Fire breathing new ground in special effects back in 1993, DRAGONHEART is a fun, old fashioned tale with a great cast.
Sean Connery provides the perfect voice presence as Draco, one of the last dragons flying over European landscapes in 984 AD. Made only a couple years after "Jurassic Park", this was the first film to use CGI facial mapping. Connery's dialogue was recorded alongside captures of his facial expressions, creating a massive, realistic looking dragon who speaks like OO7 while soaring as the undisputed king of the sky.
Dennis Quaid (The Right Stuff, Innerspace, Wyatt Earp) is at his heroic best as Bowen, mentor to a young Prince Einon who finds himself King by the end of the prologue, but only after a life changing encounter with Draco. Julie Christie (Heaven Can Wait) is terrific as his mother, Queen Aislinn, who crafts a very clever bond that will forever connect the soon to be King and the fire breathing beast.
Einon (David Thewlis from "Wonder Woman") plays the now adult King Einon, leaving compassion behind on a tour of brute force and domination over his lands.
Bowen leaves the castle and takes on a full time job slaying dragons.
He meets singing scribe Gilbert along the way. This is the type of character who normally derails fantasy films for me, falling into bunch of predictable strolling through fields while someone plays a flute and rhyming tales of legend are told. Blech.
But actor Pete Postlethwaite (Inception, Amistad) brings mad fun to the part, creating a full-blooded holy man whose not afraid to show off his bad side to protect the people in his circle. He has an easy rapport with Quaid.
Bowen and Draco meet again for the first time in years and the story takes off in unexpected directions.
The special effects are excellent and still look great three decades later.
Dina Meyer (Starship Troopers) is beautiful and ballsy in her second big screen role as Kara, a peasant woman out to avenge her Father, who was slain by King Einon. She's terrific and a perfect foil for Quaid and Postlethwaite.
Jason Isaacs (The Patriot, Malfoy in the "Harry Potter" films) is fun & lethal as one of Einon's protectors.
Director Rob Cohen (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, The Fast and the Furious) finds a perfect tone, blending Camelot style battles with humor and heart.
While Cohen keeps things rolling at a fast pace, Connery and Quaid deliver big laughs and high adventure. Composer Randy Edelman (Last of the Mohicans) delivers his all-time best score. It's been sampled for countless trailers, the Oscars and even the Olympics in the decades since. Oddly enough, it's NOT the music used in the trailer below for this film. They use a blend of Enya and Hans Zimmer's score for "Backdraft" instead.
A great companion piece to 1981's "Dragonslayer" from Disney, DRAGONHEART is enjoyable to watch in a double feature with that film. The leap forward in special effects is jaw dropping, and they are both very fun popcorn movies with moments of drama & consequence.
"Dreams die hard and you hold them in your hands long after they've turned to dust."
If you haven't seen this one in a long time, it's worth revisiting.
It's celluloid proof that if you're going to have a giant dragon talk, Connery is the only man for the job.
DRAGONHEART blazes a very enjoyable B.
Comments