Friday, March 6, 2015

Fromage Fridays #19: Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse


The adventures of Dork Knight and the Ben Kingsley dragon.


As with “Scorpion King 4,” I am once more obligated to ask how we got to the point where a “Dragonheart 3” was necessary.

Like “Scorpion King 4,” “The Sorcerer’s Curse” is so far distanced from its previous installments that there’s no way it was riding on some kind of momentum. Unlike that series however, I question Universal’s logic in busting out a franchise so long in retirement that people born after its inaugural film could be legal adults. That’s not even factoring its previous sequel, nearing 15 years in age.

Unfortunately, “Dragonheart 3’s” most critical difference that separates it from “Scorpion King 4” is that, ironic or otherwise, it’s not nearly as fun to watch.

This is the admirable but sadly accurate result of a film crew that actually tried to take all of their garbage material and make legitimate gold out of it. Their efforts don’t necessarily fall on deaf ears but a direct to video prequel to a cult classic that was essentially a medieval fantasy buddy comedy starring Sean Connery as a dragon was not exactly destined for greatness.

It doesn’t quite help that said prequel opens up with a narrated setup regarding a war between the Celts and the Brits, having little to nothing to do with the actual plot of the film itself.

Julian Morris finds himself as a young squire named Gareth determined prove his worth as a knight by seeking out a mysterious comet and helping the oppressed Celts that lie beyond the wall in order to do something nobody actually cares about because let’s be honest, you’re only reading this or watching the movie itself because Ben Kingsley plays a dragon.

That dragon in question has a regal British accent and is named Drago, IwayI different from Sean Connery’s regal Scottish accented dragon named Draco. In all seriousness, though I joke about the film’s clearly watered down nature and problem with sequelitis, the chemistry between Morris and Kingsley is easily the sole reason to watch “The Sorcerer’s Curse.”

Similar to David Thewlis in the original film, Drago, in order to save Gareth’s life, has offered a portion of his heart to make him virtually immortal as long as the dragon lives. Because of this, the two share a bond that sets their connection apart from the relationships of the rest of the cast and their chemistry sells that bonds development wonderfully. I cared more about watching these 2 argue by hitting themselves in an effort to inflict pain on one another than I did about anything regarding his attempts to bribe his way into knighthood, befriend the oppressed populace, or romance of a foxy Irish redhead whose only real character trait is being a foxy Irish redhead. Not that there’s anything wrong with foxy Irish redheads.

I can’t exactly bring myself to crucify the film crew or actors for any of “Dragonheart 3’s” actual flaws. This script is so dry and dull that it’s carried only on the talent of its cast and direction, which could only do but so much.

For a direct to video release, the CGI on Drago is shockingly good. It’s not exactly winning academy awards but for a home market release, it never dips into being unconvincing within the context of the film. And once more, similarly to “Dragonfyre,” I do have to reward the film bonus points for sincerity. In a world of “Sharknadoes” and “Birdemics,” it’s nice to see somebody actually putting forth a bit of effort, whether it pays off or not.

Setting aside all notions of ironic enjoyment, “Dragonheart 3” would probably be best suited to kids with a budding interest in fantasy. For fun Friday B-flick viewing pleasure, its serviceable enough and full of qualities that are genuinely good, even if the product as a whole isn’t quite worth the full sum of its parts. Here’s to hoping for “Dragonheart 4.”

2 Shatners



Bottom Line: “Dragonheart 3” may have delivered on my low expectations but by the time it ended, it actually made me hope for better.

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