Is this a great movie? No. But I sure did have a good time watching it anyway.
The plot here is based on two tropes: one very, very old (dragon captures princess and knight comes to rescue her) and one fairly recent (brooding supernatural pretty boy struggles with his instincts so as not to hurt the girl he has fallen in love with). These are two interesting concepts to combine, but together in a PG movie they don't provide a lot of ground for really deep, thought-provoking filmmaking. And luckily, the director and crew understood that: the strength of this movie, I think, is that it doesn't try to be anything it's not and focuses on delivering the story beats you expect in the best way possible.
Every inch of the story is predictable. The backstory of the characters is barely explored, aside from the lore about dragons as a species. There's a bit of heavy-handed symbolism at times. But who cares? We came here to see a princess fall in love with a (literally) hot dragon boy, and that's what we're getting. The acting is good enough that the characters' emotional journey comes off as believable, in a fairy-tale way. The fantastic setting - an island made of dragon bones - and Slavic-folk-inspired costumes are beautiful. Worldbuilding details are woven into the dialogue and environmental storytelling in a way that feels rich and doesn't patronize the viewer too much (though there are also some exposition monologues). A lot of attention was paid to color and framing to create some really beautiful shots. The CGI doesn't feel to awkward or heavy-handed. And look at the cheekbones on this guy! Look at the abs! It's not a *good* movie exactly, but it is a *fun* movie for a certain type of person.
Were you the "dragon kid" at your elementary school? Does this premise sound intriguing to you? If so, you're in luck, because this movie is going to give you everything you want and nothing you don't want. If not, you should probably skip it.
The plot here is based on two tropes: one very, very old (dragon captures princess and knight comes to rescue her) and one fairly recent (brooding supernatural pretty boy struggles with his instincts so as not to hurt the girl he has fallen in love with). These are two interesting concepts to combine, but together in a PG movie they don't provide a lot of ground for really deep, thought-provoking filmmaking. And luckily, the director and crew understood that: the strength of this movie, I think, is that it doesn't try to be anything it's not and focuses on delivering the story beats you expect in the best way possible.
Every inch of the story is predictable. The backstory of the characters is barely explored, aside from the lore about dragons as a species. There's a bit of heavy-handed symbolism at times. But who cares? We came here to see a princess fall in love with a (literally) hot dragon boy, and that's what we're getting. The acting is good enough that the characters' emotional journey comes off as believable, in a fairy-tale way. The fantastic setting - an island made of dragon bones - and Slavic-folk-inspired costumes are beautiful. Worldbuilding details are woven into the dialogue and environmental storytelling in a way that feels rich and doesn't patronize the viewer too much (though there are also some exposition monologues). A lot of attention was paid to color and framing to create some really beautiful shots. The CGI doesn't feel to awkward or heavy-handed. And look at the cheekbones on this guy! Look at the abs! It's not a *good* movie exactly, but it is a *fun* movie for a certain type of person.
Were you the "dragon kid" at your elementary school? Does this premise sound intriguing to you? If so, you're in luck, because this movie is going to give you everything you want and nothing you don't want. If not, you should probably skip it.