D&DVD Of The Week: Dawn Of The Dragonslayer (2011)

There have been in the past and, no doubt, will still be in the future many, many films about the ultimate fantasy stand-off of man against dragon - but Dawn Of The Dragonslayer, from Arrowstorm Entertainment, stands up as one of the best.

The first part of their proposed Paladin Cycle (the second part of which has just finished principal photography and was the subject of a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign), Dawn Of The Dragonslayer introduces us to rugged hero Will Shepherd (Richard McWilliams), whose father is a slain by a dragon prompting Will to carry out his old man's final wishes - leave their mountain home for the lowlands where he is to train as a knight with Baron Sterling (Ian Cullen).

However, arriving at Sterling's castle, Will finds it run-down and home only to the crusty old baron, his three obnoxious servants and his strong-willed - and very cute - tomboyish daughter, Kate (Nicola Posener) - who, somehow, manages to become increasingly cuter as the movie progresses.

The slimy noble Rogan Ap Cynan (the excellent Philip Brodie) is also sniffing around, as he has his eyes on Kate as a way to seize her father's land, but luckily soon after Will's arrival Sterling's elderly cousin, Lady Spriggs (Maggie Daniels), turns up - and takes a protective shine to Will.

Although, ultimately, the quest to slay the dragon is the main story here, the various character interactions and emotional journeys of the personalities in and around Sterling castle make for fascinating viewing due to the wholly convincing and charismatic performances of all concerned.

In fact it is the inherent "Truth" in the project, the film's verisimilitude, that makes it stand out. The pacing may be a bit slow for juvenile audiences expecting all-action all-the-time, but Dawn Of The Dragonslayer is so well-made that belief is suspended without question and the small-scale power games come to the fore, with the dragon almost an irrelevance.

Sadly, as is often the case with this genre, it is really only when the dragon is being fought in close-up that the CGI is pushed a tad too far and the cracks start to show - conversely, when seen in the distance, circling in the fog, the dragon is a genuinely threatening monster.

Even when the storyline - and sometimes the dialogue - strays slightly into cliché, the entirety of Dawn Of The Dragonslayer overpowers these occasional - and rare - weaker moments.

Writer/director Anne K Black has also taken the time to weave Will's story into a well-thought-out world - with a number of Dungeons & Dragons-style "character classes" being name checked through the script from the mystical, dragonslaying paladins to the magically-gifted (and feared) conjurers.

As well as contributing to the established verisimilitude of this picture, theis attention to detail presumably helps lay the ground work for the next picture (The Crown And The Dragon) and the rest of the Paladin Cycle.

It may lack the grandeur (and budget) of, say, Game Of Thrones but not the heart and, like that magnificent television serial, it too makes excellent use of the Irish countryside for its memorable settings.

GAME MATERIAL:

Prayer Cloth: Inscribed with prayers to a thousand gods, these rare items offer their owners a degree of enchanted protection. As long as carried somewhere on the person, the cloth grants its owner a magical luck bonus of +1 to Armour Class and all Saving Throws/STAT checks.