Mi amigo el dragón

Liked this a lot. I was 4 when I first saw Pete's dragon way back in '83 or whatever back in England. I remember how much I loved the idea of Pete's dragon. I watched the original a few years back and realized that it was a fairly average musical with an animated dragon. But still!!!! I remember how great the story or idea of a personal dragon was. The modern spin is very sentimental, but never cheesy. Everything was great; from casting to special effects. I really enjoyed this movie. If you remember the old Pete's dragon from back when you were a skid, you'll love this movie. To be completely honest, there were several tear jerker moments. I guess they really nailed down the aspects of a child becoming suddenly orphaned. They also did a really good job if propelling the story so that it never sat idle. Robert Redford played the integral old timer part, but played it exceptionally well as to be expected. It is also relevant to mention that I typically do not review movies I have just seen immediately after I have seen them. This film made an exception for me.

The 1977 'Pete's Dragon' was a favourite as a child. As far as by today's standards, while not a great film and not as good through adult eyes (plus there are better live-action Disney films, especially the timeless 'Mary Poppins'), it's still well worth watching.

Despite having some really talented names on board, expectations were both of great interest but feeling dubious. It did have potential to be better than the 1977 film, and still stand very well on its own, or it could have been a lazy and pointless cash-grab. While it is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, it proved to be a better film than anticipated.

Not one of the best live-action Disney re-imaginings like 'Cinderella' and 'The Jungle Book' (much better than 'Maleficent' though), but still for a re-imagining 'Pete's Dragon' was a good one. It is let down by the final act, where the darker and more action-packed tone jars with what was happening before in the film and at this point the film starts to feel rushed. The villain just felt very shoehorned in and out of place, for the sake of "needing" an "obligatory" villain for conflict (that to me wasn't necessary), not helped by the hammy performance of Karl Urban that just feels out of kilter with the rest of the cast.

Where 'Pete's Dragon' especially soars is in the very charming and touching friendship chemistry between Pete and Elliot, essentially the heart of the film. Speaking of Elliot, he is a very lovingly crafted creature with not just beautiful details to him but also with a personality that wins one over in how endearing he is.

'Pete's Dragon', apart from some overly grim lighting in places, looks great visually, the splendid scenery being especially good complemented beautifully by cinematography that's atmospheric and picturesque. The music is lovingly whimsical and fits the film well when it could easily have not done.

Scripting serves its purpose well and doesn't hurt the atmosphere or the central friendship at all, weakening only with the villain and when the film gets darker. David Lowery directs very capably and balances the various elements well. Although it won't work, and hasn't worked, for some (with criticisms of it being thin narratively, slow-moving and either too sentimental or cold), for me the story (radically altered with a more sombre tone for example) was immensely charming and appreciated the calmer, straightforward, more gentle and deliberate nature of the story which allowed the friendship to resonate. Never found it mawkish and thought that there was enough emotion without it overshadowing things, though admittedly there is not much that is particularly new.

Urban aside, the acting is good. Oakes Fegley and Oona Laurence are very appealing, while Bryce Dallas Howard is luminous and compassionate and, while not being on screen for long, Robert Redford achieves the right balance of the grizzled and the sympathetic. But essentially it is Elliot and the friendship between him and Pete that carry the film, and, as they should, captivate most strongly.

In summary, while with its foibles 'Pete's Dragon' was a much more impressive re-imagining than expected after mixed expectations. 8/10 Bethany Cox

5 year old Pete is in a car accident that killed his parents. He is saved by a magical dragon named Elliot. Six years later, a crew of lumberjacks is closing in on their home. Pete is taken with Natalie. She's the young daughter of forest ranger Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) and lumber company owner Jack (Wes Bentley). Grace has been told many times about a dragon by her father Meacham (Robert Redford). Grace and Natalie find the young boy Pete in the woods and take him in. Meanwhile, Jack's brother Gavin (Karl Urban) goes hunting for the mysterious creature in the forest.

I like the story, the characters, and the dragon. I can't help but think that the movie could be much better. It could improve with less money and holding back on showing the dragon. There is a natural questioning of Elliot as a figment of Pete's imagination that is missing from the audience. By showing the dragon from the start, Elliot is never in doubt. Heck, the dragon is often invisible. It would be more logical for it to be almost entirely invisible and the audience can wonder whether it's real, imagined, or a projection of Pete's imagination. The reveal would be infinitely more powerful. I like Bryce and the kids. Karl Urban is a little too broad. Robert Redford is odd in his role. He's too big of a movie star. The role should go to an elderly character actor from the retirement home. I have no problem with the look of Elliot but it would be more compelling to reveal him much later in the movie.

Love, Just a one syllable four letter word. So simple yet so powerful. Hatred, a two syllable word, complex but powerful. Both the words are powerful enough in their ways. Both resides on us, but it's us, humans, who have to decide which side we will take, on which word we will act on! Animals are primitive, ferocious, vicious and wild, but it's ours, men's point of view. May be they think of us the vice-versa. We fail to see the beauty of them, beauty of this planet. It's because we look upon them with our greedy eyes and filthy souls. But what of a child, who looked in a different way, . He saw them kind, naive and innocent. He could see the goods in them because he acted on the first word, Love! The message was great. To talk about the direction, it's overall an average, sometimes down to the marks direction! The boy is a brilliant actor, with some help of a good director, he can deliver the goods.

This updated version wasn't quite what I was expecting, though surprisingly good. The dominant theme is friendship and family and they explore this through a rather subtle tension. Pete loves Elliot, but he also needs a family (which he finds in surrogate form through Bryce Dallas-Howard, her fiancé and his young daughter).

The threat feels shoehorned in, as Karl Urban's inexplicably vengeful logger decides to hunt down the dragon and do...well, he hasn't really thought that one through. It's a weak plot device that sells the story a little short, but is ultimately forgivable. I had a sizeable lump in my throat at several points in the film, and I'm not one for sentimentality. Director Lowery handles the emotion well, particularly through an inspired folksy soundtrack.

There are distinct shades of ET here, as a boy comes to terms with the impossibility of a critical friendship. Not a lot really happens in this movie, but what you get is well paced and thoughtful.

Well worth a watch.