The Last Dragon

I noticed this DVD for sale at Wal-Mart but being impecunious at the time I passed it by. It haunted me so a few days later I went back and spent the not inconsiderable asking price. Prepared to be disappointed, I sat down to watch it. Utter glee followed. I had seen the previous Animal Planet shows on dinosaurs and was suitably impressed. The hard edge of "nature red in tooth and claw" had surprised me in the earlier productions - perhaps I was expecting "Bambi" - and this degree of reality was welcome. Now for "Dragons' World". Is anyone old enough to remember the first Christopher Reeve "Superman" movie? It's tagline was something like "You will believe a man can fly." After watching "Dragons' World" I can only paraphrase, "You will believe that dragons lived." Produced in the exact manner of its real-life predecessors, including the use of some scenes several times, the flashbacks, the astonishing CGI and a strangely familiar T. rex, the verisimilitude is perfect. Above all the dance and mating of the doomed mountain dragons is alone worth the price of admission. The nearly convincing zoological speculations anchor the whole production. From the beginning we know, as with the dinosaurs, that the dragons are doomed so no one should be surprised by the sadness and tragedy of the story. However, if you love palaeontology, legends and have even a hint of imagination, "Dragons' World" will prove a fine way to spend some time.

A skiing accident in Romania uncovers a series of ice caves. The police are called as bodies are found which look like they date back centuries but this discovery is nothing compared to what appears to be a large, comparatively intact beast preserved in the ice. News reaches the London museum about this discovery and it peaks the interest of one Dr Tanner – a man mocked by his peers for claiming that attack marks on a T-Rex skull could have come from a dragon. Tanner and his team investigate and find more than they could have ever expected; meanwhile the documentary shows us the history of the beast.

OK, lets get the pointless moaning out of the way – "it's not even real". Well, of course it isn't and god love anyone who thought it was. Of course the subject not being real is hardly a criticism given that 99% of the films in cinemas tend to be fictional and the genre of documentary style dramas is hardly something new. However what it does mean is that the documentary style relies very heavily on how interesting it is and also how engaging it is as it folds in with the drama part of the film. In this case the subject is nothing to do with fact or reality at all but yet the special effects in the "nature documentary" side of the film make it interesting enough.

It is all very "Walking With Dinosaurs" but it looks good and Ian Holm's delivery is a good choice for the style of thing that the film is aiming for. Unfortunately though, the "drama" side of the film is roundly poor. It focuses on Dr Tanner excitedly following the modern discovery of our dragon and discovering (rapidly) all manner of things from one corpse – right down to "proving" an entire family of dragon species or coming up with an extreme rating ritual from a few burns in the rock! The explanation of how the mythical figure worked and lived is pretty detailed but I found it impossible to forget that it was entirely made up! This is only part of the story though because whatever potential the theorising had is completely undercut by the delivery of the drama part.

The dialogue and acting is average at best, with Hilton miscast and unable to do anything with what he is given. Tanner's narration is also poor; the American accent doesn't help but it is still poor regardless. Hardy's direction clearly focuses on the effects rather than the overall product (as does Foley's script) and he can't help this part of it. This leaves the viewer with the only value being offered from the curio nature of seeing the dragons as if they were real and this was a documentary.

This was barely enough for me although I admit at times I was interested. The drama is terrible nonsense that is badly delivered in many aspects and it is only the novelty of seeing the dragon as a subject of a "Walking with Dinosaurs" nature programme that makes it engaging at all. Perfect for those that adore dragons and want to believe the myth, a very mixed bag for everyone else.

I was expecting a show about the mythological origins of dragons, as well as the observations of real animals or misperceptions of other natural phenomena that may have inspired the myths. Instead, I was presented with a proposed account of the evolution of dragons, as if they were real. The narrator did mention in passing that dragons didn't exist, with such clauses as "if dragons were real," and there may have been a disclaimer at the beginning, which I missed. However, the program gives the impression that dragons did exist at one time and that hikers in the Carpathians actually did discover bodies of dragons and scorched knights. Perhaps the producers weren't really trying to deceive, but the program does seem like a hoax in the making. In any case, whether it had been presented purely as a work of fiction or as alleged science, it didn't belong on Animal Planet. Animal Planet is supposed to be about real animals. The show Animal X tends to push the boundaries a little too much as well, particularly with its spooky narrator who tries to encourage viewers to lower their skepticism. The Sci-Fi Channel or The History Channel would have been a much better choice for broadcasting this show.

All that said, however, this was a very fascinating program. The production values were excellent, and the science behind dragon evolution appears sound. As a "what if" program it's excellent.

I rented this movie tonight out of curiosity. First I thought this would be some lousy action movie with even lousier effects (think Ice Planet, for example). But I was positively surprised to find out that this science fiction quasi-documentary was actually thoroughly enjoyable.

I am a fan of "Walking With Dinosaurs", and as a fantasy enthusiast, this documentary was right up my alley. Sure I know that dragons weren't real, but the theories provided seemed sound enough to me. And I have to admit, I was touched by the tragedy of the mountain dragons as well as awe-struck by the beauty of the dragons mating, taking the plunge and scorching the ground as they pull up.

As a "what if" documentary this was a 10/10. If somebody wants to complain that this isn't a "real" documentary, they should pay in mind that it was not planned as such. Dragon's World is a different and enjoyable document to see, as long as you don't take everything too seriously.

Besides, you never know...

As a Dragon lover I completely enjoyed this movie. It was very interesting from the moment it started until it ended. I KNOW it was only fiction, but it was made to look so real. The level of special effects were superb and very convincing. And why is it not possible that Dragons might not have existed ? Millions of years ago is such a long time ago. The movie made it seem all so possible that their existence was a reality. Anyone who loves Dragons will enjoy this movie and I highly recommend it. Patrick Stewart as the narrator was an excellent choice as well. He has such an authoritative voice and commands attention. I personally wish they would make more movies like this about Dragons. My only complaint is that they dealt only with the fire breathing race of Dragons and did not include some of the other races common amongst Dragons.