"Dragonslayer" was one of the best-looking films of the 1980s, and the DVD transfer looks nice too. This dragon is aloof and unreadable, the way dragons should be; it looks pretty good even by today's standards. There's a good basic story set in medieval Britain. The tomboyish Clarke is an intriguing presence and Richardson has some fun in the sorcerer role. Unfortunately, there's too much B-grade acting and some of the plot makes no sense even for a fantasy. (Why don't all those virgins just escape their dragon problem the old-fashioned way?) Treating Early Christianity as an upstart, and not always too effective, form of magic is interesting. It was a nice idea to make the King a politician, rather than a piece of furniture. The old sorcerers seem to be dying out, without a credit, and the upstart religion is getting turned into a political tool. Small children might not find such stuff interesting, but they will probably have the bejeezus scared out of them by one scene involving a young girl and the dragon. I did, and I'm 30.
Review of Dragonslayer
