DragonHeart Reviews (original) (raw)
Summary The last dragon and a disillusioned dragonslaying Knight must cooperate to stop an evil King, who was given partial immortality.
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Summary The last dragon and a disillusioned dragonslaying Knight must cooperate to stop an evil King, who was given partial immortality.
Cohen and Pogue never get a firm grip on how they wish to play this movie. Myth or mirth? Terror or tease? Draco's fire-breathing aim is mercifully off the mark when buzz-bombing villages, but microwave-sharp when it comes to heating dinner. [31 May 1996, p.3]
Engaging fare: part Dungeons and Dragons, part buddy movie - in the style of The Good, the Bad and the Very Ugly - and, finally, a tale of redemption.
[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
This is the promising debut of then-producer Rob Cohen. The intention is as acceptable as possible in the swashbuckling fantasy genre; the best was the recreation of the dragon. To see a weekend, with the idea of killing two hours without pain.
The whole thing seems awfully familiar, not to say boring.
[Cohen] can't quite decide whether to play the picture for high camp or pure adventure or just plain belly laughs. Predictably, he blasts away in all directions at once and hits precious little. [31 May 1996]
Director Rob Cohen gets the most out of the buddy relationship between Bowen and Draco. Cohen also provides imaginative battle sequences, especially a pursuit through a forest. But the script, credited to Charles Edward Pogue from a story by Pogue and Patrick Read Johnson, sometimes veers into the obscure. [28 May 1996]
Dragonheart is all dragon, no heart. [31 May 1996, p.3E]
The dragon is a wimp. The knight is a geek. The king is a jerk. And, unless you're 12 or younger, the story is a bore. [31 May 1996, p.3E]
A good fantasy movie that misses the last pushes to become a classic. It is in the category of movies that nearly everybody likes but also nearly no one would put on his/her favorite movies list. For the set up: It is the story of the knight Bowen who is the teacher of prince Einon. He tries his best to teach him the virtues of chivalry as the boys father is a ruthless ruler at least if not even a tyrant. Both accompany the king on a punitive expedition to a local village. However the events here take some unexpected turns. There might be dragons like cartographers would say (Lame pun but I could not resist;-). This is the set up and I kept it spoiler free because more would destroy the twists. The following story is enjoyable. I like the characters, the humor and the twists. Some can be seen from far away as even the title of the movie can be considered a spoiler. It has some elements of a buddy road movie and uses a lot of fantasy tropes but mostly in a good way. The cast is the same as the movie. They deliver a good performance but also nothing outstanding. Dennis Quaid is great in his role as Bowen. Then we have Draco who is voiced by Sean Connery (and also modeled after him). A great performance but it goes more in the direction of great CGI and voice acting. Lee Oakeas and David Thewlis share the role as Einon. The former has only a short screentime and the later delivers a good performance. The rest of the cast is decent or good. The CGI effects were not only good but also convincing. They might not be Jurassic Park but aged well and have their own style. The sets were decent but not everything looked great as I remembered some minor missteps. The humor works mostly well and I would only complain that I would have liked a bit more. While I am at it the movie sometimes fails the balances between humor and seriousness (It is not an easy task as many other movies did this too). However it is not serious enough to ruin it. Overall this was a nice movie that is worthwhile. Sadly it does not reach the realm of better fantasy movies but is by no means a failure. It started a franchise and I think there are 4 movies now. I think I can recommend it but it will be forgotten after a while. I only remembered that this movie existed by accidentally finding on Metacritic.
Production Company Universal Pictures
Release Date May 31, 1996
Duration 1 h 43 m
Rating PG-13
Tagline You will believe.
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
Online Film & Television Association
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations