Wyvern

As Sci-Fi Channel B-movies go, this is a good one. It is neatly paced and doesn't drag, and the characters, although clichéd, are well-played and likable. The basic premise is that a very small, remote town in Alaska is terrorized by the appearance of a wyvern (a non-fire-breathing dragon, for those who care).

Don S. Davis appears in one of his last roles as the Colonel, a machine-gun toting, beer-sipping retired military man whose warnings that there's something weird in the woods aren't believed until it's too late. Cowboy Hall of Fame character actor Barry Corbin also appears as Haas, a redneck who comes face to face with the title creature early on.

Nick Chinlund, as the truck-driving hero Jake, is adequately rugged and resourceful, but the real charmer here is Erin Karpluk as the gutsy waitress Claire. She is captivating, no-nonsense, and naturally pretty, and brings an otherwise mundane role to sparkling life.

"Wyvern" also makes many sly references to the TV show "Northern Exposure." Casting Elaine Miles ("Marilyn Whirlwind" in Northern Exposure) in the role of a sheriff's deputy is a sure tip-off. Ms. Miles remains laconically funny as ever. The presence of the character of a doctor who is from out of town is another tip of the hat.

"Wyvern" is definitely a B-movie, no doubt. However, it's much more tightly paced and entertaining than your usual Sci-Fi TV feature. The cast also brings a sense of realism and believability by their refusal to overact. The wyvern itself, although computer generated, is decently done, and its appearance is carefully timed for maximum impact. You could find worse ways to waste your time than this movie. And keep an eye on Erin Karpluk; given the right roles she could emerge as an actor to reckon with.

Really enjoyed this, it's one of SyFy channel's better efforts. The action is paced well, the characters are well-developed, and the acting is at a premium level.

It's a good late-night monster flick, with a dragon beast that attacks the residents of a small remote Alaskan town. The special effects are adequate in making what you see believable, and the director depicts the violence adequately by tempering the gore scenes. You see the violence, yet without the excessive blood and guts spraying around gratuitously. Also, because the actors make the characters natural and give them dimension, you care about them. So, when someone is lost, you feel that loss (in contrast to the paper cut-out screamers these movies usually have, and you root for the monster). The town's people are a nicely composed group of different types of people, with no clichéd personalities (for once). The film even gives the creature some depth: what it's doing, why, etc.

The final battle sequence is the stuff of good popcorn monster movie action. The weapon that's used might seem way out, but it's a lot of fun, an original idea, and the duel really shows somebody thought out how to do it effectively.

Despite a limited budget, this film is a good watch.

If you like this *type* of film, you can't help liking Wyvern. It's got all the required bits: mysterious, deadly creature; feisty heroine; brick-jawed hero; and an assortment of quirky characters to serve as monster-chow.

But where so many similar films miss the mark, Wyvern manages that perfect balance of characterization, storyline and gory thrills. It's all in the writing: the tightly-constrained situation feels real, even when it's clearly preposterous. And the people react in credible ways, the way *we* would probably react, under similarly unlikely circumstances. Several characters even manage to surprise us by rising far above the clichéd responses we're expecting.

True, this is clearly a low-budget effort, and the special effects are fairly tame by today's standards. But the CG creature is plenty real enough, especially the way it's shown in very believable small-town settings.

Wyvern isn't going to win over anyone looking for a light romantic comedy. But if your taste runs to gleefully gruesome survivalist adventure, you're in for a bone-chomping good time.

This flick is a clear six (6) as a general rating, and a 10 as far as movies made for the Sci Fi Channel go. It has a substantive cast including: a recognizable good guy (Nick Chinlund who often plays a detective); two really good old guys (Barry Corbin is an ace and the late Don Davis is well known as the general from the Stargate series); and two attractive young women (both Canadian I believe) including the very pretty Tinsel Korey who seems to be Native American. The CGI created monster is extremely well done. The plot has no spurious countdown timer to artificially bolster tension; no excessively stupid acts by the cast to increase it, letting the evil creature doing evil things create the necessary pulse pounding; heroic deeds by the protagonists; and a reasonably realistic terminal event. On the downside, I'm not sure that "the land of the midnight sun" is all that green and snow-free, and the solstice should come in the middle of the daylight period, not at the end as the script implies. However, this was really quite well done, and acceptably enjoyable as these things go.

My research shows, however, that the Wyvern is a wholly British beastie, and Corbin's character's description of it as Norse seems unnecessarily manufactured for the cinema.

Fair dragon-on-the-loose adventure, set in modern-day Alaska. A mythological Norwegian beast turns out to be very real as it attacks a small wilderness town. The beast itself is nothing special, a typical CGI creation that looks like a cross between a dragon and a winged canine. But the plot moves along briskly enough (with a wink and a nod to JAWS in the form of a town festival taking place while the monster is on the loose), and this low-budget TV movie is graced by the presence of not one but two veteran character actors, Barry Corbin and Don Davis. Corbin has been in many movies and co-starred in the wonderful TV series, NORTHERN EXPOSURE. Davis is perhaps best known for his role in the original STARGATE TV series. They give this slight monster movie some measure of gravitas.