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Reviews12
eowyn_in_gondor's rating
My husband had seen this movie without me and he called it "Mediocre at best." Having seen it for myself, I am inclined to agree.
I read the book - it had some interesting and creative elements in it that made it quite charming. I enjoyed a lot of the backstory. But in the process of turning the story into a movie, they had to sacrifice a lot. A LOT. In fact, as I was watching this movie, I thought to myself, "This is a lot like Star Wars, except with dragons." It has all the same elements: A young boy from the middle of nowhere finds his destiny and after the death of his uncle joins an old man on a noble quest to save the princess and join the rebels so they can dethrone the evil emperor. Furthermore, the old man was once a member or an order of supernatural knights and trains the young boy to carry on the glorious tradition thereof, at least until the old man dies, which spurs the young boy to vengeance. They both have lightsabers, too! Zar'Roc in the movie does that cool flame thing. PHhoosh! I thought the special effects were OK. I liked the dragon. They made the CGI version look a lot like the image on the cover of the first book. It was cool to watch her fly around and roar at people on the big screen. I think that was my only favorite part. All-in-all, I think I"ll just buy the DVD of Star Wars instead. It's the same thing, really.
I read the book - it had some interesting and creative elements in it that made it quite charming. I enjoyed a lot of the backstory. But in the process of turning the story into a movie, they had to sacrifice a lot. A LOT. In fact, as I was watching this movie, I thought to myself, "This is a lot like Star Wars, except with dragons." It has all the same elements: A young boy from the middle of nowhere finds his destiny and after the death of his uncle joins an old man on a noble quest to save the princess and join the rebels so they can dethrone the evil emperor. Furthermore, the old man was once a member or an order of supernatural knights and trains the young boy to carry on the glorious tradition thereof, at least until the old man dies, which spurs the young boy to vengeance. They both have lightsabers, too! Zar'Roc in the movie does that cool flame thing. PHhoosh! I thought the special effects were OK. I liked the dragon. They made the CGI version look a lot like the image on the cover of the first book. It was cool to watch her fly around and roar at people on the big screen. I think that was my only favorite part. All-in-all, I think I"ll just buy the DVD of Star Wars instead. It's the same thing, really.
I have to admit, I loved the dance scenes. Talk about eye candy! Very very very cool. The hairstyles were a bit off, though. If you've seen actual pictures of Geisha hairdos, they're nothing like the film versions, so minus a point or two for historical accuracy.
But the thing that really makes me hate this film (and subtracts several million points) is that everyone treats it as if it was a documentary, when in reality this story is pure fiction. What this film needs is a disclaimer, "The guy who wrote the book that this movie is based on had a cup of tea with a real geisha and then made a bunch of stuff up." I would go so far as to call it slander. Geisha are not prostitutes as they claim in the movie and in the book. There are prostitutes in Japan, and sometimes those prostitutes do get their virginity auctioned off, but those people are not affiliated with the Geisha. I say, if you want to learn about the life of a Geisha, check out Mineko Iwasaki's autobiography, "Geisha: A Life" and stay away from this drivel.
But the thing that really makes me hate this film (and subtracts several million points) is that everyone treats it as if it was a documentary, when in reality this story is pure fiction. What this film needs is a disclaimer, "The guy who wrote the book that this movie is based on had a cup of tea with a real geisha and then made a bunch of stuff up." I would go so far as to call it slander. Geisha are not prostitutes as they claim in the movie and in the book. There are prostitutes in Japan, and sometimes those prostitutes do get their virginity auctioned off, but those people are not affiliated with the Geisha. I say, if you want to learn about the life of a Geisha, check out Mineko Iwasaki's autobiography, "Geisha: A Life" and stay away from this drivel.