragon is nicknamed--we are almost but not quite told his real name,
bears no animosity toward Bowen for being responsible for the death of
the last few of his species. Draco just wants Bowen to help him stand
up for humans. If this seems a little saccharine, well, this is no
DRAGONSLAYER. But I am getting ahead of myself. As the story opens
Bowen is the teacher of Einon (Lee Oakes as a boy, David Thewlis as a
man). Einon is the son of a powerful tyrant king, and he is killed in
a peasant uprising. Einon's mother, Aislinn (Julie Christie, in
entirely too much makeup for 984 A.D.), takes the dead boy to a local
dragon who performs a mystical operation somehow wedding the bodies of
the dragon and the boy. The operation is a success, but the boy is
almost immediately seduced by the dark side of his own power. Bowen is
angered at what the dragon has done to Einon and goes off in search of
dragons to slay. Twelve years later (or just exactly one millennium
ago) Einon has become a worse tyrant than his father and the
dragonslayer Bowen comes upon the dragon he will come to call Draco.
After a rocky start the two become fast friends.
The initial conceit of having a dragon not just sound like Sean
Connery, but also have the mannerisms and even look a bit like him is
one of the biggest mistakes in the making of this film. Certainly it
will add to the box-office appeal of the film, but it robs the dragon
of much of his mystical appeal and his credibility on the screen.
Granted, Connery is a better choice on which to base a dragon than,
say, Rodney Dangerfield. But fantasy works best when one can suspend
disbelief and put oneself into its world. The casting of Connery as
dragon is too much of a reminder that we cannot take all this
literally. Some of the humor really tests our suspension of disbelief.
There is a comic dig at President Clinton, there are at least two
crotch jokes, there is a joke stolen from the "Wizard of Id" comic
strip. But those are the bad touches. Much of the script by Charles
Edward Pogue is intriguing as the dragon becomes a major character in
the story. His code forces him to be an ally to some humans, notably
the down-trodden, some of whom are responsible for the killing off of
his species. And yet his closest ties are with his worst enemy. He is
not a monster, but more an erudite person. Perhaps he is more close in
behavior and attitudes to Chinese dragons than to the fearsome
creatures of European lore. Incidentally a look at the closing credits
indicates that much of the production was done in Eastern Europe,
particularly Slovakia, and that is a part of the world where dragon
lore is both popular and a local tradition. A traveler in Eastern
Europe quickly loses count of the number of artistic renditions seen of
St. George and the Dragon, and one rather suspects that the reason is
not because people have a fascination with St. George. The plot calls
upon a number of high-fantasy traditions and even has a short speech by
King Arthur voiced, if I am not mistaken, by an uncredited John
Gielgud.
Dennis Quaid is starting to show his age, but does passably well
as Bowen even if his accent is a bit uneven. Connery hams it up a
little as the dragon, but that is perhaps what is necessary to render
him so delightfully in to the form of the great beast. Pete
Postlethwaite give a rare, overdone performance as a comic relief man
of the cloth who fancies himself a poet. On the other hand David
Thewlis (of NAKED, BLACK BEAUTY, and RESTORATION) could have put a
little more oomph into his villain. Coincidentally, Postlethwaite and
Thewlis both had parts in the recent JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH.
Director Rob Cohen previously directed DRAGON: THE BRUCE LEE STORY, and
directed the upcoming DAYLIGHT which had a trailer at the showing of
DRAGONHEART.
Rather than a fantasy that would work well for all ages, this
turns out to be a juvenile, but one good enough that adults can enjoy
it--which is not quite the same thing. I rate it a +2 on the -4 to +4
scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@lucent.com
From rec.arts.sf.reviews Fri Jun 7 15:42:31 1996
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From: legeros@nando.net (Michael J. Legeros)
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Subject: REVIEW: DRAGONHEART (1996)
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DRAGONHEART
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1996 Michael John Legeros
(Universal)
Directed by Rob Cohen
Written by Charles Edward Pogue, from a story by Pogue and Patrick
Read Johnson
Cast Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, Peter Postlethwaite, Dina
Meyer, Julie Christie, voice of Sean Connery
MPAA Rating "PG-13"
Running Time 108 minutes
Reviewed General Cinemas at Pleasant Valley, NC (29MAY96)
==
An 18-foot-high, 43-foot-long dragon is the computer-generated co-
star of this strictly-by-the-numbers sword 'n' sorcery flick. As voiced
by Sean Connery, "Draco" is a surprisingly expressive creation who is
well-deserving of his 23 minutes of screen time. He walks, talks,
flies, fries, and even fakes his own death, all with the help of 96
computer-aided animators. Too bad that ILM (Industrial Light and Magic)
couldn't spare some special effects for DRAGONHEART's *human* co-stars.
A bearded black hole exists where Dennis Quaid should be. He's a
near-total loss as he growls glumly through his role of a disillusioned
knight. David Thewlis' evil king has a high Hiss Factor (HF), though
he's more of a mumbling oddity than anything else. Oh, and there's some
redhead in a '90's wig, who runs around either screaming or scowling,
depending upon if the particular scene has her playing the Woman in
Peril or the Put Upon Peasant.
The fringe flourishes include Pete Postlethwaite as a wandering
monk with literary ambitions, Julie Christie (!) as the good Queen
Mother, a band of mercenaries that appear dressed for ye olde
heavy-metal concert, and, believe or it not, the speaking spirit of King
Arthur. Bring out your dead! Unfortunately, when we add it all
together (Draco + Fringe Bits - Quaid - Thewlis), the sum total amounts
to zero. DRAGONHEART is, well, too much of too little. Director Rob
Cohen (DRAGON: THE BRUCE LEE STORY) has made a big, expensive movie
that, while ambitiously plotted, is both murky and predictable. And
overscored. And self-important. And the list goes on. (I must ask:
did screenwriter Charles Edward Pogue intend that *every* character be
stabbed, lanced, or sliced at least once? Keep that man away from the
knife drawer!) The last five minutes of this movie are the worst, with
some silly celestial nonsense that would be laughed out of any
planetarium light show, much less a summer movie. Save your money.
Grade: C-
--
Mike Legeros - Raleigh, NC
legeros@nando.net (h) - legeros@unx.sas.com (w)
Visit me in MOVIE HELL
From rec.arts.sf.reviews Fri Jun 14 00:20:46 1996
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From: Scott Renshaw
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Subject: REVIEW: DRAGONHEART (1996)
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DRAGONHEART
A film review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1996 Scott Renshaw
(Universal)
Starring: Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, Peter Postlethwaite, Dina Meyer,
Julie Christie, voice of Sean Connery.
Screenplay: Charles Edward Pogue, from a story by Pogue and Patrick Read
Johnson.
Producer: Rafaella DeLaurentiis.
Director: Rob Cohen.
Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
For my money, the best joke in DRAGONHEART is one which probably was
unintentional, and which works on a level entirely outside the world of
the film. It is a scene in which a 10th century knight named Bowen
(Dennis Quaid), an avowed dragon-slayer, confronts Draco, a
computer-generated dragon voiced by Sean Connery. A dozen years earlier,
Bowen watched as a dragon saved the life of his master, the young prince
Einon (Lee Oakes), then watched as Einon (played as an adult by David
Thewlis) became a ruthless tyrant. Convinced that Einon's malice was the
result of an enchantment placed by the dragon, Bowen makes it his mission
to kill the offending beast, even if he must kill them all, and now faces
the last dragon still living. The joke is that, once Draco speaks, Bowen
isn't instantly aware that this is the dragon he has been seeking for
those twelve years. Even after that long, you'd think Sean Connery's
voice would be recognizable.
Of course, that is exactly why Connery was chosen to give voice to
the wise, crafty, wrongly-accused Draco. It is one of the most
distinctive voices in film, a rumbling burr which can be commanding,
whimsical, regal or intimate at any given time, and it allows DRAGONHEART
to pull off an unexpected trick: you spend as much time listening to the
dragon as you do watching it. Draco is a marvelous creation by Industrial
Light and Magic, fluid and expressive, with a thoroughly unique look and
style of movement, and it would have been easy enough to let it be a
flashy showpiece. With Connery speaking through Draco's mouth, he
actually becomes a character.
For a big-budget summer fantasy, DRAGONHEART is really a film of
smaller charms like the winning characterization of Draco, like the goofy
monk/would-be troubador (Peter Postlethwaite) who takes it upon himself
to chronicle Bowen's exploits, like David Thewlis' snarling, reptilian
villain. But there is something ever so slightly askew in director Rob
Cohen's pacing which prevents DRAGONHEART from taking off into a level of
pure enjoyability. None of the relationships (Bowen and Draco, Bowen and
Einon, Bowen and a feisty damsel played by Dina Meyer) ever really click,
the battle scenes are serviceable but perfunctory, and there are moments
of Dark Ages-meets-New Age mysticism which are played with an almost
cloying straightness (particularly the dewy-eyes-heavenward finale which I
have seen in enough Spielberg and Spielberg-clone films to last me a
lifetime).
On one level, DRAGONHEART is a rather silly and simplistic fairy
tale, with a good knight, an evil king, a damsel in distress, swords and
sorcery. Yet there is an interesting twist to Charles Edward Pogue's
script, a redemption story involving Bowen's motivations for his
dragon-dispensing activities. Though originally driven by his feelings of
betrayal, that the dragon has violated a chivalric oath, Bowen has since
become little more than a mercenary-for-hire, and he doesn't even realize
that his attitude of righteous wrath has become a hypocrisy. That makes
Bowen a complicated hero for an action-fantasy; that also makes Dennis
Quaid all wrong. Quaid's sly grin has carried him far, but the reason it
hasn't carried him farther is that he's never convincing when he is
supposed to be in a bad mood -- the wrinkled-nosed grimace which passes
for Quaid's "angry face" always look like the put-on anger of someone who
is just about to burst into laughter. As a result, the rounded character
of Pogue's script is flattened on the screen, and ends up seeming
considerably less vibrant than his animated co-star.
For all its flaws, I was surprised how far DRAGONHEART went on the
strength of that one character. TOY STORY proved that an audience could
cheer for a character generated on a hard-drive, and Draco is such a
character. His plight in DRAGONHEART is probably the only one which
really connects, and it connects because he has both dignity and -- dare I
say it -- humanity. Without Sean Connery lending an air of nobility,
DRAGONHEART is yet another good-looking but empty summer spectacle; with
Connery, it is a bit more fun, a bit more involving, and a bit more
familiar.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 Connery roars: 6.
--
Scott Renshaw
Stanford University
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~srenshaw
From rec.arts.sf.reviews Thu Jun 20 11:14:46 1996
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From: rhodes_steve@tandem.com (Steve Rhodes)
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Subject: REVIEW: DRAGONHEART (1996)
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DRAGONHEART
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1996 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): **
DRAGONHEART is a live action sword-and-sorcery fable set in "AD
984." It features a large and fascinating dragon that is apparently
created with animatronics. The technical aspects of the show are the
best part. Watching the fluid movements of the dragon is amazing.
Notice especially how realistic his teeth are. Sad to say, that there
is not much else worthwhile in the picture. Don't get me wrong. This
is not a bad film; it is just a disappointing one. My son, on the
other hand, loved it.
The dragon's name is Draco and his voice is by Sean Connery.
Although I am a fan of Connery's, I thought his voice added little.
Dennis Quaid plays Bowen, who prides himself as being a "knight of old
code." He tries to teach the young King Einon (David Thewlis from
BLACK BEAUTY) to follow the code, but the king rebels and becomes a
tyrant.
Most of the show consists of Bowen first trying to kill all of the
dragons, and then getting in a league with Draco to scam the local
villagers. Many people are killed in the show. This varies from
realistic stabbings to a few very bloody scenes. Most of the blood is
at the beginning. I thought Jeffrey (age 7) was going to force us to
leave. He was so upset he could not look at the screen. He whispered
to me, "why do they have all of this blood?" Why indeed? This is a
kids' show and the realistic blood with the gaping wound had no place
in it. Other than to scare the wits out of its intended audience,
there is no reason for it. Yes, the film is rated PG-13 so we were
fully warned, but still it is not necessary and adds nothing to the
picture.
I must admit that not being a sword-and-sorcery fan, I had trouble
believing that a knight equipped only with a sword could kill dragons
that are two stories tall, that can fly, that have a tail that can
crush buildings in a single blow, that can shoot fire for hundreds of
yards and that have a jaw big enough to eat a man in a single bite.
Check your brain at the door.
Julie Christie, who was so wonderful as Lara in Doctor Zhivago and
unmemorable in everything since, is again wasted as the king's mother
Aislinn. Pete Postlethwaite gives a fun minor performance as the monk
Gilbert. Gilbert is always composing verse on the fly, and his dialog
is quite funny.
Actually my favorite line in the script by Charles Edward Pogue is
one of Draco's. When Bowen wants him to eat the beautiful maiden Kara
(Dina Meyer), he refuses. Bowen insists that Draco has done it before,
but in a take off on our president's "I didn't inhale" line, Draco
says, "I mainly chewed in self-defense. I didn't swallow." Draco is
also a philosopher. He tells Bowen, "when you squeeze the nobility,
you hurt the peasants."
The script and the direction (Rob Cohen) drags a lot. It gets way
too wordy at times. The majestic and sweeping music (Randy Edelman)
helps keep the show from hopeless bogging down. The cinematography
(David Eggby) is lush and the sets (Benjamin Fernandez) are visually
interesting. The costumes (Anna Shepherd), especially those of the
female dragon slayer, reminded me of caricatures of bad Wagnerian opera
costumes from the turn of the century. I half expected someone to
start singing The Ride of Valkyries.
The ending is well done. Notice the pupils in Bowen's eyes at the
end. They capture the magic of the show quite well.
DRAGONHEART runs 1:43. It is rated PG-13 for way too realistic
violence. There is no sex, nudity, or bad language. My son Jeffrey
says he loved the show, but that kids should be at least 6 to see it.
He liked it so much, he wants to see it again with some of his friends.
Once was once too many for me. I give it a mild thumbs down and
generously award it **.
______________________________________________________________________
**** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film.
*** = Excellent show. Look for it.
** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable.
* = Poor show. Don't waste your money.
0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: June 16, 1996
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Jul 15 13:30:29 1996
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From: BXBE64F@prodigy.com (Larry Mcgillicuddy)
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Subject: REVIEW: DRAGONHEART (1996)
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DRAGONHEART
A film review by Larry McGillicuddy
Copyright 1996 Larry McGillicuddy
*** (out of 4)
Directed by Rob Cohen
Starring Dennis Quaid, Sean Connery, Dina Meyer, Pete
Posthlewaite, Industrial Light and Magic.
Review- A movie named Eddie starring Whoopi Goldberg opened
on the same weekend as Dragonheart. I didn't like it. I felt
the movie took itself way too seriously. Well Dragonheart
succeeds where Eddie failed. This medieval story of knights
and dragons is hopelessly silly at times, but thats part of
the fun.
Quaid stars as a man who has taken up the proffesion of
dragonslayer after he feels he is betrayed by a dragon early
in the movie. He runs into the last dragon in existence, and
there is a genuinely amusing battle between the two which
results in a standoff where Quaid is in the dragons mouth,
but has his sword pointed at the dragons brain. Eventually,
they decide to call a truce, and they work out a deal. Since
he is the last dragon, he will pretend to die and Quaid will
be able to get paid for it.
Their scam works at first, until they come to a town without
any money. Instead the town sacrifices a girl to the dragon,
but of course, Draco is a nice droagon, so he won't eat
her.There is however a very amusing scene where Draco is
hitting on the young girl.
Of course, as you can probably tell by the plot, this is a
silly movie, but it does know when to take itself seriously
at the right times, unlike Eddie, which was serious all the
time. You could probably call this a medieval comedy,
because there are more laughs here than in Eddie and Spy
Hard combined. Dennis Quaid makes a fine hero. Pete
Posthlewaite provides some ghreat comedy as a monk who
journeys with them. Dina Meyer is appealing as the
sacrificed girl. But lets face it, the movie is really about
the dragon, and what an amazing creation he is. Connery's
voice and ILM team up to provide us with a truly magnificent
dragon. So, if you are going to see this movie for a strong
hard core medieval epic, you are going to the wrong movie.
If you are going because of the dragon, you will not be
dissapointed, and you will be provided with plenty of laughs
that smooth out the boring parts in the script.
From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jul 8 07:07:33 2003
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From: Dragan Antulov
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Subject: Retrospective: Dragonheart (1996)
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DRAGONHEART (1996)
A Film Review
Copyright Dragan Antulov 2003
All those who compare titles in American bookstores with the titles
in American cinema theatres are going to notice an interesting
phenomenon. Fantasy books are more popular than their science
fiction counterparts, while it is quite the opposite in Hollywood -
fantasy films are very rare compared with the multitude of science
fiction titles. On one hand, it is somewhat easy to explain that
phenomenon with financial reasons - while science fiction film might
require single man dressed in alien suit, strange worlds of European
mythical past put huge demand for exotic costumes and production
design. On the other hand, fantasy films are not likely to provide
escapist entertainment matched by fantasy books and their epic
scope, world-building and Byzantine plots that fill tens of thousands
of pages. Fantasy films, therefore, almost always looks like inferior to
their literary counterpars, and DRAGONHEART, 1996 spectacle
directed by Rob Cohen, is one of such examples.
The plot takes place in unnamed European country at the end of 10th
Century AD. Protagonist of the film is Bowen (played by Dennis
Quaid), knight that teaches ideals of chivalry young prince Einon
(played by Lee Oakes). Tutoring is interrupted by peasant revolt that
leaves Einon's father dead and young prince mortally wounded.
Boy's mother, Queen Aislinn (played by Julie Christie), is desperate
enough to seek help from the dragon Draco (voice by Sean Connery),
the protector of her ancient Celtic ancestors. Draco heals the boy by
giving him half of his heart. Boy grows up to become evil and
tyrannical King Einon (played by David Thewliss) and disgusted
Bowen blames the dragon for such transformation. Bowen decides to
track down and slay every dragon he could find. But meeting with
Draco, who happens to be the last of its kind, would create strange
alliance between the dragon and the dragonslayer. This alliance is
joined by Kara (played by Dina Meyer), peasant woman who wants
to lead another revolt against the tyrant.
The script of DRAGONHEART clearly shows all the difficulties
associated with creating credible or interesting fantasy world or
creating a good fantasy plot. Charles Edward Pogue's screenplay is
torn between the desire to have the texture of fantasy novels and the
filmmakers' demands for simplicity. The compromise is unfortunate
one - characters and their motivations aren't developed enough, and
some of characters are nothing more than cliches (including "comic
relief" played by Pete Posthlethwaite). However, Rob Cohen directs
this film with great confidence, aided with good Slovakian scenery,
impressive special effects and, last but not least, Sean Connery in one
of his more unusual incarnations (dragon that even took physical
mannerisms of a Scottish movie icon). There is enough action and
humour for audience to be entertained for most of movie's running
time. DRAGONHEART is not very good film, but despite all of its
shortcomings, it proves that fantasy and Hollywood entertainment
might go hand in hand.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
Review written on March 23rd 2003
Dragan Antulov a.k.a. Drax
http://film.purger.com - Filmske recenzije na hrvatskom/Movie Reviews in
Croatian
http://www.purger.com/users/drax/reviews.htm - Movie Reviews in English
http://www.ofcs.org - Online Film Critics Society
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X-RT-TitleID: 1071583
X-RT-AuthorID: 1307
X-RT-RatingText: 5/10