[Retro Review] Dragonheart(1996)

Dragonheart Was released on may 31st, 1996. It was directed by Rob Cohen, with a screenplay by Charles Edward Pogue. The film stars Dennis Quad, Sean Connery, David Thewlis, Dina Meyer, Pete Poslethwaite, and Jason Isaacs. The plot sees a knight of the old code named Bowen having to put aside his vendetta with dragons and team up with one to stop an evil king from oppressing the weak. The film grossed $115,000,000 worldwide on a $57,000,000 budget.


This movie was a pretty good time, I really enjoyed it. The CGI is about as good as you get for 1996 even if it hasn’t aged well. What I most enjoy about this movie is the chemistry between Bowen and Draco. Their banter is very entertaining and the way the butt heads in the film is really well done. Their eventual friendship is very satisfying and emotionally tense at points in the movie. The movie is actually really funny, a lot of the comedy is situational and is always set up and executed well.

The stuff I didn’t like in this movie is a lot of the bland writing for some characters, mainly the villain. He’s more annoying than threatening and while the bond between Bowen and King Einon was interesting the actual character of King Einon left a lot to be desired. The ending is also kind of abrupt, not a whole lot of time for catharsis and it simply just ends. Sure we get a voiceover, which vaguely tells us what happens but not much else.

This movie is a pretty fun fantasy flick. The interactions between it’s leads are entertaining and fun to watch. It’s less than an intimidating villain and lack of depth for other characters does drag it down a bit. The CGI i simpressive for the time and while it may not have aged the best, it’s undeniable how this pioneered the use of fully CGI characters in film from here on out.

Dragonheart and it’s sequels are now streaming on Netflix so you should go watch or rewatch them now.