Summary:
A post apocalyptic action thriller set in a world where dragons have wiped out much of the human population.
My Thoughts:
This film has my name written all over it. Dragons; check. Post-apocalyptic; check. Ridiculous fantasy concept; check. I’m all about movies like this- a b-movie concept with a high budget, a star-studded cast, and effects that still look decent sixteen years after the original release. While I won’t defend this as a good movie, I will say that it is easily the best post-apocalyptic dragon-slayer film I’ve ever seen (though that category is rather small). While this movie’s premise was undoubtedly destined for poor reviews before script was ever transformed to film, I will say that it deserves better reviews than it got (it currently has a 39/100 on Metascore). Critics are always harsher on fantasy films, and sometime unjustly so. While the third act of this film sort of falls apart, the first two acts of this movie are actually really intense, and they have some great character and world building moments, as well as some really cool action set pieces. Perfect, this film is not; entertaining, it certainly is.
“Keep both eyes on the sky.”
When Quinn Abercromby (Christian Bale, “Vice”) was a boy he awakened a dragon. Years later, as an adult, he and a ragtag group of survivors hold out in the desolate ruins of an old castle, surviving on a set of rules that he’s come up with. One day, Denton Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey, “Interstellar”), a man with a team of dragon slayers, shows up and lays out a plan to go to London, and hopefully kill the one remaining male dragon.
So first and foremost, there are a lot of ironic/coincidental moments in this movie that don’t work at all for me, and some of them are incredibly important to the plot. I find it really stupid, for example that Quinn was the boy that awakened the dragon, and he’s also the one that goes to stop him in the end. It’s just too coincidental, and feels really ridiculous (though I am talking about a dragon movie). Another major plot point I have issues with is Denton’s positivity that there is only one male dragon in the entire world. So you’ve never seen a male; that just means they might be more rare- why is he positive that there’s only one. Why bother risking the lives of all of his men for a vague hunch? The third act of this movie also sort of devolves from a film that had real direction and ideas, to a movie that feels like a final boss battle for a video game. I also think the first scene, when Quinn awakens the dragon, is completely unnecessary and really cheesy, and it’s also one of the scenes that has aged most poorly.
I will defend the first two acts in this movie (aside from the opening scene), because there is actually a decent amount of smart fantasy world building. I love the fact that the script brings up that the dragon population exploded, killed off most of the human race, but then the dragons started to starve to death. It’s realistic (for a fantasy film) in its thought process. I also like all of the rules that Quinn and co come up with- the little chants and rules that they teach the kids, the way that the fortress is laid out, the way they handle dragon attacks with fire trucks. I even like some of the relationships with the side characters. Quinn and Creedy’s (Gerard Butler, “300”) relationship feels genuine, and it gives depth to the world. The film also has some really cool and original action set pieces- where else are you going to see a dragon/helicopter showdown? The first two acts have some pretty great visual effects too; the dragons look realistic and polished, even though the visuals are more than fifteen years old. The final act really suffers from some less-polished effects; there’s one shot in particular that shows London silhouetted against flames that looks really rough. The final fight scene is also a bit of a disappointment when compared to the action in the beginning; there’s less emotional connection, the stakes don’t seem as high, and overall the tension just doesn’t reach the levels it did earlier in the film.
Verdict:
This is sort of a guilty pleasure movie for me. It’s a movie I realize has some utterly ridiculous moments , but I can look past that because I like the concept, the action is cool, and it is a rather original concept. I really wish this movie had finished off with a better third act; if this film had stuck the landing I believe this film could’ve been the start of a franchise. As it is, this is a movie that is certainly a fun ride for an hour and forty minutes. If you’re a fan of ridiculous concept films with high budgets, good star power, and some really cool world building, then check this movie out. As I said at the beginning of this review; it’s not perfect by any means, but it’s certainly memorable and entertaining.
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