Released: February 2020
Director: Ivan Silvestrini
Run Time: 95 Minutes
Rated PG-13
Distributor: Universal 1440 Entertainment
Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
Cast:
Joseph Milson: Darius
Jack Kane: Lukas
Carolina Carlsson: The Snake
Tam Williams: The Scorpion
Richard Ashton: The Wolf
Ross O’Hennessy: The Bear
Helena Bonham Carter: Siveth
When I made that post about franchises that just don’t seem to die, there were a few franchises in there that were unexpected: Tremors, The Scorpion King, and Dragonheart. While these films certainly have an audience, I honestly didn’t expect that to be enough to warrant multiple entries, yet here we are: 6 Tremors films, with a 7th on the way, 5 Scorpion King films, and now 5 Dragonheart movies. Quite a world we live in, right? Honestly, Scorpion King and Tremors were franchises where sequels were not outside the realm of possibility. Dragonheart, though? The original film had a pretty definitive ending, so a sequel didn’t seem possible. For some reason, though, A New Beginning was released back in 2000. It was a movie that just doesn’t make sense. Given how much time had passed between the original and the second, having a dragon suddenly show up after the last living dragon was killed in the original film made no logical sense. The third, fourth and fifth films are all prequels to the original, so THAT makes sense. For this review, I’m taking a look at Dragonheart: Vengeance, the fifth entry into the Dragonheart franchise.
Dragonheart: Vengeance follows young Lukas as he witnesses his family being murdered by a group of raiders. Seeking revenge for his family’s death, he heads to the nearby castle to look for help. After encountering Darius, a local mercenary, Lukas is then pointed to a nearby forest to seek help from a dragon, Siveth. This particular dragon was banished from the kingdom because of an incident involving the king and she has been living in exile ever since. After hearing the boy’s story, Siveth, along with Darius, team up to help Lukas find justice. It’s as straight-forward a story as you can get in a fantasy film. It checks all the boxes that are required for a film like this. It’s not a terrible story and it does have a message about the dangers of vengeance, but the lack of subtlety is pretty front-and-center. Then again, you’re not going into a film like this for a life-changing experience. No, you’re going in it for a tale of good versus evil, dragons and epic battles. The plot is there to just move things along, and it does alright with what’s here. For a direct-to-video sequel, it’s not that bad, actually.
Let’s get the acting out of the way first. The acting here is pretty standard for a DTV film. There are a couple of standouts here, though. Joseph Milson plays Darius, the sell-sword who teams up with Lukas, and I have to say, he’s pretty fun to watch. I would have to say that the character of Darius is the Dragonheart-equivalent of Han Solo. While I wouldn’t say the character is a total anti-hero, he is a rogue with a heart of gold. That knows how to swing a sword. Jack Kane as Lukas? There are times when he’s convincing and there are times when he’s clearly over-playing it. He can handle himself pretty well, physically, but when it comes to the emotional aspect of the character, he falls kind of flat at times. The villains are pretty much your standard card-board cut-out villains. You have four main villains with a particular theme: The Snake, The Bear, The Wolf, and The Scorpion. Only The Snake and The Scorpion seem to pose a threat. The real star of the show, however, is Helena Bonham Carter as Siveth, a female, ice-breathing dragon. It’s a first for the series in more ways than one. In my opinion, she’s the best person to voice a dragon since Sean Connery in the original film. While Carter is known for playing really quirky characters and bizarre villains, she gives Siveth a noble and warm presence despite the fact that the character breathes ice. I wouldn’t be surprised if Carter modeled her performance after Connery’s, and that’s not a bad thing. She’s quick-witted with a biting sense of humor, but also gives the character a sense of grace that we haven’t seen since the original film. I absolutely loved what she did here.
Dragonheart: Vengeance is a pretty low-budget feature and you can definitely tell at times. However, a lot of the film was shot on location in Romania, and there is definitely some pretty stunning cinematography here. The CGI is not bad. I wouldn’t say that the CGI on the dragon was as good as the third film, but it’s a hell of a lot better than the second and fourth films, in my opinion. There’s just enough done right to make Helena Bonham Carter’s personality come through, that makes it interesting to watch. Other-wise, everything else is done practically. Epic battles? Not really. We get to see the aftermath of some, but the fight scenes that ARE there are done pretty well. There’s some decent sword choreography going on. The set and costume designs aren’t actually that bad, surprisingly. Unfortunately, the budget does show up in a bad way at times. Some of the writing is just….awful. Especially when it comes to the humans. It’s not as bad as The Room or anything, but there needed to be a few more re-writes here and there.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with Dragonheart: Vengeance. It’s not super-violent, so families can watch this one, but there are some violent moments here and there. I really like the chemistry between Darius, Lukas and Siveth, as those are really the standout performances here. Of the villains, I would have to say that The Snake is the standout. She is as vicious as she is beautiful. At the end of the day, I would argue that while Vengeance isn’t the greatest film in the world, it’s definitely a better sequel than A New Beginning and Battle for the Heartfire. Helena Bonham Carter’s Siveth makes for the best dragon since Sean Connery’s Draco in the original film. While the film definitely has its issues, and most of that is due to its budget, I would say Dragonheart: Vengeance is worth at least a rental.
My Final Recommendation: Dragons are awesome. Anybody who says otherwise is wrong. It’s a scientific fact. 8/10.