Name: Dragonheart
Production: Universal Studios
Director: Rob Cohen
Theatrical Release Date: May 31, 1996
DVD Release Date: March 31, 1998
Genre: Action / Fantasy / Adventure
Rated: PG-13
Running time: 103 min.
Budget Estimate: $57 Million

Dragon Contents:

This rating only indicates the dragon contents and importance they play in the movie/game/episodes reviewed.

R a t i n g :

This rating indicates how good or how bad was the movie/game/episodes reviewed. A rating of 5 stars on 10 is considered as the average which mean it is not good but not bad either.

I can safely say that few visitor of this site haven't heard of the movie Dragonheart. It is probably one of the first movie featuring the king of fantasy beasts as a realistic and talking creature instead of its less convincing and older appearence on the silver screen. For this, we should thanks Jurassic Park who paved the way three year earlier.


Story line:
The movie was intended to have a much darker story but they apparently opted for something a little more light hearted. However, the storyline is a bit thin in some places.

The story began with Sir Bowen training the young prince Einon at swordplay when they are called to witness the King queeling a paysans uprising. What the king soon learn is that being in armor and having a sword won't do him much good if he wander too far from the troops that are supposed to protect him. Overwhelmed, he die in the battle. Unfortunately, prince Einon he was wounded in the battle by accident when he rushed into the batlle to help his father. Mortally wounded, Queen Aislinn request a dragon [Draco (Bowen couldn't pronounce his name so he named him after a group of star in the sky)] to help save her son. The dragon accept and give half of his heart to Einon who recovery and become king. With time it become apparent that Einon was following the same steps as his father as a brutal and merciless ruler. Bowen who have trained Einon in the Old Code and believing that the dragon magic has corrupted him, go to the dragon den and swear to have his revenge against him.

Many years later, Bowen who has become a dragonslayer for hire, stumble on Draco lair. After a battle that didn't go as expected, Draco points out to Bowen that by killing him, he would be unemployed and if Draco kill Bowen, he would have to wait for the next glory hungry knight to chase him. So Bowen and Draco team up in fake dragon slaying business for mutual profit; Draco would pretend to die and Bowen would collect the gold. However, Draco and Bowen soon realize that one way or another, they must put an end to the ruling of Prince Einon.


Images:
I already mentionned it earlier, but the computer special effects are excessively well done for the time and even today. Other than that the character have a believable medieval look.


Sound & Music
using the voice of Sean Connery for Draco is definitively a good choice and I haven't found a moment in the movie where the music was inapropriate. A moment worth mentionning is during the battle between Einon's soldiers and Bowen's improvised army, the music certainly helping to induce the right feeling into the viewers.


Acting
The dragon is very realistic and even as a computer generated effect, his action is probably the best of all the character in the movies. Sir Bowen play his role quite well as the rogue knight who has not completely forgotten his ideal while Einon fit right in the mould of the arrogant prince who do not care much about the people under him.