The Dragon Pearl (2011)
Brief review: Proclaimed as the first-ever Chinese-Australian co-production, "The Dragon Pearl" seems like an interesting project, and very promising on paper, but sadly, its lackluster execution and director Mario Andreacchio's lack of ideas and imagination really let the film down - pretty much everything about this juvenile fantasy flick feels contrived and uninspired, to the point of being ridiculous. Another big surprise is that, despite its fair budget, "The Dragon Pearl" is quite unimpressive, visually, except that it offers plenty of beautiful landscapes. But, let's face it - a couple of stunning shots don't make a good movie. The Chinese dragon itself is kinda cute and friendly-looking, yet totally lame in terms of graphic design. The CGI effects are cheesy at best, the action sequences are few and far between, and the music score is annoyingly inappropriate. Aside from Mr. Sam Neill, all the other actors involved in this project are wildly unknown and inexperienced, and it shows. Neill does a typically decent job as the archeologist and Josh's father, but the otherwise adorable Li Lin Jin and Louis Corbett fail do impress in their roles. They both deliver their lines stiffly and react quite unnaturally in front of the camera, due to the lack of acting experience.
Overall summary: With its poorly-adapted script, unimaginative direction and sub-par acting, this unfortunate collaboration between China and Australia could be considered as a huge cinematic failure, as "The Dragon Pearl" offers nothing new or even remotely entertaining.
8 comments:
Looks really crappy based on the poster alone.
LoneIslander, the poster is quite decent, in my opinion. Can not say the same about the movie though. :)
I can see this won't be added to my list of must-sees. Skewered with intelligence and wit as always.
Hey how are you? Did you have a good weekend?
Oh man! That is a pretty low rating so I can trust it really does suck! I hate it when films use CGI poorly. The whole point is to enhance the visual experience not botch it. Oh well, I guess not every film can be perfect. : ) Great Review!
"Skewered with intelligence and wit" - LOL. Mel, I love that :)
I had a great weekend, honey, thanks. How about you?
Nicole, the CGI effects were poor indeed. The dragon looked too animated and cheesy.
Thanks, Nic. Glad you liked it ;)
Glad you a great weekend, sweetie. Mine was rather quiet except for a meeting. Plans I had with friends fell through, but that was good because I ended up not feeling so hot. I catch everything that goes around I swear. :)
great doesn't mean it was loud :) Mine was quiet too, but enjoyable nonetheless :)
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