Dawn of the Dragonslayer (2011)

Let's be realistic.

Good start, but then it gets ruined

A Brilliant Conflict

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

You'd think that if you have an honest to gods dragon in your film you would have at least a little bit of excitement. You'd be wrong. Dawn of the Dragonslayer has a decent basic setup. Boy loses father to a dragon, goes questing, meets a girl, meets evil people (because it's never solely about the monster), prepares to meet the dragon, et cetera, et cetera. Clichéd, but workable.Once again it's the execution that ruins the film. First of all, they've actually used their budget somewhat decently. Sure the castle looks more ruins than something you'd actually live in, but they can be forgiven that little fact. And the dragon actually looks pretty good, given the budget limit. It's obviously CGI, but it has some neat design choices going for it.Unfortunately the actors are bland and/or horrible, the dialogues don't allow the characters to have any chemistry, the characters themselves are merely archetypes interacting with one another, the plot crawls forward with the pace of a snail, the ending resolution is the most predictable one and the various villains are not smarmy enough for me to care.Dawn of the Dragonslayer is not a bad film because it's offensive or anything. It's bad because it has no soul, no creative spark behind it. It's an empty retold husk of a tale with nothing new or original.

I know it's possible to make a good movie with a low budget--take "American Graffiti" for instance...which is why this movie is so disappointing. Forget the really poor SFX (which are really distracting). Where this film failed was in story and character development. I had a very hard time connecting with the main character, despite his tragic back story. If this movie had spent as much screen time developing the characters as it did on traveling and landscape shots, it would have done a lot better. I can live with low budgets and poor SFX--what I can't live with is shoddily-developed characters and dry, predictable plots. This movie's only saving grace is that it didn't resort to deus ex machina and that the main character earned the climax. Otherwise it would have not even been worth 1/10 stars.

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.

Let me start by saying this. I'm intelligent, but not super educated in film studies. If you love fantasy movies, enjoy a great story that will sweep you away, and give you a pleasurable relief from the stresses of life, this movie is for you.If you are bitter,look for the bad in movies instead of the good, don't like straightforward stories and don't like the fantasy genre at all, don't watch this movie, and don't put bad reviews for a movie in a genre you don't like anyways.Don't be a hater, if you watch this movie looking for enjoyment, you will enjoy it.