The Crown and the Dragon

I got to see an early release of this movie with friends. It was God awful.

Aside from the two positives (1) the scenery was quite lovely and, 2) the musical score was enjoyable), that's it...

The acting was abysmal; the story lame; the fight scenes a joke; the directing awful.

I can only guess that the people who gave it high enough ratings to get it to a 5.8 were those who worked on the production. This is not even a "B" grade quality movie.

This is a movie that should never have been made - why people invest money to make such trash is absolutely beyond me.

This is a movie where you say "move along, nothing to see here..."

Have you ever started reading a book, only to find that you simply can't put it down?

As a film, The Crown and the Dragon is no such animal. I started and stopped this thing over a three day period.

It's not a bad movie. But it's not a great one, either. The acting is decent. The scenery is lovely and this is reasonably well directed. This is a fantasy film and the genre is populated with both very good and very bad efforts. This one leans good but it won't win any awards.

This is the kind of project where the producers and director know that they're on a tight budget, they have to take a few shortcuts, and still get a working product out within those constraints. I give them credit.

But again, this is not the kind of film that is over before you know it. At times the pace drags and tempts you to take a break (I obliged). At other times it's compelling enough to make you want to see what's gonna happen next. If you're a fantasy fan, you're more likely than not to enjoy it.

I gave a 6 out of 10. Worth a box rental or a view on your Amazon or Netflix account. But must see? Meh...

It is rare to come across a sword and sorcery fantasy movie that actually impress and turns out to be good entertainment. "The Crown and the Dragon" is not one such movie, unfortunately.

The story is dragging on in an endless cycle that seems to take forever to get nowhere. And the pace of the story was ultimately what made me give up on the movie and find something else to watch.

The costumes and sets were actually quite good, and was the peak of the movie, which doesn't really forebode well for a movie meant to entertain. That being said, then I will also give the movie that the actors and actresses were actually doing a fair job with their given roles - they just had very, very little to work with.

As for the dragon, well it was alright, not super great, but it was alright for what it was intended to do. However, don't expect to be blown away or dazzled in any way from the CGI effects.

There are far better fantasy movies out there, but also far worse. "The Crown and the Dragon" is a slightly below average experience as far as sword and sorcery movies go. I am rating "The Crown and the Dragon" 4 out of 10 stars.

Fantasy films with a female lead (particularly one as beautiful as Amy De Bhrún) are rare, hence I was keen to view this offering about a young noblewoman fulfilling her destiny, which involves a potty-mouthed Aragorn hero, some bad soldiers and a dragon.

On the plus side, there is a plot, there are some fight scenes which are not bad, the acting is above average, Noblelady and Aragorn are likable characters and the dragon is rather well done.

However, ultimately, the film is brought down by what appears to be simple directorial disinterest. It lacks pace, continuity (the condition of her dress and the whereabouts of his sword), wholesale copying of scenes from Ivanhoe but on a much cheaper scale, and a rather abrupt ending.

To tell the truth, I had to re-watch this three times, because I kept falling asleep and it wasn't because I had had tiring days at the office.

Don't expect much and you won' be disappointed.

To say this movie was a disappointment would be an understatement. I feel BETRAYED.

The trailer and lack of an all-star cast warned me that "The Crown and the Dragon" was probably going to be a low-budget film, so I was not surprised or disappointed by the poor quality of the acting or the mediocre cinematic aspects of the film. The effects actually somewhat exceeded my expectations, which are pretty relaxed and forgiving for low budget movies. However, a small budget is no excuse for terrible writing. The story made little sense and the dialogues and narration were heavy handed. The directing was also mediocre.

The Crown and the Dragon's greatest fail, however, was the quality of its characters. This movie touts a female director/co-writer and a plot synopsis that gives the impression of a progressive storyline with a strong, inspiring female protagonist (rare in the fantasy genre):

official synopsis: " In a country cursed with a dragon, Elenn, an arrogant young noblewoman, accompanies her aunt on a mission to bring an ancient relic to the secret coronation of the rightful king of their people. When her aunt is murdered on the road by occupying enemy soldiers, Elenn hires a smuggler and criminal, Aedin, to escort her across the dangerous country so she can take her aunt's place at the coronation. But when Corvus, a rogue magister of the empire, employs a dark magic to retrieve the ancient relic for his own evil designs, Elenn must find the humility and strength within herself to fulfill her aunt's calling to free her people, and become a Paladin - the long foretold dragonslayer"

Elenn sounds like a hero, right? Wrong.

Without revealing too much, I will say that the "heroine" Elenn is far from an inspiring female figure. She's a damsel in distress trope who, despite supposedly being the protagonist of the film with purported powers, is reduced to a love interest/the object of men's affection... men who are the ones that ultimately drive the plot. The other few women of the film don't escape the filmmaker's internalized sexism, either.

In short, this film is a B movie that promises a breath of fresh air to the fantasy genre, but delivers little more than stale, hot wind. Thanks, Anne K. Black, for throwing women under the bus.