Moby Dragon
Young harpooner Ishmael (Cory Sevier) and his friend Queequeg (Kepa Kruse) convince Captain Ahab (Danny Glover) that they are more than capable to join his crew who hunt dragons under the captaincy of Ahab's beautiful but tough adopted daughter Rachel (Sofia Pernas). But Ahab is a man gripped by obsession as he seeks to hunt down and get revenge on the great White Dragon which not only killed his family when he was just a boy but left him physically scarred. When they discover the lair of the White Dragon Rachel becomes aware that Ahab has secrets and they force her in to making a choice between his darkness and a fresh start with Ishmael.
To lay my cards on the table I have never read Herman Melville's classic novel Moby Dick and don't know enough to say how much of his story was used and how much was changed when it comes to "Age of the Dragons" although of course some things are extremely clear. But I wouldn't be surprised if those who have enjoyed Melville's classic hated this movie because it doesn't exactly excel when it comes to delivering an exciting story, emotion or pretty much anything else which anyone who is passionate about great literature or even great movies would want.
Now in fairness I don't think there could be anyone on this planet who would sit down to watch "Age of the Dragons" with a preconceived notion that this would be a great movie, I doubt many watch expecting it to be good. Okay so it stars Danny Glover but Glover has appeared in many a dud, seemingly doing them to pay the bills rather than for artistic merit. And as for the rest of the cast, well like Glover Vinnie Jones has also appeared in some terrible movies whilst the likes of Corey Sevier and Sofia Pernas are not exactly huge box office stars.
But it is the casting of Corey Sevier and Sofia Pernas which hints at what "Age of the Dragons" ends up being about and it is all about the look. Both Sevier and Pernas are good looking and without sounding unfair are very good at striking a pose when some slow motion camera work is needed. Then there is Danny Glover who gets the make up treatment to give him a heavily scarred face although Glover certainly attempts to bring some theatre to his performance with a performance superior to the movie, almost a performance befitting of the stage than the screen.
It is not just the actor's look because it feels like some money has been spent on trying to create the right medieval/ fantasy setting with costumes which wouldn't look out of place in "Lord of the Rings" and reasonable effects when it comes to the dragons, okay so when I say reasonable I mean they don't look like they belonged in the 70s. Although the iron vehicle they travel in looks like someone has plastered a train with sheets of rusty iron and it looks wrong.
What this all boils down to is that there will be those who might enjoy "Age of the Dragons", those who put a lot of weight behind how a movie looks and how good looking its stars are. But those seeking great acting, great story telling as well as plenty of adventure and excitement are going to be disappointed by what for me ended up a bit of a dirge.
