Fire & Ice: The Dragon Chronicles

I watch cheesy SyFy for just that--the cheesiness. But sometimes, the movies surprise me with how good they are, this is one of them. I thought the dragons were well done and although character development was predictable, I thought Amy Acker did a great job. I've missed seeing her since Dollhouse was canceled, so this was great. And who can not enjoy Arnold Vosloo? Ever since I saw him in The Mummy and 24, I have looked for movies with him in it and he was very good in this one. Tom Wisdom was a very believable character and easy on the eyes. John Rhys-Davies was a great addition to this movie and showed me that although he tends to be typecast, he can still make his character very unique and fun to watch.

I found myself not wanting to miss any of this movie. I would recommend it to anyone, and those that are expecting a blockbuster movie like LOTR, take this for what it is, a SyFy movie, entertaining, fun and in this case, an 8 out of 10.

SyFy Saturday's rock!!

Right now eight people have rated this movie at 8.8. Believe me, it's nowhere near that good. I'm suspecting that, the others having seen a lot of dreck on the Sci-Fi Channel, are actually floored by mere competence.

What F&I has going for it is a coherent plot, good sets, decent photography and likable characters. What's going against it is a formula script and adequate-to-poor special effects. The dragons do their job, if not always imaginatively but the really laughable creatures are some orc-type walking bushes called the Forest People. Fortunately their two appears are brief.

Also too brief is John Rhys-Davies performance as the hero's mentor, predictably the best in the film. The reluctant hero (Tom Wisdom) and plucky heroine (Amy Acker) are adequate and easy to watch. The rest of the performances are by-the-numbers, though none outstandingly bad.

The best way to enjoy this movie would be to skip to the last half-hour, specifically to the final hero-versus-dragon battle. When that's over, you can turn it off.

This film seems more geared towards the younger audiences - which is fine with me - it's not a heavy or intricately detailed story... it's easy to follow. I agree with others that the film isn't as good as expected but it's certainly not a bad watch!! I had quite a relaxing time watching the film - joyful!

7/10

Compared to the many other movies in the same genre, that have tried and failed most often horribly, then "The Dragon Chronicles: Fire & Ice" actually managed to pull it off quite nicely. As a fan of the fantasy genre for over 25 years, then it is rare that a movie comes along that really manages to impress. "The Dragon Chronicles: Fire & Ice" managed to do so. So thumbs up on that account.

The story in the movie was straight forward and rather generic for this particular genre. The story is about a kingdom that is threatened by an awakened dragon, and it is up to an unlikely hero to overcome his past and step out of his father's shadow to overcome the dragon and bring peace to the troubled kingdom.

Yeah, fairly much a straight out of the textbook plot line there, given, but still, it is so very cliché that it actually worked out and was rather enjoyable and entertaining. The characters in the movie were fairly stereotypical as well, but again, it worked out nicely.

What impressed me the most about this movie was the CGI effects. The dragons were really nicely made and quite impressive, despite the fact that they looked like manta rays in a way. The effects were nice and actually looked rather good. However, their breath weapons could have been a bit more buffed up; as I am sure a creature of such magnitude and size would pack a more potent blast of fire (or cold).

As for the acting, then they had some great actors and actresses to the cast list, and people did good jobs with their given roles. I must admit that especially John Rhys-Davies impressed me here in this movie; his grizzled appearance and distinctive voice was just so right for that role. I will say that Arnold Vosloo also did a great job with the role he was cast for.

If you enjoy a great tale of sword and sorcery (and dragons), then you should definitely check out "The Dragon Chronicles: Fire & Ice", it might just surprise you the way it did me. How this movie managed to score such a low rating is beyond my comprehension, but then again, of course, we are all different people with different likes, dislikes and tastes. I enjoyed this movie tremendously, and can warmly recommend it to fans of the fantasy genre (such as Dungeons & Dragons).

I disagree with many of the comments on this film. I found it engrossing and the dragons were very impressive indeed. The acting was passable and the whole thing was well put together in all departments. Perhaps it was because I had read such poor reviews that I was expecting it to be worse than it actually was! But on watching it I was very pleasantly surprised! I like John Rhys Davies and enjoyed his contribution to this film. I was not expecting it to be a masterpiece of cinema, but it certainly passed 90 minutes in a pleasant manner! I think everything was just above average and so I have given the film 6 out of 10 just for the fact that it held my attention.