Director: Matthew Robbins
Starring: Peter MacNicol, Caitlin Clarke, Ralph Richardson
A young wizarding apprentice is sent to kill a dragon which has been devouring girls from a nearby kingdom.
I love fantasy adventure movies, but for some reason I just couldn’t get into ‘Dragonslayer’ – not until the third act, at least. In the beginning, I somehow found it difficult to get to know and follow the characters, and wasn’t until the second act that I started familiarizing myself with their motives and intentions.
I knew from the beginning the film was about a village being terrorized by a dragon, and young Valerian asking a powerful sorcerer, Ulrich, for help. Ulrich was probably the character I least understood, and some of his actions didn’t make much sense to me. The film felt like it only really got direction once the film’s true hero, Galen (Peter MacNicol) stepped forward – even if a bit immature at first.
Twice a year, King Casiodorus chooses young virgin girls via a lottery to be sacrificed to the dragon in order to keep the dragon happy, and their village safe. (Oh, those poor virgins! Best not to be one then and you’ll live!!). And so Galen begins his quest to slay the dragon, and win the hand of the girl he falls in love with – who happens to be a virgin…of course.
The film’s visual and practical effects are very good, and I thought the dragon effects were excellent. The third act was so entertaining that it redeemed the film and I ended up having a pretty good time watching ‘Dragonslayer’.
Although not a box office success, the film received positive reviews from critics, and was awarded Oscar nominations for Best Visual Effects and Best Original Score.
Would I watch it again? I don’t think so.
Paul's Movie Reviews 