Welcome to the Galactic Theater, where we'll explore the works of master manipulators of light waves, examine the themes brought to play, and critique the final products of months of hard work.

This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the movie.

That said, on to the review!

In a world where chivalry is dying and the iron fist is the true power, there are still a few that follow the old ways of King Arthur and his noble Knights of the Round Table. A few? Try one. One man, Bowen (Dennis Quaid), still believes in the Old Code of honor and justice. He does his best to instill the Code in his pupil, Prince Einon, but is it too late for his young liege lord to learn a way of leadership other than that of his cruel and tyrannical father? The point nearly becomes moot when an accident nearly claims the prince's life, forcing his mother to call upon an ancient force to save her son. That force gives a portion of its heart to the wounded prince, under the condition that he (the prince) would be a good and just ruler.

Advance in time to a healthy prince who's revealed a taste for his father's ways. Disillusioned by his pupil's dark ways, Bowen turns renegade and starts on a vendetta to kill the power that he believes has poisoned the prince: namely, the dragon that shared its heart with Einon to restore his life. He swears to kill every dragon he encounters until he locates the "guilty" one. Little does he know that there are few dragons left in the world. A few? Let's try two this time. Two dragons remain, and after they are gone, there will be no dragons left. Bowen doesn't know this, naturally, and considering the circumstances he could care less.

But there are only two dragons left, and when Bowen slays the female, there is only one. After a long and tiresome battle, they finally call a truce and decide to enter into an elaborate scheme designed to fleece the villagers of their money: the dragon, Draco (Sean Connery), will "terrorize" villages, allowing Bowen to "kill" him for pay. However, the doings of the kingdom will not allow them to continue on in blissful denial of the situation with the prince. The true state of the land--the rebellious peasants and the tyrannical king--finally draws Bowen into a conflict with his former pupil, also drawing Draco to the king's attention. Draco, the dragon who shared his heart with a human.

Here we have a fantasy movie, and a very good one, I think. I enjoy reading about dragons as much as anything else, and having a dragon be a main character is a definite attraction for me. The special effects were stunning throughout the movie, especially the chancy flight through the trees that finally ground Draco and force him into direct combat with Bowen. I also enjoyed the occasional comic twists the producers and actors inserted into the film. The scene of Bowen removing the skeletal remnants of one of Draco's former meals was priceless.

The plot was itself reasonably plausible--remember, we're talking Hollywood and movies here--and the cast did an excellent job of making their characters believable and "real." Comic elements aside, I could feel the pain Bowen felt when he had to, ultimately, kill his former pupil by killing his friend and ally. I could feel the evil in Prince Einon, even from the beginning when he was supposedly heeding Bowen's advice. I could feel the malice in the prince when he boasted to Bowen how he was using him all along without listening to his praise of the Old Code. There were other scenes equally memorable for their emotion and effectiveness, but there are too many to discuss in depth.

I only have one complaint about the movie. Despite all the work that obviously went into creating Draco, the dragon moved more like a dog than anything else. I think I wanted a dragon more like the one in Dragonslayer, though you've got me if you ask me why. Perhaps its because I expected Draco to move more like a bat. If you'll recall the Peter MacNichol movie, the dragon has its claws on its wing (I can't remember if it had two limbs and two wings or four limbs and two wings) and moved along the way a bat does. Now that was an interesting mode of movement. Seeing Draco almost prancing along side Bowen's horse was a major disappointment.

All in all, though, I'd like to see more fantasy movies like this. I don't mean historical romances or stories simply set far back in the past. I'm talking about movies that involve magic and mystery, noble knights on crusades, mighty dragons flying overhead, and great and powerful wizards warring for mastery of the land. It's too bad there aren't any dragons in the world anymore...although that's only according to one story. I can hardly wait for the next fantasy movie involving dragons to rear its head.

You can purchase Dragonheart on videotape at just about any video store you go to. Just the cover graphic is enough reason to see the entire movie.

Interested in buying this video? You can! Just follow the link to order the VHS version or the DVD version. You can also visit the Stellar Video Store for other titles.

You are the th visitor to this page since October 16, 1998.

Back Home Sign Guestbook View Guestbook

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page