Dragon (2006 film)
Encyclopedia
Dragon is a 2006 action
/fantasy
film created by the independent film
group The Asylum
.
Princess Alora and the two warriors are ambushed by a trio of bandits (Gareth Morholt, Naga, and Sogomo) who identify themselves as the Kensington Vassals, famous for having slain a dragon. Princess Alora promises the three land and title in exchange for their knowledge and assistance, to which the Vassals agree despite tension between Gareth, Lord Artemir, and Cador.
As the group's passage through the forest continues, they encounter an elf named Damara and her mistress Freyja, a mysterious necromancer. Freyja cryptically forewarns that not all of Alora's companions shall survive their trek, but one is destined to slay the dragon. Declaring that she shall render them aid, Freyja and Damara join the Princess as well. The necromancer easily takes measure of the group's character, noting the budding romance between Cador and Alora.
The group is taken by surprise when the dragon attacks them, and their attempts to fight the beast do little to injure it. Sogomo is trapped under a tree felled by the dragon during the fray and, horrified, the party can do nothing but watch as the dragon devours him.
Once the Princess and her band flee and regroup, Freyja takes Alora aside to divulge a new strategy for defeating the beast. The necromancer reveals that she was responsible for creating the dragon many years ago to fight the dark elves at the behest of Alora's father, the king. Unable to control the beast, however, Freyja did what little she could to confine it to the forest of Sidhe. Confiding that the dragon's death shall mean the necromancer too shall die, Freyja also gives Alora a wand made of a small tree branch to use against the dragon. The Princess bestows a knighthood upon Cador for his valor, grimly noting that there may not be another chance to do so.
The group decides to seek the dragon in its lair, and prepare to attack the sleeping beast only to be ambushed themselves by a band of dark elves. Naga continues to fight despite being shot with several arrows until she succumbs to the fatal wounds. The Princess and her accompaniment of warriors fend off the elves in time to turn their attention to the awoken dragon. Lord Artemir attempts a valiant charge only to be consumed in a gout of flame, perishing.
The wand given to Alora transforms into a spear, and the Princess pierces the dragon's heart. As the dragon dies, Freyja collapses and confides in her dying breath that Alora was her daughter. Reinforcements of dark elves arrive but concede victory and allegiance to the Princess as she brandishes the spear aloft in triumph.
Though the dragon is defeated and the war with the dark elves is brought to an end, the group of adventurers gathers for the bittersweet funeral of their fallen comrades. The king dies during Princess Alora's return journey, but she ascends to rule the kingdom with Sir Cador at her side.
Like many other films produced by The Asylum, Dragon has been dubbed a "mockbuster
" by critics, many drawing a parallel between the release of Dragon and the film adaptation of Eragon
.
The film has an average rating of 2.5/10 on IMDB due to mediocre acting, poor special effects quality, and awkward fight scenes.
The Asylum-centric movie review blog Committed praised the computer-generated effects used in Dragon, citing the film’s release constraints and stating “a bad story can be overlooked, sour performances made funny, so long as when the moment comes, the effects don’t disappoint. And these don’t.”
Christopher Armstead of Film Critics United gave Dragon a positive review, pointing out that the CGI was almost passable despite some rough spots. He described the film's fight sequences as “some of the worst staging I’d ever seen as it looked like the actors were simply trying not to get hurt as opposed to actually fighting each other.” Armstead stated that the film was enjoyable in comparison to others by The Asylum, “if you can stand the scores and scores and scores of tireless dialog.”
Eric “The Hitman” Strauss at Horrortalk qualified the film as being “a fun way to spend an afternoon,” and that “Dragon is a movie that relies on the kind of familiar fantasy stories that are the key to any good weekend D&D game.” He also noted that the budgetary constraints and production were not intended to be on par with a mainstream fantasy film, instead pointing out the appeal to any tabletop or card game fan who “will be able to relate to the characters and quest.”
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
/fantasy
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
film created by the independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
group The Asylum
The Asylum
The Asylum is an American film studio and distributor which focuses on producing low-budget, usually direct-to-video productions. The studio has produced titles that capitalize on productions by major studios; these titles have been dubbed "mockbusters" by the press.-History:The Asylum was founded...
.
Plot
The film takes place in the forest of Sidhe, following Princess Alora on her journey to Bagnor Brim to seek the aid of Lord Blackthorne against the dark elves waging war on humanity throughout the realm. Attacked by dark elves, the Princess is saved by the warriors Lord Artemir and Cador Bain. The two warriors insist that they accompany Princess Alora on her quest to act as her guardians and warn her of the dragon which dwells within the forest.Princess Alora and the two warriors are ambushed by a trio of bandits (Gareth Morholt, Naga, and Sogomo) who identify themselves as the Kensington Vassals, famous for having slain a dragon. Princess Alora promises the three land and title in exchange for their knowledge and assistance, to which the Vassals agree despite tension between Gareth, Lord Artemir, and Cador.
As the group's passage through the forest continues, they encounter an elf named Damara and her mistress Freyja, a mysterious necromancer. Freyja cryptically forewarns that not all of Alora's companions shall survive their trek, but one is destined to slay the dragon. Declaring that she shall render them aid, Freyja and Damara join the Princess as well. The necromancer easily takes measure of the group's character, noting the budding romance between Cador and Alora.
The group is taken by surprise when the dragon attacks them, and their attempts to fight the beast do little to injure it. Sogomo is trapped under a tree felled by the dragon during the fray and, horrified, the party can do nothing but watch as the dragon devours him.
Once the Princess and her band flee and regroup, Freyja takes Alora aside to divulge a new strategy for defeating the beast. The necromancer reveals that she was responsible for creating the dragon many years ago to fight the dark elves at the behest of Alora's father, the king. Unable to control the beast, however, Freyja did what little she could to confine it to the forest of Sidhe. Confiding that the dragon's death shall mean the necromancer too shall die, Freyja also gives Alora a wand made of a small tree branch to use against the dragon. The Princess bestows a knighthood upon Cador for his valor, grimly noting that there may not be another chance to do so.
The group decides to seek the dragon in its lair, and prepare to attack the sleeping beast only to be ambushed themselves by a band of dark elves. Naga continues to fight despite being shot with several arrows until she succumbs to the fatal wounds. The Princess and her accompaniment of warriors fend off the elves in time to turn their attention to the awoken dragon. Lord Artemir attempts a valiant charge only to be consumed in a gout of flame, perishing.
The wand given to Alora transforms into a spear, and the Princess pierces the dragon's heart. As the dragon dies, Freyja collapses and confides in her dying breath that Alora was her daughter. Reinforcements of dark elves arrive but concede victory and allegiance to the Princess as she brandishes the spear aloft in triumph.
Though the dragon is defeated and the war with the dark elves is brought to an end, the group of adventurers gathers for the bittersweet funeral of their fallen comrades. The king dies during Princess Alora's return journey, but she ascends to rule the kingdom with Sir Cador at her side.
Cast
- Amelia Jackson-Gray - Princess Alora Vanir
- Matthew Wolf - Sir Cador Bain
- Jon-Paul GatesJon-Paul GatesJon-Paul Gates is an actor who has starred in 26 feature films, predominantly playing the anatagonist. Was born in Greenford, Middlesex under the name of Jon Morrey...
- Lord Artemir - Jeff Denton - Gareth Morholt
- Rachel Haines - Naga
- Jason DeParis - Sogomo
- Jessica Bork - Damara
- Eliza SwensonEliza SwensonEliza Swenson is an American actress, film producer, musician, singer, and composer. She was born on July 28, 1983 in Quincy, California, and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Media and Sound Engineering from Brigham Young University in 2003...
- Freyja - Kurt Altschwager - Dark Elf Slynn
- Tyler Constable - Dark Elf Sulin
Release and Reception
Dragon was released direct to DVD on December 12th 2006.Like many other films produced by The Asylum, Dragon has been dubbed a "mockbuster
Mockbuster
A mockbuster is a film created with the apparent intention of piggy-backing on the publicity of a major film with a similar title or theme and are often made with a low budget. Often these films are created to be released direct-to-video at the same time as the mainstream film reaches theaters or...
" by critics, many drawing a parallel between the release of Dragon and the film adaptation of Eragon
Eragon (film)
Eragon is a 2006 fantasy-adventure film based on the novel of the same name by author Christopher Paolini. The cast includes Edward Speleers in the title role, Jeremy Irons, Garrett Hedlund, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, Djimon Hounsou, Alun Armstrong, Joss Stone, and the voice...
.
The film has an average rating of 2.5/10 on IMDB due to mediocre acting, poor special effects quality, and awkward fight scenes.
The Asylum-centric movie review blog Committed praised the computer-generated effects used in Dragon, citing the film’s release constraints and stating “a bad story can be overlooked, sour performances made funny, so long as when the moment comes, the effects don’t disappoint. And these don’t.”
Christopher Armstead of Film Critics United gave Dragon a positive review, pointing out that the CGI was almost passable despite some rough spots. He described the film's fight sequences as “some of the worst staging I’d ever seen as it looked like the actors were simply trying not to get hurt as opposed to actually fighting each other.” Armstead stated that the film was enjoyable in comparison to others by The Asylum, “if you can stand the scores and scores and scores of tireless dialog.”
Eric “The Hitman” Strauss at Horrortalk qualified the film as being “a fun way to spend an afternoon,” and that “Dragon is a movie that relies on the kind of familiar fantasy stories that are the key to any good weekend D&D game.” He also noted that the budgetary constraints and production were not intended to be on par with a mainstream fantasy film, instead pointing out the appeal to any tabletop or card game fan who “will be able to relate to the characters and quest.”
External links
- Dragon at The Asylum