Wednesday, March 9, 2016

George and the Dragon (2004)

Director: Tom Reeve

Writers: Tom Reeve, Michael Burks

Composer: Gast Waltzing

Starring:  James Purefoy, Piper Perabo, Patrick Swayze, Michael Clarke Duncan, Bill Treacher, Jean-Pierre Castaldi, Rollo Weeks, Paul Freeman, Stefan Jurgens, Stefan Winert, Phil McKee, Caroline Carver, Joan Plowright, Val Kilmer

More info: IMDb

Tagline: George left England as a Knight and soldier. He Came home a Dragonslayer... and a Legend.

Plot: The first crusade to free the Holy Land has ended. A mass of weary knights, squires, soldiers of fortune and priests are making their way home across a Europe that has changed forever. George, a handsome English knight, unsettled by the horrendous bloodletting he witnessed in Palestine, desires to hang up his sword and settle down to a quiet, peaceful life. On returning to England, George heads north where he's heard the land is good and the population sparse and of a kindly King named Edgaar. He finds King Edgaar in a terrible state. His beautiful daughter, Lunna has recently disappeared. In return for a small plot of land, George agrees to search for Princess Lunna. With Edgaar's faithful servant, Elmendorf, George sets out. George discovers both the princess and the truth behind her strange disappearance. The quest now set before them ends in a love, a lie and a legend that has lasted a thousand years.



My rating: 5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

I can't imagine any of the actors taking on this project for the artistic merit, can you?  It's silly in so many ways.  I felt bad for Purefoy, really bad.  He's trying to make the cornball dialogue work but it's not easy.  Patrick Swayze is just awful.  Michael Clarke Duncan felt out of place and, I can't believe I'm saying this, Val Kilmer, for as brief as he's in the picture, is kind of fun.  The bad acting doesn't stop there...it's just getting started.  Piper Perabo was sub-par, too. Part of it could have been the writing but her character was painful to handle.  The music was cartoonish and silly which mimicked the on-screen antics.  It's low budget for sure but this wasn't a picture that was aimed at someone like me.  OK, well maybe if I were six years old.  Little kids would probably dig the fairy tale stuff but it wasn't sitting right with me.  The First Look DVD presents the film in anamorphic widescreen and the only extras on the disc are interviews with the principle cast (17 minutes) and trailer for this and three other films I've never heard of (THE SNURKS, anyone?).  And how about that awful song during the end credits?  Woof!





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