Review of Dragonslayer (1981) by Jy S — 08 Feb 2009
Dragonslayer is one medieval age dragon film that is better than it looks. It isn't a masterpiece, but it isn't a waste of a watch.The story is a decent one, with nothing really out of the ordinary.
An evil dragon must be slain. The pacing of this 105 minute picture is moderate, with most of the action appearing at the end. This is no surprise. One of the problems here is that there is a lot of time spent with the main characters, and yet there still seems to be not enough development for them.
The creature and special effects aren't too bad. There are times when they are superb (for its time) and there are times when they aren't. The dragon itself tends to stay partially hidden until the latter parts of the film, which is a little bit of a disappointment.
It's almost like the movie wants to save it all for the end, but it isn't necessary in this story.The team of Walt Disney and Paramount come together to produce this picture and this is where many are thrown off.
The rating is PG, but this is too generous. There is partial nudity and the violence is pretty darn bloody if I may say so. This is not a fun family Disney film.A younger Peter MacNicol and pretty Caitlin Clarke are OK at carrying this picture.
Ralph Richardson is the most impressive as Ulrich the magician.Many people will feel the need to pass this up and that is a shame because this isn't all that bad. Sci-fi/fantasy fans should give this a try.
This review of Dragonslayer (1981) was written by Jy S on 08 Feb 2009.
Dragonslayer has generally received positive reviews.
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