Paladin 2 : La Prophétie du Dragon

The stunts in this movie were horrible. It felt like the director gathered a bunch of drunks from the local pub and paid them to be in a movie. Any fight scene you find in this will look like the drunks were too inebriated in order to coordinate properly. The special effects appear as though they were made on a 15 year old computer running Windows ME operating system.

The acting (during dialog only) wasn't overly bad, but that is about all this movie had to offer. I seriously felt like I could make a better movie with a $100 camcorder and a couple of bored friends. The plot was weak and predictable. I can honestly say that the CIA should use this movie as a new form of torture. Do not waste taxpayers money on torture devices, just simply strap the terrorists to a chair and make them watch this movie on repeat until they talk.

This got a huge 2 from me only for the very few times I chuckled from the pseudo-witty dialog. I have never given a movie on IMDb a 2 before, but this one takes the cake. They should have named this movie the Yawn and the Flagon. Seriously, spend your money elsewhere. The director sure did.

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.

Yes, the CG work is lame. Yes, the acting is far from Oscar worthy. Yes, there are incredibly gross moments when the continuity goes out the window (Hero dumps heroine in creek. Dress gets muddy. Next scene or two, dress looks great. Next scene after that, dress looks muddy. Next scene after that... well, you get the idea.). Yes, the payoff is pretty WTF, and it ended feeling like there should have been one more scene added (the much ballyhooed coronation).

Despite all that, it has a certain goofy charm that I wont try to explain. The hero is cute — although he needs a bit more time at the gym — the heroine is cute — although her acting is as dense as a page from a small town phone book. And somehow they sorta/kinda make it all work. Don't ask me to explain how. They just do. Yes, yes, I know: great big huge monstrous gaps in the plot, characters that make zero sense because no one bothers to give them sufficient backstory (Does anyone know what the "glittering" was supposed to be?), and of course those magical self-cleaning costumes. But I watched it through to the end and felt like I got every penny of the five bucks I paid for it.

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...

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.