MovieChat Forums > George and the Dragon (2004) Discussion > for those who's seen this and disliked i...

for those who's seen this and disliked it, plz come in and share why.

posted 17 years ago by heatypetey
10 replies | jump to latest

First let me say that I understand there are ppl on this board that like this movie, my intention here is not to offend anyone, but simply i just want to point out what i didn't like about this movie and may it be useful for any of its potential viewers.

The cast was decent. one of the reason i actually chose to watch this movie because of James Purefoy. his performance in "A Knight's Tale" (2001) was the first of his that I saw and I liked it, and he continued to deliver. MC Duncan also put up a good performance, good as all his other ones anyway. swayze was not convincing enough, for me, as the guy who's only concern for the princess is so he can have a lot of power after he marries her. another board discussed that piper did a good job as the princess and i don't entirely agree. it wasn't bad, but it seemed to me like she was holding back, as if this was only a part-time job for her, and the character ofthe princess was, to me, somewhat irritating to watch.

The one thing i really dislike about this movie is the writing of the whole, story, characters, plot. it felt to me like it was written by a 17 years-old for the 13 year-olds. predictable events throughout the entire movie, or the unlikely events that just happens to happen.

<spoiler!!>

when he chased after Elmendorf at that first big fight it seemed like they were only 5, max. 10, minutes away from camp, but on the way back it seems to have taken forever! that don't make sense! then in the cave, how can a knight with 15 years of experience not be able to hear when a spoiled princess comes up behind her??! twice! and the princess' character is very inconstent! at some point she seems just like a little princess that needs protection all the time, then at the end she is seen taking on those mercenaries like she does it all the time! make up ur mind!! and wat is that guy garth thinking? the wedding gown he chose for his bride is chain mail armour? that's also another predictable foreshadowing that made me feel dumb for watching this. ok, i'll give credit for the twist on tarik, i was indeed fooled to think that it was him under that pile of rocks and i was about the criticise on the unrealisticness of the size of that mount, but that makes sense near the end. and i thought this movie was about him and the dragon? it's more like him and the princess with a dragon's egg; the title is also misleading. and how did wryn know where he is? even if he was following him, how was he able to keep up on foot while george was on his horse?! what was that fight in the woods all about? some random people living in the woods just decided to randomly attack some soldiers with weapons? and then why did everyone show up at the end? the king? his father? how did they know where to even look? it's like garth's discreet wedding location isn't so discreet at all!

and did anyone else catch the "george of the jungle" references? "george, watch out for that tree!", WTF?!!?! and near the end when he tried to jump down from the second floor by holding on to that piece of fabric that god knows where it came from, he greets the post with his face!

the graphics on the dragons were not very satisfactory for me! shrek came out in 2001 and it looked better than this. and where are the blood duruing the fight in the woods? or how about the sound of the axe puncturing the flesh? those were just thuds like an axe hitting a tree trunk with layers of cloths in between it and the axe!

there's also one editing mistake where the princess' nun cousin ripped off her habit and pulled out a shield to whack a mercenary with it, that cut was very poorly done...

</spoiler>

well that's wat i didn't like about this movie, it just feels like something a bunch of teenage friends would come up with in their parents' basement. i still wonder why those actors accpeted a role in such a weak screenplay. i guess i'm just not 13 years-old any more.

you like sports analigy? here it is: if movies are like balls, this movie in a "wiffle ball", weak and full of holes and don't go very far.

4/10 is the most i think i can give it. would not recommand to any hardcore movie enthusiasts.

"I trust everyone. It's the devil inside them I don't trust." - John Bridger

[–] madcrushonpurefoy 17 years ago

Yes, the overall quality of the movie was so so, compared to movies in that genre, such as A Knight's Tale, The Princess Bride, and others. I was so looking forward to seeing the movie, because of James Purefoy, who always delivers well no matter what role he takes. Another fine and most believable performance James, wish that I could say the same for some others.

[–] dogsoldier_spoon-1 17 years ago

I respect your opinion though I myself really liked the movie. I agree with you that the movie isn't really mature and that it's really more of a fairytale. That's one of the reasons why I liked it, it's not a real serious movie but just a fun family movie to watch. Sure it was far from perfect and it wasn't that popular (the fact that it ain't big budget does a lot to it either) but I thought it was a fun movie to watch.

x-men 4 script:
http://former.imdb.com/title/tt0376994/board/thread/69179793

[–] wereallmadhere9 17 years ago

I can understand why a person wouldn't like the movie because it was pretty mediocre as far as the writing ad the acting, but after watching it I think that was the whole idea. I think it was a spoof of movies like that, because during several scenes the content and even the mis-en-scene of the shots were reminiscent of other movies, like Star Wars and Jurassic Park and The Princess Bride. The casting was alright, I think Patrick Swayze was a good choice for the indecisive, power hungry knight. Because the actor typically gets associated with the cheesier movies (save for "Dirty Dancing"), I think it was a good choice. Also, I liked who they cast for George. The princess was annoying, but at least she could hold her own in a fight. At any rate, the movie was cheesy, but some movies like that aren't totally bad. I don't think the movie was to be taken seriously. Even so, as it was, to me, supposed to be jokingly silly and such, it still wasn't all that great. I didn't suffer through it, it could have been worse, but I wouldn't buy it or try to watch it again.

[–] Gewher 17 years ago

Hahahhaa, it was the best parody I've seen since Cry Baby. I loved every minute of it, the subtle irony, sarcasem and mocking to other films (in the same genre and out!) was hilarious. It had a few layers, for the little kids, they'd never see through the fairy tale, but when you realize it's not meant to be taken seriously, you just have to laugh. The cast was just incredible! Everytime I think of my patron saint now, I think of James Purefoy!

[–] elanor-3 13 years ago

I loved every minute of it, the subtle irony, sarcasem and mocking to other films (in the same genre and out!) was hilarious. It had a few layers, for the little kids, they'd never see through the fairy tale, but when you realize it's not meant to be taken seriously, you just have to laugh. The cast was just incredible!

I completely concur with this appraisal.

--- each brain develops its own preferences ---

[–] pselck 17 years ago

Man.. you didn't really get this movie did you. Addressing your spoiler...

Spoiler

He and the old guy decide to take the kid to the abby. They discuss it right there. They are not returning to Patrick Swayze...

Garth puts the princess in chain mail to sneak her out of the monastery.. that is what I got.

It shows the princess fighting off the picts (spelling?) in the beginning when they were entering into the dragons cave.. so why could she not fight in the end?

The picts (i think they were scottish) fought with the English... see Braveheart. Those are the guys attacking the soldiers and they were armed. It says he goes north to a king.. maybe they were very close to Scotland.

Garth (swayze) told his men to meet him at the castle.. They were late again.. but they brought the king. He made it sound like it was his big plan to get to the castle and marry the princess. I am assuming his main man was not all that bad so he brought the king and half the town followed. Now, I agree.. why was George's father their? Not sure.. he lived in a village way to the south.

I thought the nun thing was very funny and edited that way for humor. The whole priest on the skateboard should have tipped you off that this was a not so serious film.

The one problem I have with this is the whole "dread pirate roberts" thing from the Princess Bride.. when (forgot his name) fights val kilmer.. and beats him and he assumes his role.. too much like PB for me...
/Spoiler

I enjoyed the movie.. thought everyone did a good job acting and it had some good humor and good fight scenes.

[–] elanor-3 13 years ago

I enjoyed the movie.. thought everyone did a good job acting and it had some good humor and good fight scenes.

I completely agree to this statement and the preceding discussion of the 'spoiler' arguments.

The film is not meant to be seen as an earnest fantasy film like 'Eragon', more in the light of 'Dragonheart' which had a far higher budget I assume. It reminds me a bit of Monty Python spoofs, but with less grown-up sarcasm and more child-adapted humour. It's a fun film for the whole family, the director intended it so as he says in the DVD-extras.

My take on the appearance of George's father: the king was reminded of his comrade and friend by George's appearance and subsequently invited the father to his court. Wryn's father and some village people accompany George's father to the king's town.

Later princess Lunna's cousin alerts the king of the fact that Garth kidnapped his daughter and that George is on the way to the old castle to rescue the princess. Thus, the king and his town people as well as George's father and Wryn's father appear in the melee at the end .

Naturally, the time line of this film story is handled as flexible as a rubberband . However, in my opinion this film is far better than the Robin Hood serial with Richard Armitage as Guy of Gisborne. And that serial has quite a fan following.

All in all, despite your invitation, there seem not to be so many here in this thread who disliked the film .

--- each brain develops its own preferences ---

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