- Title: George and the Dragon
- IMDb: link
Flashback Friday takes us back to 2004’s George and the Dragon (quite loosely based on the medieval legend) starring James Purefoy as a crusading knight on his way home who gets caught up on the search for a missing princess (Piper Perabo) who it turns out wasn’t so much kidnapped by a dragon but saved from a marriage to a local lord (Patrick Swayze) her father had chosen for her. Refusing to abandon the dragon’s egg, Princess Lunna gets George into all kinds of trouble and hijinks in this likeable family-friendly film.
Despite offering fantasy on a budget (the dragons are not the highlight of the film), I was pleasantly surprised by the charming tale. Perabo, whose mere prescience in a project will always garner my attention, gives Lunna a bit of spunk and drive, and, although Purefoy’s character gets the most screentime, it’s really the princess who drives the script from writer/director Tom Reeve.
Swayze feels a bit out of place as the corrupt but not quite evil suitor for the queen’s hand. Val Kilmer, who has a much, much smaller role earlier in the film would have made for a more interesting choice. We also get Michael Clarke Duncan as a friend of George from his crusading days, Jean-Pierre Castaldi as a monk, and Caroline Carver and Joan Plowright as a pair of nuns also drawn into the action in protecting the princess and the egg.
Because the special effects were never going to be a strength of the film, it’s managed to age rather gracefully over nearly 20 years. Piper is the standout, but the performances and humor are all solid, and the action is suitable for its budget. Searching for movies for a dragon week, ones that are worth the time, can be daunting. It’s always a nice surprise to come across a film like this, nearly two decades after its release, and be pleasantly surprised. George and the Dragon has been released on DVD a couple of times over the years and is currently available on a number of streaming services.
Watch the trailer
