Dragon Storm (film)
Encyclopedia
Dragon Storm is a 2004
made for TV fantasy
action film
written by Patrick Phillips and Sam Wells, and directed by Stephen Furst
. The film is noted as the Sci Fi Channel
's most-watched original movie with over 3 million viewers of the premiere broadcast.
s falling from the sky during a meteor shower
act as transportation for dragon
s traveling within. The dragons wreak havoc on the surrounding medieval countryside and two rival monarchs, King Fastrad (John Rhys-Davies
) and King Wednesbury (John Hansson) must join forces to face the threat.
A messenger arrives to warn King Fastrad who does not believe him, until the dragons make their appearance and destroy his fiefdom. Fastrad and his top aids then head to the fiefdom of King Wednesbury, ostensibly to seek aid, but planning to overthrow him. Along the way they meet Silas (Maxwell Caulfield
), a hunter who agrees, for a price, to escort and protect the party from the countryside's other dangers. They reach Wednesbury and Fastrad falsely accuses Silas of being a poacher in order to wiggle out of the debt. Silas is joined by the Mystic Scholar Ling (Woon Young Park), the vengeance-seeking Remmegar (Richard Wharton), and King Wednesbury's warrior daughter Medina (Angel Boris). One of the meteors was damaged when it fell, killing its dragon passenger. Ling studies the dead beast and the party decides to set off to hunt the remaining dragons using a giant balista. While they are gone, Fastrad continues plotting against Wednesbury, and blackmails Wednesbury's aide to kill Silas.
Dragon Storm was chosen by William Shatner
as one of the selections in William Shatner's DVD Club.
German Monsters and Critics
said that "some funny dialogue and neatly animated dragons pep it up" and that "the poor direction of the film is entertaining, and marks out that most of the budget went west for the effects."
Bargain Bin Review dubbed it "a cautionary tale about thoroughly reading contracts and scripts before signing up to a project."
John Rhys-Davies, who had previously played Gimli the Dwarf in Lord of the Rings, said in an interview that "You understand we're not comparing ... Dragon Storm with Lord of the Rings. Stephen directed this in god knows how many days – I think it was only like 21 days. It's a low-budget, rapidly-made, and rather delightful little sci-fi squib."
2004 in film
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
made for TV fantasy
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
written by Patrick Phillips and Sam Wells, and directed by Stephen Furst
Stephen Furst
Stephen Furst is an American actor and film and television director. He was a regular in the science fiction series Babylon 5 playing Centauri diplomatic attaché Vir Cotto and as Dr. Elliot Axelrod on St...
. The film is noted as the Sci Fi Channel
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
's most-watched original movie with over 3 million viewers of the premiere broadcast.
Plot
MeteoriteMeteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
s falling from the sky during a meteor shower
Meteor shower
A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Most meteors are smaller...
act as transportation for dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
s traveling within. The dragons wreak havoc on the surrounding medieval countryside and two rival monarchs, King Fastrad (John Rhys-Davies
John Rhys-Davies
John Rhys-Davies is a Welsh actor and voice actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the charismatic Arab excavator Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
) and King Wednesbury (John Hansson) must join forces to face the threat.
A messenger arrives to warn King Fastrad who does not believe him, until the dragons make their appearance and destroy his fiefdom. Fastrad and his top aids then head to the fiefdom of King Wednesbury, ostensibly to seek aid, but planning to overthrow him. Along the way they meet Silas (Maxwell Caulfield
Maxwell Caulfield
Maxwell Caulfield is a British film, stage, and television actor who is based in the United States, known for his roles as Michael Carrington in Grease 2 and as Miles Colby in The Colbys and its parent show Dynasty . He has more than 70 film, stage and television credits. He starred in Ronald F...
), a hunter who agrees, for a price, to escort and protect the party from the countryside's other dangers. They reach Wednesbury and Fastrad falsely accuses Silas of being a poacher in order to wiggle out of the debt. Silas is joined by the Mystic Scholar Ling (Woon Young Park), the vengeance-seeking Remmegar (Richard Wharton), and King Wednesbury's warrior daughter Medina (Angel Boris). One of the meteors was damaged when it fell, killing its dragon passenger. Ling studies the dead beast and the party decides to set off to hunt the remaining dragons using a giant balista. While they are gone, Fastrad continues plotting against Wednesbury, and blackmails Wednesbury's aide to kill Silas.
Partial cast
- Tony AmendolaTony AmendolaTony Amendola is an American actor who is best known for his recurring role as the Jaffa master Bra'tac in Stargate SG-1.-Career:Major movie roles include Blow, The Mask of Zorro and its sequel, The Legend of Zorro...
as Theldag - John Rhys-DaviesJohn Rhys-DaviesJohn Rhys-Davies is a Welsh actor and voice actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the charismatic Arab excavator Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
as King Fastrad - Maxwell CaulfieldMaxwell CaulfieldMaxwell Caulfield is a British film, stage, and television actor who is based in the United States, known for his roles as Michael Carrington in Grease 2 and as Miles Colby in The Colbys and its parent show Dynasty . He has more than 70 film, stage and television credits. He starred in Ronald F...
as Silas - Angel BorisAngel BorisAngel Lynn Boris is an American model and actress sometimes credited as Angel Boris Reed....
as Medina - Woon Young Park as Ling
- Richard Wharton as Remmegar
- Iskra Angelova as Nessa
- John Hansson as King Wednesbury
- Ivaylo Geraskov as Gelmaro
- Tyrone Pinkham as Ulfius
Reception
Stephanie Star Smith of Box Office Prophets gave high marks to the special effects creating the dragons. She notes that in the past, "Sci-Fi Originals flicks have had some serious issues with CGI beasties", but approved of the realism of these creatures in this film. She found the acting to be "generally pretty good", and made special mention of the work in the film of John Rhys-Davies and Richard Wharton when opining that Maxwell Caulfield seemed to be an unfortunate casting decision. In summarizing the overall film, she offered "just over an hour-and-a-half, Dragon Storm doesn't wear out its welcome, and since the dragons appear from nearly the first scene, you don't have to wait ages for a look at the real stars of the film".Dragon Storm was chosen by William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
as one of the selections in William Shatner's DVD Club.
German Monsters and Critics
Monsters and Critics
Monsters and Critics is a web-only entertainment/celebrity news and review publication with movie, DVD, video game, and music reviews, along with political commentary as well as coverage of world news, technology, sports, and science.- Background :...
said that "some funny dialogue and neatly animated dragons pep it up" and that "the poor direction of the film is entertaining, and marks out that most of the budget went west for the effects."
Bargain Bin Review dubbed it "a cautionary tale about thoroughly reading contracts and scripts before signing up to a project."
John Rhys-Davies, who had previously played Gimli the Dwarf in Lord of the Rings, said in an interview that "You understand we're not comparing ... Dragon Storm with Lord of the Rings. Stephen directed this in god knows how many days – I think it was only like 21 days. It's a low-budget, rapidly-made, and rather delightful little sci-fi squib."