The Crown and the Dragon (2013)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Good movie but grossly overrated

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Fantasy movies are some of my absolute favorites. Unfortunately, they can be hard to find, especially if you want something quality. So whenever I'm looking for a fantasy movie to watch and I stumble on something at random, I keep my expectations pretty low. That's how I approached "The Crown and the Dragon," but I was pleasantly surprised. The production quality was unexpectedly high for a independent fantasy movie. The acting was pretty good and the two protagonists had believable chemistry. The plot followed the typical good-vs-evil, fate of the world, plus dragons! theme, as fantasy often does, but it's delivery felt original and fresh. Is it on the same level as the full-scale fantasy of Lord of the Rings? No. But it came together really well and I had a great time watching it. I would definitely watch it again and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fantasy fix.

Alright, this is my first review so bare with me. I picked up this movie at a Redbox machine having never heard of it and the summary kind of confusing, I obviously had to get it. This is what I personally thought of it.The graphics sucked, they did do their job though. When a dragon was needed, they had a dragon. So, for the low budget I'd say they were pretty decent graphics. Some actors were better than others. The two main leads did pretty well. So, the minor roles having some issues was okay. (They casted Kristen Stewart for the lead in Twilight, so, I will excuse minor characters.) The story had many plot holes. It left the viewer wanting more in both bad and good ways. But, through it all I kinda loved it. I don't know why. I don't really care all I know is that I would watch it again. Much like Rocky Horror Picture Show, somehow bad makes it good.

To say this movie was a disappointment would be an understatement. I feel BETRAYED. The trailer and lack of an all-star cast warned me that "The Crown and the Dragon" was probably going to be a low-budget film, so I was not surprised or disappointed by the poor quality of the acting or the mediocre cinematic aspects of the film. The effects actually somewhat exceeded my expectations, which are pretty relaxed and forgiving for low budget movies. However, a small budget is no excuse for terrible writing. The story made little sense and the dialogues and narration were heavy handed. The directing was also mediocre. The Crown and the Dragon's greatest fail, however, was the quality of its characters. This movie touts a female director/co-writer and a plot synopsis that gives the impression of a progressive storyline with a strong, inspiring female protagonist (rare in the fantasy genre):official synopsis: " In a country cursed with a dragon, Elenn, an arrogant young noblewoman, accompanies her aunt on a mission to bring an ancient relic to the secret coronation of the rightful king of their people. When her aunt is murdered on the road by occupying enemy soldiers, Elenn hires a smuggler and criminal, Aedin, to escort her across the dangerous country so she can take her aunt's place at the coronation. But when Corvus, a rogue magister of the empire, employs a dark magic to retrieve the ancient relic for his own evil designs, Elenn must find the humility and strength within herself to fulfill her aunt's calling to free her people, and become a Paladin - the long foretold dragonslayer"Elenn sounds like a hero, right? Wrong.Without revealing too much, I will say that the "heroine" Elenn is far from an inspiring female figure. She's a damsel in distress trope who, despite supposedly being the protagonist of the film with purported powers, is reduced to a love interest/the object of men's affection... men who are the ones that ultimately drive the plot. The other few women of the film don't escape the filmmaker's internalized sexism, either. In short, this film is a B movie that promises a breath of fresh air to the fantasy genre, but delivers little more than stale, hot wind. Thanks, Anne K. Black, for throwing women under the bus.

The stunts in this movie were horrible. It felt like the director gathered a bunch of drunks from the local pub and paid them to be in a movie. Any fight scene you find in this will look like the drunks were too inebriated in order to coordinate properly. The special effects appear as though they were made on a 15 year old computer running Windows ME operating system.The acting (during dialog only) wasn't overly bad, but that is about all this movie had to offer. I seriously felt like I could make a better movie with a $100 camcorder and a couple of bored friends. The plot was weak and predictable. I can honestly say that the CIA should use this movie as a new form of torture. Do not waste taxpayers money on torture devices, just simply strap the terrorists to a chair and make them watch this movie on repeat until they talk.This got a huge 2 from me only for the very few times I chuckled from the pseudo-witty dialog. I have never given a movie on IMDb a 2 before, but this one takes the cake. They should have named this movie the Yawn and the Flagon. Seriously, spend your money elsewhere. The director sure did.