Dawn of the Dragonslayer

This is the first review I leave on IMDb, but I thought this movie deserved it. Not that it's better than any other I've seen, but because the current punctuation (around 3 stars) is undeserved. First of all, I believe this movie has been released pretty much straight away into DVD/Blueray. That tells you something - it is not a blockbuster, so don't expect it! I can only guess that people rating it very low were expecting to watch a big Hollywood production. Well, it's not, but it's so nice to know that movies can still be made without famous stars or big bucks. I started watching and thought "well, here's something to watch on a Sunday afternoon when there's nothing else". I was wrong. I have actually paid to go to the cinema and watch overrated movies that were much worse than this one. The acting is good, the main character - an almost unknown actor - delivers good quality acting. The storyline is good, and the special effects considering this is a low budget movie are great! The scenery is beautiful and I was expecting the dragon to be awful, but it was another little good surprise. Come on people, give it a chance, you'll enjoy it.

Live action movies with the word "dragon" in the title have a long history of being disappointing budget films. This is not one of the rare exceptions but for what it is, it's entertaining.

The scenery and sets are very well done. The dialogue is natural and the actors pull it off well. The costumes are pretty good too with a few minor issues. For example - when Kate is helping Will put on the livery it looks and sounds like she's using a snap rather than a button.

The plot is obvious and predictable but that is to be expected in a B-flick. Also expect the dragon to look unfinished. The shape and color of it look great but the texture is too cartoonish, the shadows are wrong, etc. and the actors' eye lines are a bit off in spots.

All in all it's definitely worth watching one time but I won't be putting it in my collection.

(First, I'm going to state that I am a well-educated person, with refined tastes. This is not meant to be perceived as a brag, but should rather help you trust me instead. Furthermore, I will let you know that -secondly- I created this account out of frustration caused by the other reviews. I just HAD to share my 2 cents with the rest of the world, in the hopes that -who knows?- perhaps I could save somebody 2 hours (or so) of his or her life. And last, but not least, I'm not alone in this opinion. So, here goes...)

I'm sorry, but it's more than obvious that my fellow reviewers and I have been watching two different movies altogether. Please, let me know whether there's another movie with the same title released within the same time period that I may actually enjoy. Otherwise this must be the ultimate proof that tastes are indeed, very different (which is kind of sad, since the other reviewers seem to be pretty clever people). Because, let me tell you, the one I watched can barely be called a movie whatsoever. In fact, what I've seen is this:

• a shallow script that left me with the impression that the writers had absolutely no idea about what they wanted to do with the story, where to move things, or how to tackle the action;

• computer animated graphics that would feel more at home in a B-rated video game (the "texture feel" of the dragon felt way different compared to the surrounding scenery - and a beautiful one that was, kudos to the guys that took care of that part, which is one of the reasons I gave this thing a grade above zero, another being that it seems they paid some effort in order to do this movie, too bad they couldn't pull it off eventually);

• terrible, terrible acting for the most part, except perhaps for the female roles (+1 to the final grade), dubbed by dubious fight motion choices and pre-high-school dialogue lines.

The general feeling, besides "Jees, who's going to give me all this time back?" was that I've already seen everything this movie (I keep calling it that out of respect for the people who really tried to make something of it, except that they failed by a long shot) had to offer, just WAY better. I hope that other people finally see it for what it really is, a failed effort and a general waste of time, otherwise I may start to think that there's something wrong with me and the people who share my opinion about this... movie, people whom I generally call at least smart.

For those interested in a fantasy epic akin to Lord of the Rings, with huge battles and action sequences, you may want to give this one a pass and stop reading here. If you don't mind a medieval romance film with a hint of fantasy and a dragon, then this might be for you.

The writing is good, and the sets and wardrobe are also well done. The filming locations in Ireland are breathtaking. The actors and actresses suit their roles, and the chemistry between the leads is fantastic. Their on-screen relationship blossoms naturally, without feeling forced.

Despite what some people on here may groan about with regard to the special effects, the dragon is actually quite good. It doesn't have that typical "SyFy Original" feel to it. But it doesn't have that Hollywood-budget finesse either.

You can tell this was a passion-film, with all persons involved working to make a quality film they could be proud to release with the budget and equipment they had to work with. The IMDb score does not reflect the true quality of Dawn of the Dragonslayer. My rating of 7/10 is based on this film alone, and not my feelings for it when compared to other films.

I have never seen people be more hard on a film! For it being an indie film this hits all the points I was looking for. I really enjoyed it, and my wife unexpectedly did so as well. I'm not offering excuses for them, but you have to compare Apples to Apples. One reviewer mentioned the classic "Dragonslayer" from the 80's, which was a really good movie - but the budgets were night and day differences. Dragonslayer had an $18mil. budget and that was in 81'. I've seen a ton of movies that were hard to watch and this was def. not one of them. This hit on all the places they needed to. Writing, acting, and the VFX for good. If you are a fantasy fan, allow yourself to get drawn in and you'll enjoy the film. If you are expecting Dragonslayer, you may not get what you wanted. I gives this a two thumbs up and looking forward to what else they bring in the future.