Dragon Storm

My first complaint... Why does a fairly competent actor like John Rhyes Davies (think Indiana Jones, Sliders and Lord of the Rings) need to be in a movie like 'Dragon Storm'? Does he really need the money that bad?

This is another movie where the adverts look deceptively mediocre, as I saw it on Sci-Fi. Unfortunately, I also saw that it was released on video as the box art makes it look 110% better than it actually is.

Another problem... Two kingdoms at war? It didn't seem like there was enough people (cast) to work at a sunglass kiosk at a discount mall. They obviously blew the 35 cent budget on the CGI, because they're decent enough.

The acting (what little there was) wasn't believable, nor where most of the forced accents, which seem to change periodically. All in all, another cow chip to toss on the pile of the Sci-Fi channels long list of B (really D) grade fodder.

It seems as though we're all pretty well agreed that this film was a real dud.Listless,a poor script,and boring.

Someone asked as to how a fine actor like John Rhys--Davies got mixed up with this.Well,how did Basil Rathbone get into "The Magic Sword?"How did Ben Kingsley end up in "BloodRayne?"(His foray in "Oliver Twist"is a real mess,too.)How did Sidney Poitier get into "The Long Ships?"

We all have some messes in our careers,and this was one for him.Either he owed somebody a favor;he had some obligations for a particular director and/or producer;he needed the cash-we all have that happening once in a while-;or he had a blank spot in his calendar,and wanted to keep his hand in.As the man said"You can't win them all."

This is one of the most badly written movies I've seen in a long time.

The movie is quit ridicules. The movie is about dragons from outer space(!) who are attacking a kingdom during the dark ages. A team gets assembled to defeat the 5 remaining dragons. But like that's not enough already, the movie is also about a conspiracy by the bad king to overthrow to the good king, though both kings seemed like bad ones to me to be honest.

The movie is quite laughable. It tries to be spectacular, funny and even epic. It tries so hard that it becomes ultimately laughable, because the movie itself is far from spectacular, funny and especially epic. The production values of the movie are far too low, though the movie certainly does not feature the wost special effects I've ever seen, especially considering that this is a made-for-TV-movie. That perhaps was the only thing that surprised me positively about the movie.

Otherwise the movie isn't too good looking. The sets are obvious ruins and the mass scenes are a disgrace. Launching a full scale attack on a kingdom with about 15, under equipped, men is a very laughable thing to watch, especially because throughout the movie the attack is presented as a great and serious threat to the kingdom.

The movie is filled with many unlikely characters. The main 'hero' is horrible looking, with an obvious fake wig. The rest of the dragon-slayer team consist out of the formulaic characters you would expect. None of them is really interesting or gets developed well enough in the movie. How did John Rhys-Davies ever got mixed up in this mess? Perhaps he wanted a small Lord of the Rings rehash?

The action is presented as if its the most spectacular things ever brought to the screen. The first explosion of the movie really made me crackup. A small wooden shed exploded in extreme slow-motion with a stunt person flying in slow motion away from the explosion. So incredibly over-the-top, I mean a it's a small woodshed! But yet the movie tries to make it look like a large, wooden, gunpowder filled ship is blowing up. The movie features far too many unneeded slow motion action sequences. I hate it when a movie uses bluntly slow motion as a tool to make the simple action look more spectacular, especially when it really isn't.

The movie is not just poorly written, it's also very poorly put together. The movie features some plain bad editing and musical score. I've you have a musical score like this one, you're probably better of not having a musical score at all! The movie further more also features some awkward humor. The kind that just isn't funny in a movie, though it all probably looked good and hilarious on paper. The movie also has some of the worst and most annoying sound effects I've heard in a long time. Lowest point of the movie its sound effects; the constant fake put over giggling of a couple of youngster who enter a dragon cave. Incredibly annoying and fake.

But no, it's not among the worst movies I've ever seen. The movie sill offers some good clean fun entertainment, even though the execution of it all is far from brilliant. The movie is very predictable and it tries very hard to be better than it really is. It makes the movie unintentionally laughable at times.

4/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

I watched this on television this morning. I hadn't really intended to, but when I saw that John Rhys-Davies was in it, I decided to give it a chance. I, too, at first wondered what he was doing in this movie. The dragons were immediately impressive, but the stunts during their first rampage in the opening scenes looked like they could have been pulled off by average high-school drama students. Guys getting their backs lit on fire, screaming, flapping their arms, and falling down. (This, by the way pretty much sums up the stunts in the rest of the movie, as well, and none of the people seem to have the sense to even roll in the snow once aflame.)

To anyone with at least a little of a discerning eye, these opening scenes are a bit of a red flag. Bad stunts usually make for bad movies. But, as I hadn't yet seen John Rhys-Davies, I kept watching. And I'm glad I did. All-in-all, it was an enjoyable film.

I think budget must have had a lot to do with the way this movie turned out. The dragons must have been expensive, and unless John Rhys-Davies was doing it as a favor to someone, I'm sure he wasn't cheap either. So, it seems, they had to skimp somewhere, and they apparently chose to do so with the stunts.

Yes, the acting is cheesy at times, but appropriately so, for such a tale. And, regarding John Rhys-Davies, he certainly brings a certain presence and dignity to all of his parts, but if you really take a look at his body of work, he hasn't exactly done Shakespeare all his life, either. I think, just as with Sean Connery, he improves any movie he graces with his presence, even the stinkers.

Ultimately, I think they did quite well with the resources available. And when you think about it, would the movie have been better with great stunts, but with lousy dragons?

So, if you like this sort of thing, it is well worth a watch. Just keep your sense of humor about you, and don't allow yourself to be put off by the opening scenes.

I have seen far worse and more time-wasting movies than Dragon Storm. It could have been much better but also much worse. I did think the dragons on the whole were well done, with good movement and design, and their battle was the highlight of the film. The costume and set design are also decent, not stunning as such but at least there is a fantasy-adventure element. John-Rhys Davies is a very enjoyable presence, hammy yet dignified. Dragon Storm definitely could have had some improvements though. The editing is rather choppy, luckily the rest of the production values weren't so bad(compared to other low-budget films I've seen recently) but if they were alongside with the editing the film would have been very cheap to look at. Sadly the camera work isn't much better either, with a lot of dizzying quick shots and edits that if you are not used to can make you a bit seasick. The story does have some exciting moments, mainly with the dragons, but a lot of it is rather dull with lots of things happening for no reason. Although the sets are not too bad the film is very sparsely populated, making it hard to believe that we are talking about two feuding kingdoms and excepting the dragons the rest of the effects are cheaply rendered, stunt actors doing the whole fire gag gets old fast. The dialogue is horrendously stilted, and apart from Davies the acting is wooden. Overall, not a movie I'd recommend but I have seen worse. I am just wondering whether SyFy are ever going to make an at least worthwhile dragon movie(even the best one is heavily flawed), but if they have in all honesty I haven't seen it. 4/10 Bethany Cox