Review of Dragonquest (2009) by Dale B — 20 Dec 2009

While I agree with the other reviewers who say this film has a clunky, cobbled together feel to it, I nevertheless found it entertaining in that cheesy way some films have of not quite totally succumbing to outright boredom or stupidity, even though there's very little in the way of plot to keep things totally on track.

The fight scenes have a homemade look to them that would be laughable in, say, a western, but somehow manage, in this woebegone fantasy, to suggest that even the usually well-trained mercenaries have fallen on hard times under the regime of evil that has befallen the land.

And, in comparison to bloated, drawn-out movies like adaptations of Harry Potter novels, this film fairly flies along in its breezy, unassuming approach to its ultimate battle between virtue and corruption.

Given how few characters of any substance there ARE in this film, it's a bit like THE WIZARD OF OZ, without a yellow brick road or an emerald city per se, but with all the hallmarks of a coming-of-age, "journey" movie.

In this case, the "Keeper" (or chosen one--think Luke Skywalker) must meet up with a veteran swordsman (think Obi Wan Kenobi and/or Yoda) who will teasingly release tidbits of information to keep the young man off balance as he learns more about himself and the challenges that will face him.

While this sort of thing HAS been done much better, it's also been done much worse! That's why I'm giving it slightly more than a 50% rating.