Does anyone even remember this movie? Surprisingly, there are a few people who do, though none of them think highly of it. Some of them say they thought the whole thing was an explosive fever dream, while others thought it was a ridiculous Syfy channel movie that somehow got a theatrical release. To this day, this film is still considered one of the worst of all time among critics, both in America and Korea, but I've noticed more and more people coming out saying the film is underrated, and doesn't deserve all the hate.
What do I think? Well let's talk about my history with this film first, shall we?
To begin with, my relationship with this film is akin to that of Reign of Fire (one of the best dragon movies that is also looked down upon by critics. Seriously, do critics have an agenda against dragon media that isn't How to Train your Dragon?? Or are there just too few good dragon films out there?). I remember seeing commercials and advertisements on T.V showcasing the military taking on dragons in modern day, and my kid self was sold. Like Reign of Fire, I begged my parents over and over again to see it, but they kept saying no every time. Eventually, I forgot the film even existed, at least until I saw it on DVD at the local store one day. That's when the memories of those commercials came flooding back to me, I'd finally found the movie I wanted to see for so long, although it was different from what I remember seeing. All I saw were quadruped dragons (and glimpses of Buraki's head) battling the military in the advertisements, but the description on the back of the DVD also talked about giant serpents, dinosaurs with rocket launchers, reincarnated warriors of the past, and a whole bunch of other nonsensical stuff. Despite this, my kid-self was desperate to see dragons in action in modern day, so I convinced my parents to buy it (finally), and we all watched it for family night.
When it was over, we all looked at each other dazed and confused by what we saw. We didn't know what to think of the film. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either, so we chalked it up as "Welp, that was something," and left it at that. In-spite of this, something about the movie intrigued me, and I ended up watching it over and over again, learning something new every time I did. There were a lot of movies from 2007 that I'd watch constantly on repeat (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, The Golden Compass, The Water Horse, Spider Man 3, and Transformers being the prime examples. Some of these movies I don't care for anymore, while others I still hold near and dear to my heart), and Dragon Wars was one of them. Needless to say, I drove my parents crazy. Overtime, however, my love for the film faded away as I grew older; the fact it was absolutely despised by everyone around me didn't help either. I ended up giving that DVD away because I didn't care anymore, and I didn't want anyone to insult me if they found out I liked it at all. I never forgot about the movie, though (I have the gorgeous and memorable soundtrack by Steve Jablonsky to thank for that), so it was only a matter of time before I was tempted to watch it again.
Now after all these years, I've finally watched it again. What is my opinion on it now? Do I think it's the worst thing ever conceived by South Korea like most people do, or do I think it's an underrated gem that needs more attention like the film's tiny fan base? Honestly, I'm somewhere inbetween.
There's no denying that the film has A LOT of problems, Syfy channel "It's so bad, it's good" problems. The script is terrible at points, the acting ranges from bland, over-the-top, to just painful, the editing can get confusing, certain scenes serve no purpose (the dream sequences), the exposition is heavy handed (the first 20 minutes or so is nothing but exposition), the plot holes are the size of multiple Grand Canyons, and finally, the main characters make some seriously questionable decisions. For example: our main protagonist who we're supposed to route for: Ethan. Not only is Ethan's personality akin to that of a wooden plank, but he is one of the prime reasons why thousands of innocent people get killed in this movie. Everyone he goes to for help (aside from Bruce) he ends up leaving to die whenever danger comes around, all for the sake of protecting Sarah, and trying to avoid their fates which neither of them can change in the end (this phrase comes to mind: "I choose my own fate." "Then it wouldn't be fate, would it?").
"But he loves Sarah!" I hear some of you saying, "he's just trying to protect her so they can stay together!" Except they've only known each other for a few hours, and yet we're supposed to believe they're madly in love with one another. I do have a theory as to why this is, but I'll get to that later.
There's also the setting. The director this film, former comedian Hyung-rae Shim, tried so hard to appeal to a Western audience, to the point of casting American actors, having an American film crew (partially), and setting most of the film in modern day Los Angeles. While I think he succeeded in certain places, he also failed in a great deal of others, and no, it's not because the story is based on a Korean legend that Western audiences might fail to grasp.
Despite being set in LA, there are references to Korea that feel out-of-place. From phrases, the Korean antique store, the American government somehow knowing the legend of the Imoogi and the Yeouiju, to Ethan's therapist/hypnotist friend who has a Korean statue in his office. Now to me, it makes sense for Ethan, Sarah, and Jack (played by the late Robert Forester, one of the few actors who really tried in this film) to know these references due to their past lives, but aside from that, I think this film might have been better off if it took place in modern South Korea instead of America.
Trust me, there are more problems than just the ones I'm pointing out (the helicopters exploding for seemingly no reason, no one seeing the giant dragon-snake slithering around causing trouble, no one believing the poor zookeeper's story despite the fact the elephants clearly disappeared from the zoo, and the FBI and military failing at target practice as they keep shooting at the Atrox soldiers' shields), and I can see why critics despise this movie.
Yet in-spite of the endless stream of blunders...I still really enjoy this film, even after all these years. In fact, I'll defend some of the criticisms everyone throws at it.
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The story makes no sense, therefore it sucks! - Maybe it's because I watched this movie over and over as a kid, or the fact I enjoy mythology, but I absolutely love the story of this film, and it made sense to me.
Imoogi are immature dragons that inhabit the heavens along with their followers, and only one is chosen to become a full-fledged celestial dragon every 500 years through the power of the Yeouiju (the orb some eastern dragons are depicted carrying). However, there was one corrupt Imoogi, Buraki, who aimed to take the Yeouiju for himself. If this happened, if Buraki became a dragon, he would destroy everything, so the heavens sent the Yeouiju to Earth, hiding it inside the body of a mortal girl, Narin, who bears a dragon birthmark on her shoulder (the sign of the Yeouiju inside of her). The heavens also sent two warriors, as well as a special mediallion, to protect Narin (how two warriors can protect her from Buraki's army of Atrox followers is beyond me) until the day she turned 20, when the Yeouiju would be fully formed, and ready to be given to the 'good Imoogi', the one chosen to become the new dragon.
Unfortunately, giving the Yeouiju over would cost Narin her life, and since one of the warriors sent to protect her, Haram, was in love with her, therefore unwilling to sacrifice her, the duo took their own lives, defying destiny by refusing to give the Yeouiju to either Buraki or the Good Imoogi (seriously, why doesn't this one have a name?). 500 years later, the cycle is about to begin anew in modern day America, with Sarah being the reincarnation of Narin, therefore the new carrier of the Yeouiju, and, Ethan, being the reincarnation of Haram, chosen to protect her.
There, I just explained the plot of this movie for you. There are multiple versions of the legend of the Imoogi (also called Imugi) and the Yeouiju, and from what I can see, this movie combined all of those legends into one. Like I said, I absolutely adore the plot for this film, but sadly, I can't say the same for the execution...
Ethan and Sarah have only known each other for a few hours, and yet they're already kissing! - Time for my theory to come to light. Both Ethan and Sarah are the reincarnations of Haram and Narin from 16th century Korea. Both have shown signs that they're still connected to these past lives through their interest in Korean culture (why else would Sarah keep that booklet in her house besides convinence), the medallion sent from the heavens, and getting nervous when they see that Buraki has returned, so it is possible that their love for each other survived through the 500 years, and came back into fruition when they found each other. It's a flimsy theory, yes, but it makes sense to me.
Ethan took a gunshot to the shoulder, and yet he's completely fine. He doesn't even have a wound! - I have two theories for this. Number one: the mediallion protected him, that thing is clearly special and was given for a reason. Number two: Plot armor. Trust me, this isn't the worst use of plot armor I've seen.
Why didn't that medallion destroy the Atrox army earlier?? - I'm a bit confused by this as well. Someone suggested that perhaps this was the medallion's purpose all along, and that's why there wasn't a second army to counter Buraki's. The medallion's true power could only be used at the right moment when all of Buraki's followers were present. I can accept this theory, but if it's true then why wasn't there any hint to this earlier? Or there was one and I just missed it? Either way, I can see why this is considered the big 'deus ex machina' moment.
Where the heck did that Mordor setting come from?? - I've...got no answer for this one. Jack did say something about taking Sarah to 'the grand cave', persumably where the Good Imoogi was waiting. Perhaps this Mordor altar is Buraki's version of that cave? Maybe, but that doesn't explain where it is (or how Ethan is gonna get out of there in the end).
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There, I defended some of the major issues of the film to the best of my ability. Now it's talk about the stuff that I liked besides the story.
As mentioned before, the soundtrack by Steve Jablonsky is amazing, and I often listen to it for inspiration for some of my own stories. Everything about it screams beauty, ancient, and atmospheric and I absolutely love it! Someone get Jablonsky to compose for more movies outside of the Bayformers franchise, please?
The special effects and CGI are pretty good for the time the movie was released, and are clearly the highlight of the film. It's definitely flawed by today's standards, but it's certainly better than whatever the Asylum and Syfy channel spits out nowadays.
Speaking of which, the battle sequences are a lot of fun (in the 'turn off your brain and enjoy the ride' sort of way), especially the city battle. One of my problems with Reign of Fire is that we never actually see the dragons flying around causing the apocalypse. Here, we get a glimpse of that. Buraki slithering up the Liberty Building (this must be the director's favorite part, because that image is all over the posters), western dragons battling helicopters, soldiers, police, and tanks taking on the Atrox soldiers, their mounted dragon-raptor steeds, and those 'dinosaurs with rocket launchers' (seriously, what are those things??) Does it make any sense? Hell no, but man is it great to watch!
Then there's the final battle. The one scene most people recommend watching and that's it. Buraki versus the Good Imoogi, later the new celestial dragon. What can I say that others haven't, this final fight was a sight to behold, and it's really incredible seeing an accurate celestial dragon on-screen like this (ignoring the fact it can breathe fire when it's not supposed to, but oh well, still more accurate than Sisu from Raya and the Last Dragon, design-wise at least), and goodness its roar was beautiful. It all leads to an ending that, admittingly, brought a few tears to my eyes (and made me question Ethan's fate because...you're just gonna leave him there??? I get that his destiny has been fulfilled, but come on..!)
Finally, there's an atmosphere to this movie. It could just be nostalgia on my part, but there's a mystisim to the film that intrigues me. The whole thing almost feels like a bedtime story to tell kids (or a kid with a vast imagination playing with their toys, seeing how the movie plays out), and it's a comforting feeling. Most people say this is a dumb film that only kids will enjoy, and maybe they're right to an extent (what does that make me then, a child at heart?), but none the less.
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So overall, is Dragon Wars: D-War the worst movie of all time? No. Is it an underrated gem that needs more attention? No, probably not. It's somewhere inbetween. Not good, but not average or bad either, in-spite of the massive, massive flaws. It's ambitious, action-packed, and beautiful in many ways, but also lacking, confusing, and bland at the same time. Never the less, the film holds a special place in my heart, hence why I declare it my ultimate guilty pleasure. If you're interested in Korean mythology and kaiju flicks, I say give this one a shot. Just be aware of what you're getting yourselves into.
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