DragonHeart (1996)
Remember how I said before this HoF that I like fantasy as a genre, but think most of the films are trash?
DragonHeart is just the kind of movie that's responsible for that opinion.
The scale of
DragonHeart reminds me of the Italian barbarian films of the 80s. We have a king whose kingdom consists of a handful of villages and a castle in the middle of nowhere. As far as I know, the movie is supposed to happen in England, which makes this nameless nation even sillier. The battles are pathetic, especially when compared to
Braveheart that had only a little bigger budget. B-movie execution, but without B-movie charm.
The story is complete nonsense; the dragon bounds himself to a young king he knows to be no good, the boy's mentor somehow thinks that the whiny brat is the second coming of Christ, and when the boy turns into a rotten king his former mentor kills all the dragons from the British Isles except the last one whom he befriends. Oh, and then we have the dragon heaven, that makes the extinction a bliss for these ancient reptiles (obviously every creature bows to the dominion of man).
DragonHeart offers a full menu of fantasy cliches, but unfortunately, it tastes like a post-meal vomit.
I wonder if the writers know Polish because the Geralt and Dandelion vibe is so strong with Bowen and Gilbert. Bowen is the only character with any moral ambiguity; everyone else is just good or bad (and Draco is like a puppy following Bowen's lead and seeking a martyr's death for humanity). Einon is naughty because that's how evil tyrants are, right? And obviously, no one ages a day during the 12-year skip. At least character writing is on par with everything else.
Draco looks good considering the age of the film, and there is some nice pyrotechnics as well. I can't think of much else positive to say.