Cast: Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, Sean Connery, Julie Christie, Pete Postlethwaite
Director: Rob Cohen
Screenplay: Patrick Read Johnson and Charles Edward Pogue
Running Time: approximately 100 minutes
Grade: C-
Overall: * 1/2 (out of 4)

DRAGONHEART is the hackneyed story of a Middle Ages kingdom ruled by a ruthless tyrant, and the struggle by the serfs to overthrow him. They are aided by a knight, just as in every other similar film ever made. The twist is that this time, there’s a dragon helping out. Certainly, the Dragon—and more importantly the special effects used in bringing him to life—are new, but otherwise, there really isn’t much to get excited about in this film. And even watching the dragon gets old after a while. That’s the thing about special effects: if there’s nothing else in the film but the effects, they begin to lose their ability to captivate and amaze.

The country has finally become so politically correct that you can’t even make dragons the bad guy anymore. Sean Connery is the voice of Draco, the last dragon on Earth. And he’s got a heart of gold—or at least part of one: he’s given a piece of his heart away, in the hopes that it will help humanity.

It’s the year 996 AD (for some reason, the makers of DRAGONHEART are precise about the date: God knows why), and the kingdom is ruled by a tyrant, King Einon (David Thewlis). Bowen (Dennis Quaid), who was the King’s teacher when he was a boy, can’t figure out why the King didn’t turn out better. He’s a Knight of the old school, and teams up with Draco to help the people free the kingdom. Why an American is involved in the struggles of this British kingdom is anyone’s guess. At least Quaid doesn’t attempt a British accent.

Other than watching and listening to Draco—Sean Connery is, as usual, excellent, especially since we can concentrate fully on is his lilting Scottish brogue—the only engaging part of the film is provided by a wandering poet/priest, Gilbert (Pete Postlethwaite). He is the only performer that really stands out. Quaid is somewhat annoying as the driven Knight, and Julie Christie as the King’s mother is nothing more than mediocre.

If they gave out Oscars for corny acting, David Thewlis would have a good shot. He is such a ridiculous villain, with an idiotic haircut, pasty skin and oversized nose, that the audience can never really hate him: we can only pity him. And when you can’t hate the villain in this type of film, then it has failed.

The special effects, though good, are not great enough to save the movie. Even at about an hour and forty minutes, DRAGONHEART dragged, and it seemed to take forever to get to the predictable conclusion. Bad acting, a boring screenplay, and an impotent villain far outweigh the neat dragon effects and Sean Connery’s voice. Skip this movie until it comes to cable, where you can catch some of the Dragon effects highlights without having to subject yourself to the rest of the film.