Product: Dragonheart: A New Beginning (2000)
Rating: 1.0
A heartless travesty
Here we have a visual retelling of every cliche the canon of fantasy has to offer. Unfortunately, "A New Beginning" does not examine its cliches and build a meaningful plot out of them, like the first "Dragonheart" did. No, this abominable sequel simply strings cliches together and hopes that something will come out of it. It goes without saying that the film is a total failure.The plot, in a nutshell: an Orphaned Stableboy with Big Dreams of Adventure finds his way into the Mysterious Dungeon under a Monastery which serves as home for many Dour Monks. Down in the dungeon, Jeoff finds a Young, Insecure Dragon, Drake (who looks very much like an ad campaign for Mattel merchandise). Meanwhile, Lord Osric, a Sheep-in-Wolf's-Clothing, is appointed chief advisor to the Senile King. He's all smiles, but is really plotting to rule the kingdom (serving under a senile king, hasn't he already triumphed?). He's also plotting to conquer the invading "Teregoths" (a Nordic people most often seen in hokey fantasy movies). When, against better judgement, Jeoff gets Drake out of the dungeons, Osric sees his chance for fame. Oh, and there's something about an Ominous Prophecy, a Two-Tailed Comet, a pair of Karate Masters from the Orient (one of whom is really a Girl-in-Boy's-Clothing), and so on.The acting is atrocious. Half of the actors amble about feeling superior to the material. The other half can't act, period (I am reminded of the scene where Lian walks up to the camera, crouches, and speaks directly into the microphone, "That's the stable boy we saw before"). During some of the major scenes, I intently studied the stitching on the characters' robes (is that ... nylon!?).Chris Masterson is very much a one-role man: get him a lifetime contract for "Malcolm in the Middle" and get on with it.Oh, and the dragon. The dragon is the worst thing yet. For starters, it doesn't look like a dragon. It's too colorful and its hips are too wide, as if it already is an action figure. Thanks to Robby Benson's efforts, it doesn't sound like a dragon either. Unlike Draco, Drake has no personality, no character outside of what the plot provides, no mystique, and no conviction. He is the essence of un-dragon.What seems most insulting is that "A New Beginning" goes through the motions of fantasy without even believing in itself. No suspension of disbelief is even remotely possible. What we have here for our viewing pleasure (and I use the phrase loosely) is very-much a cash-in, an insipid, pointless movie with neither (pardon the pun) heart nor soul. Its soul has been sold to toy companies and public interest groups that strive to make movies bland, but inoffensive. A heart it never had.