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NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

MorganX-1 I stumbled across this on youtube, and being a bit of a dragon freak, I gave it a watch. Firstly, the dragons are fantastic and the Walking With Dinosaurs style documentary sections are beautifully done. It's just a shame that when it comes to the humans that the worst actor was given the most screen time! I have seen a thousand B-movie actors who could do a better job than Paul Hilton. In fact, just about every other actor in this film could have done a better job! He was like a private investigator out of the least classy B rated crime flick ever. For me, he honestly let the whole film down. I guess his script had a lot to answer for too. Surely someone must have said during the recording of Dr Tanner's dialogue and voice-overs "there is no way any self-respecting biologist would speak/act in this way". Every time he came on screen I cringed. That said, Ian Holm's Attenbourgh-esque narration of the dragon's evolutionary journey was fantastic and the special effects and dragon designs were marvellous. And yes, the theories put forward wouldn't stand up to any real scrutiny... but if you are watching a fictitious documentary about the evolution of dragons throughout the ages, I think you can afford a little suspension of disbelief... This would have received a 9 from me if it weren't for Dr Tanner's character.

bob the moo A skiing accident in Romania uncovers a series of ice caves. The police are called as bodies are found which look like they date back centuries but this discovery is nothing compared to what appears to be a large, comparatively intact beast preserved in the ice. News reaches the London museum about this discovery and it peaks the interest of one Dr Tanner – a man mocked by his peers for claiming that attack marks on a T-Rex skull could have come from a dragon. Tanner and his team investigate and find more than they could have ever expected; meanwhile the documentary shows us the history of the beast.OK, lets get the pointless moaning out of the way – "it's not even real". Well, of course it isn't and god love anyone who thought it was. Of course the subject not being real is hardly a criticism given that 99% of the films in cinemas tend to be fictional and the genre of documentary style dramas is hardly something new. However what it does mean is that the documentary style relies very heavily on how interesting it is and also how engaging it is as it folds in with the drama part of the film. In this case the subject is nothing to do with fact or reality at all but yet the special effects in the "nature documentary" side of the film make it interesting enough.It is all very "Walking With Dinosaurs" but it looks good and Ian Holm's delivery is a good choice for the style of thing that the film is aiming for. Unfortunately though, the "drama" side of the film is roundly poor. It focuses on Dr Tanner excitedly following the modern discovery of our dragon and discovering (rapidly) all manner of things from one corpse – right down to "proving" an entire family of dragon species or coming up with an extreme rating ritual from a few burns in the rock! The explanation of how the mythical figure worked and lived is pretty detailed but I found it impossible to forget that it was entirely made up! This is only part of the story though because whatever potential the theorising had is completely undercut by the delivery of the drama part.The dialogue and acting is average at best, with Hilton miscast and unable to do anything with what he is given. Tanner's narration is also poor; the American accent doesn't help but it is still poor regardless. Hardy's direction clearly focuses on the effects rather than the overall product (as does Foley's script) and he can't help this part of it. This leaves the viewer with the only value being offered from the curio nature of seeing the dragons as if they were real and this was a documentary.This was barely enough for me although I admit at times I was interested. The drama is terrible nonsense that is badly delivered in many aspects and it is only the novelty of seeing the dragon as a subject of a "Walking with Dinosaurs" nature programme that makes it engaging at all. Perfect for those that adore dragons and want to believe the myth, a very mixed bag for everyone else.

DutchJohn This one, another Documentary/movie combination, gives us a theory about the 'what if'. If dragon's were to be described from all over the world, and they had very distinct similarities in the ancient inscriptions and images, then 'what if' they actually existed. This movie combines the fictional find of a dragon's carcass and the slow unveiling of its features by a group of scientists, and an actual animation show going along the path of many dinosaur shows shown before on the documentary channel.Some critics bash this one into the ground for being so unbelievable. Its pure fiction thrown into some actual believable scientific explanations. The scientists describe every great aspect and ability of the dragon's that make them unreal and impossible to exist. The excuse made up for breathing fire is not something a scientist, or just a highly educated scholar, would find credible enough to exist, but it does not turn you into someone hating the show from that moment that the actor drew his conclusion. Evolutionary there really isn't anything credible, but so what? One must understand the very essence of evolution and such to really bring all the shown theories down. And given the scientific level of most discovery/animal planet or NGC programs, these channels surely do not aim for scientists as their main goal. Plus the fact that it is compelled into a film there is nothing you should complain about.The animation of the dragon's is very well done and albeit the fact that one, compared to the rest of the animation, very cheap scene is annoyingly often repeated, it stands its ground easily next to any other prehistoric documentary you would compare it with. The acting is not on the same level. The fake emotions and movements of the archaeologists are predictable and diminish the credibility of their story about the fossil's former capabilities. The lead investigator gives me a Daniel Jackson feeling (Archeologist from a famous Sci Fi series) in a way I do not like it. Therefore the usual pleasure of seeing people get astounded at something you, as the watcher, already know, is disturbingly absent.If one would take another look at the scientific value, you could laugh at it. If one could ignore the most of the details and look at it in a mere entertaining way, the way a usual citizen would watch to a dinosaur documentary on the animal channel, it is truly a superb film. Something worth to establish your entire family for and enjoy the nearly 100 minutes of dragon theories. The early climax of the two mating dragons imitating the ritual of eagles clashes into your eyes and awakens your possibly slumbered attention by the water and jungle dragons, and keeps you attended to the rest of the show.I would recommend this to anyone wanting a good show about dragon's. Do not expect too much and have yourself be awestruck by the visuals and pleasing story lines. The overall picture makes you forget the flaws and therefore I give this a nine.

José Luis Rivera Mendoza (jluis1984) The dragon is one of the most recognizable of the mythological creatures and probably is the one that has fascinated the human mind the most for many centuries. For some cultures they represent evil, and for others they represent goodness, but the constant is that they have been in our mind in one form or another since the beginning of time. We all have wondered at some point, what if the legends were true? what if dragons actually existed? Now to satisfy those questions, from the creators of "Walking with Dinosaurs", this movie presents a fictional documentary on what would happen if dragons were real."Dragons' World: A Fantasy Made Real" chronicles the adventure of a group of scientist who discover the fossils of a real dragon, finally proving the existence of the mythical beings. Dr. Tanner (Paul Hilton) is the leader of the expedition, a dreamer and Cryptozoology enthusiast who is decided to prove the existence of dragons even if his reputation as scientist gets destroyed in the process. Katrine Bach and Aidan Woodward play the other members of his team, the Biologist and the Data Analyst respectively; they are less convinced than Tanner, but Tanner's enthusiasm is contagious and they find themselves following this man to the top of the Carpathian mountains.To call this movie a documentary would be seriously wrong, as it is a fantasy tale told in a documentary way. As Tanner's adventure unfolds the last days of a family of Carpathian dragons, we are told the hypothetical theory of Dragon's evolution by Ian Holm's narration (Patrick Stwart in the U.S. version). With vivid Special Effects by the makers of the "Walking with Dinosaurs" series, Dragons came to life in some of the most fantastic scenes depicting Dragon's lifestyle.The visual work is terrific, and while some scenes were a bit weak (particularly scenes involving humans and dragons interacting), most of the scenes were of outstanding quality, with the unforgettable scene of two dragons flying together as they mate. The writing was very clever, as real animal characteristics were added to the dragon myth to make it feel "real". In fact, at times the movie feels very convincing and one begins to wonder if what they show is actually true.Sadly, it is not, and that's not only it's great virtue, it is also it's great flaw. At times it takes itself too seriously that becomes either ridiculous or misleading; two different extremes that I'm sure were not the ones intended by its makers. Still, the movie is a very interesting example of a false documentary, and the hypothetical theory on dragon's biology is very well thought.The acting was OK for the most part, although Paul Hilton overacts a bit. The rest of the cast played minor roles but the performances were very good. The movie is all about the dragons and Tanner's adventure. Ian Holm did a very good job with the narrative and gave the film a good dose of credibility although, due to the script, at times what he says walks the fine line between brilliant and ridiculous. Probably a stronger distinction between real life and fantasy would have helped to make the story more enjoyable.To summarize, "Dragons' World: A Fantasy Made Real" is a very entertaining film that fans of fantasy and dragons should not miss, if only for the stunning visuals. It may be misleading if one is not aware it is a false documentary, but suspension of belief is part of the fun here. Still, it is an enjoyable movie despite its flaws and really makes one wish that dragons were real and not just fantasy. 7/10