Dragon Hunters

By: Iggy Michniacki on 7.10.2009

The Movie Itself:
The stress filled life of dragon hunting can be too much to most, even for Gwizdo and Lian Chu, a pair of amateur dragon hunters that fight bug like dragons for small amounts of money. Fighting awkward creatures to make a few dollars here and there won’t land them their dream as Gwizdo and Lian Chu are trying to earn enough moolah to exit the stressful life of hunting and enter a more relaxing life on their very own farm. After a quick run in with Zoe, a little girl with a large imagination, Gwizdo and Lian Chu lives quickly change. Thinking they are professional and legendary dragon hunters, Zoe quickly offers them an opportunity to strike a deal with her uncle, whose kingdom has been gruesomely haunted by the most horrific dragon of them all. After trying to take the money and run, Gwizdo quickly learns that they must earn every penny as they begin their quest to hunt down this extraordinary beast. In the end, Gwizdo, Lian Chu, and Zoe all grow to find there are more important things in life than what they were originally after.

At first glance I was expecting an enjoyable hour and a half from Dragon Hunters, but after that hour and a half, and after my son and his friends had lost interest, and even after my friends had lost interest, it is safe to say that my expectations were not met. Dragon Hunters does have some positives to it though, with its interesting look and feel being the most notable and noticeable. The environment in Dragon Hunters is simply amazing mixing floating land with stationary land as well as playing with the idea of gravity and shapes. The animation itself is simply beautiful as it pushes the boundaries and competes with some of the finest looking animation available today. Although the look of the characters and the style of animation feels somewhat different than anything Pixar has put out, I find it to be a selling point as it differentiates itself from the other studios animation.

As much as I would like to continue focussing on the positives of Dragon Hunters I can’t due to the negatives far out weighing those positives. The plot and movement of the movie just don’t seem to work. The idea of guns for hire that learn a lesson is often used and often successful in movies, especially kids movies, but here it falls flat on its face. The pacing of Dragon Hunters is incredibly slow, way too slow to keep the minds of the target audience (children). Dragon Hunters seems to take forever to get the ball rolling and when it finally does, the pace doesn’t pick up enough to make a difference. The characters are also on the down side to this movie. Although there are some good voice talents behind these animated faces, they just didn’t work well. Forest Whitaker never seemed to show enough emotion with his character, as Lian Chu is shown early on as an emotional wreck. The others just didn’t deliver their characters as winners either, as I felt the strongest voice acting came from the blue bunny creature.

Dragon Hunters should be taken as nothing more than it is… a low budget, average done children’s movie that pushes the boundaries of state-of-the-art animation. With a plot that everybody already knows, mixed with a wonderful, animated world that nobody has seen before, Dragon Hunters might be a good tale in some audience’s eyes but it didn’t catch the attention of myself, let alone my four year old son.
Rating: 4/10

The Presentation:
Dragon Hunters may not succeed as a movie but as a Blu-ray it’s reference material. Dragon Hunters quest to high definition is brought forth by a Mpeg-4 1080p AVC codec that delivers from opening sequence until the credits roll. Every color, every detail, every feature of this movie looks absolutely amazing. Colors jump straight off the screen especially the greens, blues and reds. Contrast is simply stunning, with darks and lights working well to make a three-dimensional feel. Blacks didn’t crush and held detail as good, if not better, than any other Blu-ray I’ve seen. And, with this being a new, computer animation, there was no noise, dirt, or filth of any matter interfering with the picture. All those elements came together and made a near perfect, three-dimensional, vibrant image that I have nothing negative to say about. The only reason I say a 9/10 as opposed to a 10/10 is that I have seen a few movies that look slightly better, but in all honesty that few is a very few.

The audio on this Blu-ray fairs very well also, with an amazing DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English track that seems to deliver a performance greater than expected. The speakers were clear and vibrant as all noises were accounted for. Each surround speaker did its job on portraying the direction of noise. I was impressed with the subwoofer also, as all the action and movements were vibrant and active causing the room to tremble a bit. The center speaker, though, was bit of a letdown. Although dialogue was crisp and clean it was far from as loud as it needed to be. I would occasionally catch some dialogue being drowned out by the other audio elements especially when Forest Whitaker was speaking in his ‘near whisper’.
Rating: 9/10 (video 9/10, audio 8/10)

The Extras:
Dragon Hunters isn’t loaded with extras by any means. There are the few on the disc but most seem to be more child friendly than anything, and don’t seem to add too much to the movie experience.

Interview with Forest Whitaker: A short five minute interview with Forest Whitaker who takes you behind the scenes on his voice acting. This feature is bland, nearly as bland as his voice acting, and offers nothing of excitement.
Character Biography: These biographies are a self navigated and far from anything one would consider dynamic.
Dragon Gallery: A photo set that can be navigated at one’s own pace using the remote control.
The Universe of Dragon Hunters: Another flat feature that can be navigated by one’s youngster.
Trailers: A Dragon Hunters trailer as well as some other works from Peace Arch.
Rating: 4/10

Overall:
Dragon Hunters is a bargain, as it can be found for under $15 on Amazon. Mixing an unbelievable video and audio presentation with that price can help some over look the mediocrity of the movie itself. And with a plate of extras that some might find entertaining (due to the interactive touch), Dragon Hunters might be worth taking a peak at.
Rating: 7/10