It may look like just another kids movie, but this one is really, really well directed !! I was not expecting this at all.
This is a very, very well planned movie people. Particularly, because as I said, the action scenes are not empty and are all used to a purpose within the story structure. Not just because they look great but above all because they really are inventive and fun to watch. Not in this movie folks ! In Dragon Nest the action scenes are the glue that binds everything together. If this would be a failed and boring movie, Dragon Nest would have just presented the mission plot, presented the characters and then it would have spent the entire movie flashing empty action scenes. Also their different personalities are very well woven into the story structure and each character development marks a plot point, a twist or a revelation. Simply because they are so well defined and have great charisma, which is something that I wasn't expecting at all. The plot may be not that original, the characters are all mmorpgs clichés of course, but they are amazing in this story. What caught my eye was that this was a non stop action movie from start to finish but somehow managed to create and develop great characters among all the chaos and most impressively used the action to tell the story and not just to look cool and impress the teen audiences.
Now, In a day and age where most fantasy animations all have the same standart storyline seen dozens of times before, frankly I wasn't expecting much from Dragon Nest the movie, but then it started and I knew immediately this one had something special in it. I've played the mmorpg a few times, but I hardly remember anything about it, except that I loved the visual atmosphere in it and that was what peaked my curiosity about this movie. Watching Dragon Nest offers the same level of excitement as grinding in online game, low at best. They manages to draw that fresh fantasy vibe, although much too briefly before the average animation kicks in again. If there are some redeeming parts, they are the decent soundtracks and design for the world. Frankly, these kinds of problems shouldn't happen on feature length animation of today's technology. There's a bit inconsistency with details as well, shadows or texture don't sync well into the scenes. Sometimes the audio sounds out of place as the mixing stutters on some parts, dubbing is the usual sloppy mess, especially for supporting chars. Animation isn't its strong suit, the visual looks pedestrian as though it's from last gen video games. Granted, this sort of plot has been used many times and it can be to great effect, but Dragon Nest merely stacks them without novelty and hope for the best. It's a dreary development with just about everything one would expect not to see again in fantasy genre. Story is very basic, cue in your typical hero-in-training, alliance with other race, some comedy reliefs and potential romantic angle, then you'll have the 101 good versus evil plot. It's a dull journey and what few sparks it has, mainly from vista or music, can't save it from mediocrity. Dragon Nest animation resorts to utilizing mediocre antics from many other games or movies, then put it in one predictable story and weak animation. These games are known for social interaction or accessible gameplay, not strong narrative. Also, it should be a good film to watch with young kids, just cover their eyes at the sex scenes - nah, just kidding.īuilding a movie from online multiplayer games is not easy. In truth, I had no idea what the movie was, I just liked the title, so not much in the way of expecting, but considering it is a Chinese animation film, it was actually quite good and I enjoyed it. I mean, if a little kid can do all that, what the hell was everybody else doing? Bottom line: I rate it as 'unexpectedly good'. Also the unfathomable 'level up' at the end, so Asian in nature, that made the entire story feel kind of stupid. There were some points that I didn't like, the reveal of the nature of the two brothers and the scheming dark elf that everybody seems to know who she is, but was never explained in the film. The animation was nice, the main character a bit annoying, but fun, the young romance thing interesting. In fact, the only thing that I think could bother people is that it is basically aimed at children and (very) young adults.
I haven't played Dragon Nest - which BTW is a MMORPG - but I liked the characters and the lighthearted mood of the film. Young kid becomes great while tagging along a party of epic fighters sent to kill a dragon. OK, it wasn't the same thing, but the feel of it was the same.