George und das Ei des Drachen

I had been looking forward to seeing this movie through weeks of advertising and I was not disappointed.

The story was well written, with several interesting twists. The movie is a mix between legend and farce and is very well done. It is fast paced with just the right mix of seriousness and playfulness.

James Purefoy is excellent. His voice, his looks, his charisma are everything a knightly hero should be. His acting is extraordinary and his comic timing was superior. I had enjoyed him in his small role in "A Knight's Tale" and wondered if the promise he showed in that movie would carry over into others. His acting surpassed my expectations. The other actors and actresses play their roles well, too. They made an unbelievable story believable... well, almost.

The direction was not heavy handed, maintaining the lighthearted spontaneity of the movie. Costumes were great, sets were lovely, script was fun.

All in all, this is a movie I would recommend to my friends.

I saw the world premiere of George and the Dragon at Cinenygma, Luxembourg International Film Festival. Despite problems encountered during the production and even more so during post-production, the film will now be released. After the opening minutes of "George", it should be clear to anybody that it is time to cast aside expectations of seeing LotR's little brother, the skateboarding monk reveals that this film does not take itself seriously at all or does it just emulate a certain elf surfing shields? The film thrives on the performances of its main cast and possesses a simply but entertaining plotline. The quirky humour that springs up every now and then reminds one of "Willow" and "Army of Darkness" but does not harm as much as entertain. 7/10

A brave knight goes on a quest to find a missing princess, who -how surprising- is very stubborn but also very beautiful. He finds himself helping her to protect the egg of a dragon, living in constant hesitation between destroying it and continuing to protect it. Throw in a greedy prince and a bunch of villains and you have a nice romantic and adventurous fairy tale.

This movie was nice to watch and enjoy, but just as easily forgotten. In terms of special effects, you cannot compare it to other dragon movies like Dragonheart or Reign of Fire. The storyline was however quite entertaining. A happy end tends to leave you behind with a smile no matter how bad the acting or how lousy the costumes. So I guess that's why I appreciated this movie in a weird kind of way.

I rented this one for some evening's mind pablum and my wife and I enjoyed it thoroughly. OK. It's not St. George and is full of anachronisms, goofs and puns and is more slapstick than sandals and slice 'em up. But, the cast is delightful and even the villains are having a good time. If you're familiar with the several versions of George and the Dragon, there are lots of good puns and carry-overs to amuse it but the amazing thing is it works. It doesn't lapse into stupidity or overdone, ham-bone theatrics. The pace is quick, regular and interest is maintained throughout the story. I plan to show it to my grandkids as it is a jolly romp through one of our grand old myths.

This is such a sweet little film - it's too bad that it is having such horrible distribution problems. I think lots of kids would enjoy it, and it's quite watchable for adults, too! Especially since James Purefoy is wonderful in it. After his performance in "Vanity Fair," a serious and heartbreaking dramatic role, it's nice to know that he is just as capable of making a funny, lighthearted film as well.

Everyone else is grand as well, except for Patrick Swayze, who just sort of walked through his role. Even the simple, scaled-down fairy tale type dialogue just sounded awful, falling out of his mouth like clumps of half-chewed food. Of course, the CGI dragons aren't exactly as slick as you'd like them to be in 2005, but the cinematography is beautiful, and the editing is fast and keeps the pace rolling along at a good clip.

Did I mention that James Purefoy is wonderful? And the outtakes at the end are great!