Dragonheart Review by Bobby LePire. Edited by Courtney McAllister.

 

Fantasy films are about as old as the moving image itself, with Georges Melies probably being the most well known director to take on the genre in those early days. Fantasy films kept being popular throughout the ages, especially in the 1950s and ‘60s, with cheap Italian Hercules movies and the like throughout those decades. Hell, some of the most popular and biggest box office films of all time are fantasy- “Star Wars” and “Avatar” are both science fantasy, while the “Harry Potter”, “Lord Of The Rings”, and “Pirates Of The Caribbean” franchises are all more traditional fantasy, just focusing on different aspects of it (coming of age story, save the world quest, and curses from magical beings, respectively). With big vista landscapes, loads of effects, easily definable heroic struggles, while having an excellent reason to defy the physics of the real world, the appeal is quite simple to understand. However, certain creatures frequently associated with fantasy in other genres proved to be kind of tricky to bring to life in a very believable manner. 1981’s “Dragonslayer” is a prime example of this- while an intermittently entertaining ninety minute diversion, and excellent puppetry for the baby dragons later in the movie, the main dragon, as big and imposing as it may be, is never that convincing, thus never all that threatening. “Jurassic Park” changed all that with its state-of-the-art blend of practical effects and CGI mix (that mostly still holds up today), and in its wake, a swath of heavily CGI’d big budget adventures were greenlit. The first mainstream, big budget fantasy epic that had a dragon every bit as convincing as its human characters was “Dragonheart”. Does the movie live up to its tagline, “You WIll Believe”, nearly two decades later? Is it still fun or has it been overshadowed by the epicness of Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth trilogies? Could this introductory paragraph be any longer and even more rambling?

 

The story goes a little something like this:

During a failed uprising Einon (Lee Oakes) is mortally wounded, and his father, the king, killed. In a desperate last ditch effort to save her son, Queen Aislinn (Julie Christie) and knight Bowen (Dennis Quaid), take the young prince to a dragon and beg for help. The unnamed dragon (voiced by Sean Connery) acquiesces, and gives the boy half of his own heart. Years later, a grown and power mad King Einon (David Thewlis) is even more tyrannical than his father, forcing wrongfully imprisoned folks to rebuild ancient ruins. Bowen blames the dragon on Einon’s corruption, and seeks out to kill every last one. He has almost done so, when he comes across a dragon that proves far more cunning than most dragons. They quickly form a bond, and Bowen dubs the dragon Draco, after a sacred constellation. Teaming up with a tough as nails villager Kara (Dina Meyer), and scribe/ priest Gilbert (Pete Postlethwaite), the four unite and train the villagers across the land, to lead another coup. Does Bowen find out Draco’s secret? Because of the magicness of Einon’s heart, can he even be stopped? How did Gilbert get so good with the bow ‘n arrow?

 

Director Rob Cohen, who has had a very lengthy career, is a bit of a journeyman, in terms of style. However, when combined with the right material, his lack of flair is nice, because it allows X element of the movie to shine through moreso- in “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story” it is Lee’s larger than life following, in “The Fast And The Furious” it is the car culture and the races, and here, it is the still rather amazing computer and special effects. Combine that with a solid, engaging script, with fun lines such as:

 

“The peasants, they’re revolting.”

“They have always been revolting. Now, they are rebelling.”

 

That is without a doubt, the line from this movie I quote most often; at least two or three times a month, maybe more. It is also one of the very first bits of dialogue in the movie and it is a great indication of the fun quality, which permeates the entire production, of Charles Edward Pogue’s script. Pogue includes a great amount of humor- some slapstick, some human/ dragon culture clash, but most from a very amusing Brother Gilbert. That’s not to say the dramatic elements aren’t present nor work, they are and do, like gangbusters! Bowen’s new oath to hunt down the dragon and destroy it is very passionate and convincing, Kara’s plea for Bowen’s help to start a new rebellion, and the ending, all give this movie a lot of gravity and impact.

 

Dennis Quaid plays the valiant then disillusioned aspects of his character quite well. His arc is solid, but it is the impressive way he plays against nothing so well that makes him so perfectly cast. I am not being mean or snarky when I say ‘nothing’, I mean- Draco is 95% CGI, and the way Quaid just leans on the dragon’s body, or converses so naturally with him allows the audience to buy into this world and creature so readily. Not to imply that Sir Sean Connery doesn’t do his part- that iconic accent is put to good use, and he breathes life, world weariness, fear, and exhilaration into an amazing voice performance. I can’t imagine it was easy, but that work paid off, as Draco is real, and that is very much thanks to Mr. Connery.

 

Pete Postlethwaite was one of the best character actors around, and he could be very dramatic (“Baz Luhrman’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet”), or terrifying and imposing (“The Town”), or just damned funny (this and “Rat”). He’s helped by genuinely funny lines (“That was good, that was good. What did I say? What did I say?”), with the wrong comedic timing or someone less instantly likable, his character could have been the Jar-Jar Binks of “Dragonheart”. That is not the case here, so yay! Dina Meyer, just a year before “Starship Troopers”, is fierce and fun as Kara, and despite her petite physique, she brings a physicality to the role that makes her badassness (chopping through a guy’s head with a hatchet “like pudding”) believable and fun to watch. David Thewlis steals every scene he is in as the crazy king. He’s quiet when maybe he should be loud and vice versa, and his way of stating threats such as, “I always said death should be a release”, is intimidating and haunting. Julie Christie as the Queen (mother to King Einon) is regal and brave, but she is a minor character, still, good though.

 

The costumes are quite detailed and realistic looking. The props, of which there are tons- homemade weapons and all- look great, and the cinematography is amazing. However, this is a CGI fest, and there is good reason to celebrate, as even all these years later, the CGI mostly holds up. There are some darker scenes in caves where it is clear that Draco is a bit blockier, clunkier, and not as detailed as when he is out in the open. Excluding those maybe five minutes (combined), the dragon still looks bloody outstanding- super detailed, as he walks side by side with Bowen, his color gradations on his scales, old scars, the pattern and shape of the individual scales themselves, his one broken horn, the weight of him walking- everything about Draco’s design, and level of detail carefully put into him still holds up today and looks jaw-droppingly awesome. Kit West and his special effects team have created a stellar looking beast, so much so that one never questions the authenticity of it next to the human actors/ actresses.

 

Randy Edelman’s score is hypnotic. The main theme is gorgeous, rousing, and just a tad whimsical; so, you know, it is the best possible theme imaginable for the movie! It never overpowers, but always enhances, and is always excellent. At the end, when the stars explode, the soft strings playing over that sequence highlight the feelings of sadness and awe exceptionally well. This is one of the best fantasy scores of all time!

 

After this movie’s theatrical release, my brother and I attempted to collect all the toys. Nineteen years on, and having no idea where those toys wound up, this movie still casts that same magical spell. With excellent acting, lush cinematography, a fantasy score that ranks with the classics, and CGI/ special effects that are still, to this day, wondrous, “Dragonheart” is a stunner, simple as that.