George and the Dragon is a made for DVD-movie, but a pretty fun one at that. It has all the shortcomings of your average DVD only release (like special effects that are just a bit 'off', and a screenplay that could have done with a few more original touches), but thanks to the suprisingly strong cast this is still a movie of many pleasures. It all concerns a knight named George, who one day returns from the crusades to settle down with a little farm and a piece of land. No settling down for him, however, as a dragon has taken the princess and it is up to George to save her. It's a pretty standard medieval adventure story which also includes such staples as a jealous suitor of the princess, a group of non descript bad guys with beards and moustaches, as well as a jolly religious man who trust as much in his secret bottle of wine as in his belief in God. Still, some of the jokes are actually quite funny, the locations look great and the movie just has a fun feel to it. The actors are clearly enjoying dressing up and prancing about, and the cast is not the typical cast you expect for a small scale release like this.
James Purefoy plays George and does so very well. I liked this actor from his smaller roles in movies like A Knight's Tale, and I hope we will see more of him in bigger productions. Same goes for the pretty Piper Perabo, who is still waiting for her career to really take off in the way we expected after Coyote Ugly. One of the bigger surprises was seeing Michael Clarke Duncan and Patrick Swayze in this. They don't have to stretch their acting muscles too much (if at all), but it is obvious they have also become infected with the jovial spirit that surrounds this whole production. And don't miss the surprize cameo in the beginning of the movie! All in all, a guarantee for a fun 90 minutes (plus a guarantee that you will have forgotten all about it another 90 minutes after that).
***
Directed by: Tom Reeve
Written by: Michael Burks, Tom Reeve
Starring: James Purefoy, Piper Perabo, Michael Clarke Duncan, Patrick Swayze
Running Time: 93 minutes
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