The Last Dragon (2005)

Dr. Tanner has been fascinated by the myth of the Dragons, and then one day this myth becomes reality as archaeologists uncover a 'Dragon Skeleton'.This is a brilliant docu-drama, that makes one forget that it is all 'fake', the writing, acting and directing is simply brilliant, as great detail is placed upon the myth of the Dragon and what a real Dragon would look like, as well as function, with wings and the fire breathing.I simply fell in love with this as it grabbed my attention, at the very first moment and held it, the special effects are also very good and make this show well worth the watch.

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

This film was done by the same folks who gave us the 'Walking with Dinosaurs/Prehistoric Beasts' shows, and the sequences involving the dragons are mesmerizing, but the bits with the supposed modern paleontologist's quest to find evidence of a dragon are contrived and very badly acted indeed. This was simply not the right way to present this show - it's just too much of a stretch to make dragons scientifically plausible, and I feel the production company would have been better served by hiring some real scientists to play the roles of scientists - rather than giving second-rate actors a horrible script. Just imagine if real scientists had been interviewed and allowed to imagine the plausibilities of dragons having been real, and then intercutting the CGI stuff, rather than contriving a modern scientific 'discovery' plot and hiring actors to play it out.Basically, this film would have been better if it had included less of the modern storyline and just allowed us to suspend disbelief as we watched dragons soaring over plains and mountains and doing the things that dragons did in legend. They made an overly-serious effort to convince us that dragons were real, but they did it by using a simplistic Indiana Jones style plot full of holes you could fly a dragon through.I like the DVD overall - I even own it, but I wish I didn't have to fast-forward through the appalling dialogue, the bad acting, the soap-opera plot and the pseudo-science in order to get to the good stuff.

I was expecting a show about the mythological origins of dragons, as well as the observations of real animals or misperceptions of other natural phenomena that may have inspired the myths. Instead, I was presented with a proposed account of the evolution of dragons, as if they were real. The narrator did mention in passing that dragons didn't exist, with such clauses as "if dragons were real," and there may have been a disclaimer at the beginning, which I missed. However, the program gives the impression that dragons did exist at one time and that hikers in the Carpathians actually did discover bodies of dragons and scorched knights. Perhaps the producers weren't really trying to deceive, but the program does seem like a hoax in the making. In any case, whether it had been presented purely as a work of fiction or as alleged science, it didn't belong on Animal Planet. Animal Planet is supposed to be about real animals. The show Animal X tends to push the boundaries a little too much as well, particularly with its spooky narrator who tries to encourage viewers to lower their skepticism. The Sci-Fi Channel or The History Channel would have been a much better choice for broadcasting this show.All that said, however, this was a very fascinating program. The production values were excellent, and the science behind dragon evolution appears sound. As a "what if" program it's excellent.