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The good
Characters are distinct and the mythos that eventually emerges is very intriguing.
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The bad
Excessive action sequences early on before any story is revealed or characters are developed and it results in the feeling of being an observer of events and disconnected
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The ugly
Curse of the Dragon Slayer is a fantasy film produced by Mainstay Productions and set in a land where a secret organization seeks to revive Goth Azul, the Undead God, to spread chaos and destruction throughout the realm. The war between gods has been raging for some time with humans forging the Order, an organization set on fighting the forces of the Shadow everywhere while elves, dwarves and orcs forge their own alliances with different goals. It opens up with up Nemyt, an elf warrior, as she tracks an orc flying on his winged beast, and she shoots an arrow from a ballista knocking both the rider and beast out the sky. When she goes to the orc she discovers that he’s on the wanted list and still alive, and after an intense battle she finally defeats him. However the cost is great just as he warned her as she becomes infected with the curse mark from the orc, which is an even greater threat than any individual orc could pose. Meanwhile, Keltus, a member of the Order, receives his own warning when he confronts a dwarf suspected of working with the Shadow, and who calls Keltus the loyal lapdog of the Prophetess. He warns Keltus that the god of death will be here soon and a fight ensues. And this isn’t an empty threat as Kullimon, leader of a pack of orcs, would learn as he tries to appeal to the other orcs not as thieves or murderers but as warriors and hunters who come from a distinguished line of warriors. But his appeal is only accepted by some as another orc emerges saying it’s too late and that the pack belongs to him and the Shadow now, and Kullimon is left for dead when the orcs loyal to him are defeated by those loyal to the Shadow. With the war intensifying and a secret plan being set in motion, will the Shadow finally achieve complete victory or can this trio of unlikely heroes band together to put a stop to the revival of Goth Azul?
As one who has watched all the LOTR movies repeatedly, I was highly intrigued by Curse of the Dragon as it was an epic fantasy movie being compared to it in terms of containing similar elements. And what separates the great fantasy stories from others in the genre is not just its characters or the particular events that happen during the course of the story/movie but the creation of an engrossing world where the mind of the reader/viewer is so enthralled that the world still lives on long after the events taking place are over. So it’s advantageous for something to be given that the reader/viewer’s mind can start to build an attachment to a character, the world, or some kind of event sooner rather than later. The Curse of the Dragon opens up with text explaining that there was a war of gods taking place but it’s never shown either in the form of events or the aftermath of any battle as the first scene is a prolonged battle between Nemyt and the Orc Shaman. The action was really good, and I was impressed with the start because the excitement was undeniable despite not being introduced to the world where this was taking place. That would have been suffice in terms of a starting point with the transfer of the curse mark to Nemyt but then when Keltus is shown for the first time he gets caught up in a prolonged fight sequence, and I started to wonder if I missed a crucial plot point that would give some context to these fights. And unfortunately when Kullimon is introduced right after there’s another prolonged fight where he’s left for dead, and for the first time I felt action fatigued because there was no story to follow up to this point, and one’s knowledge of and attachment to the world this was set in was taken for granted.
When Nemyt and Keltus meet a story starts to develop when it’s discovered by the Order that she has the curse mark, which would eventually force her to become a shadow warrior, and instead of killing her she’s released under Keltus’s custody to search for an item. He informs her that a priestess can remove the mark but she has to fulfill this mission first in order to receive that blessing. The constant fighting lets up just a little bit or maybe the semblance of a story makes it more bearable especially when they come across Kullimon and eventually free him. The characters are definitely unique and the combination of the three allows this to remain the case with some interesting character development. A mysterious woman gave Keltus a message earlier, “a hero is known by his deeds but judged by his heart,” and the message is pertinent because it becomes apparent that Keltus is stoutly devoted to the Order but as a result cares nothing about people in comparison. Nemyt has a tough shell, and of course she’s influenced by the desire to be free of the curse mark, but her survival considering the destruction of her people is character defining, and the acting by Danielle Chuchran is convincing. And Kullimon, the surprisingly complex orc is easily the most developed character and shines many times when the other characters don’t. And as the characters make their way to undermine the Shadow’s plan, the world starts to finally open up, and it’s not just the beautiful scenery at times but a solid mythos emerges as the characters are put into various situations, and have to learn the definition of a true hero, and I couldn’t help but wish more of this was explored earlier because it was very interesting. It’s as if the movie underwent a transformation similar to the growth of Keltus and the others, and as a result even the action became more enjoyable.
The special effects are decent but it has to be understood that Curse of the Dragon Slayer is not a big summer budget movie so it has to be enjoyed for what it is, which is an independent movie that relies on the imagination of the viewer to compensate for some of the special effects. However the characters and the lore become interesting enough where even at the conclusion of it you can be left hoping the mythos of its world is explored one more time.
SUMMARY
The Curse of the Dragon Slayer is an entertaining fantasy film once it gets past its overload of fighting sequences early on and the mythos of the world it’s set in starts to take center stage. The characters are distinct with Kullimon being the most distinct character not just in this movie but in the genre considering orcs aren’t cast as heroes in the same manner. I do hope to see another story take place in this world so it can be explored more but some of that is undoubtedly due to what was lacking early on because it does become fascinating and raises some intriguing questions. So I recommend Curse of the Dragon Slayer if you’re willing to be patient with excessive fighting without a story, and this is coming from someone who loves action movies, because it is rewarding and will have you looking at the usual arrangements in the genre differently.
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Rating ( 6.75 )
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Total score 6.8
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