George and the Dragon (2004)

Simply A Masterpiece

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Great Film overall

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

George (James Purefoy) is returning home after the Crusade. He parts way with his Moorish friend Tarik (Michael Clarke Duncan) in France. Tarik encounters and beats legendary mercenary El Cabillo. Tarik becomes the new El Cabillo. George returns to his village to settle down. His father is an old comrade of King Edgaar (Simon Callow) and joins the quest to find his missing daughter Princess Lunna (Piper Perabo). Lunna is betrothed to the arrogant Garth (Patrick Swayze). Lunna was taken by a dragon who dies after laying an egg. She stays to guard the egg against the local Picts.This is a loosely reworked version of the medieval tale of Saint George and the Dragon. This is an odd unwieldy mix. It's violent but it's not good enough for any adults. The special effects and sets are lower quality. The action is not that good. I doubt kids would like this either. It turns jokey when George meets Lunna. It tries to be an action rom-com but it's tiresome.

This movie starts out great, and sucks you in. Most acting is good until Patrick Swayze (with his Texas Twang- everyone else sounds British-like even the Muslim) shows up, and proves that he can't act. You can live with that until the first fight scene where all they all fall to pieces. Why does Patrick Swayze fight baddies with an ax when he just stuck his sword into the ground 5 minutes ago.There's further misplacing of swords a few minutes later, and people knowing about other people they shouldn't know about. Other reviewers mentioned "Troubled Production" and it shows.At the end I just didn't even care about the fight scenes, sure, the CGI Dragon was weak, but the storyline was the biggest letdown.

A "What really happened" retelling of the tale of St. George and the dragon. It begins when the dutiful princess Lunna (the perky Piper Perabo), who agreed to marry a man she hates for the good of her father's kingdom, is abducted by a dragon. No one realizes that she wasn't abducted to be devoured, but to help care for the dragon's egg while she recovers from an injury!George(James Purefoy) returns from the crusades and agrees to rescue the princess in return for land. Accompanying him is Lunna's self-absorbed betrothed (Patrick Swayze) and a small boy who grew up on tales of noble knights and Dragon Slayers. George thinks to find Princess Lunna gentle and despairing, but instead she's sick of playing gentle princess and ready to defend her charge by any means necessary.This movie is refreshing in it's ability to poke fun at itself and the swashbuckling tales in general. Watch for the "secret origins" of the fork, skateboarding, and England's patron saint. Don't watch if you can't stomach a single anachronism.

I just watched this movie entitled as Dragon Sword (26 Aug 2006) on the SCI-FI channel. It had a lot of references to other movies in it... Star Wars, George of the Jungle, Back to the Future (skateboard scene in the beginning) It also had several well known actors in it that I wasn't expecting to see. Some of them could have tried a little harder making their roles more believable. The fight scenes were quite fun to watch, and it looked like they were having fun making them. I liked this movie, it reminded me a little of the comedy stylings in the Princess Bride. Not that it was anywhere near as good as the Princess Bride. It would be fun to watch with someone who had seen all the reference movies.