Dragon Wars (2007)
[+]
(Foreign Titles)
Nomination Year: 2010
SYNOPSIS: There is this celestial thingit, the Yeouijoo? Yuh Yi Jooh? Toto? Anyway, it gets fed to an Imoogi every five hundred years, and then the Imoogi gets to become a Celestial Dragon. It only goes to the best Imoogi. But a not-worthy Imoogi got jealous, and so it got cast down to earth, where it forms in the body of a particular young woman once she turns twenty. Got it? Good Imoogi. Bad Imoogi. Yoh Yej Joo? An Imoogi, by the way, is not only a giant dragon-snake thingy, it's also a lot of fun to say. Try it. Imoogi Imoogi Imoogi.
So, back in 1507, the guy who guarded the girl in order to eventually feed her to the Good Imoogi fell in love with her, and she with him, so they committed suicide rather than feed her to either Imoogi, Good or Bad.
Five hundred years later, their reincarnations (Ethan the news reporter, and Sarah the Yuhjiyoo) face essentially the same choice.
Philosophically, the movie is inferior to other action-movie ruminations on the human condition. Sort of Terminator 2 lite. James Cameron's Terminator 2, not Bruno Mattei's Terminator II. Most of the characters were dealt with in broad strokes (Sassy Black Nurse, Helpful Best Friend, Enigmatic Teacher, Psychiatrist Who Doesn't Believe Any Of This). Cliche? Abundant.
I do have this to say in its favor, however. The CGI was decent. If you want to see a giant dragon-snake thingy and its associated evil army dudes fighting Blackhawk helicopters (and ground support) in downtown L.A., this is probably the movie for you. The large battle sequence toward the end of the movie was well-choreographed and thought-out. There were even nice little touches, like when a Blackhawk flew close to the "camera" followed by two flying things, the "camera" rattled as though it were a real camera shooting film, and not a computer perspective on a complex series of numbers and colors.
And, if you're the sort of person who cares about this kind of thing, this is one of those rare films where the government (with the exception of one FBI agent, and even he could be argued to be "overly pragmatic" instead of "treacherous") and the military were entirely part of the solution, and not of the problem.
I don't know if I need to watch the whole thing again, but I wouldn't mind watching the Battle For Downtown L.A. section on a big screen.
So, back in 1507, the guy who guarded the girl in order to eventually feed her to the Good Imoogi fell in love with her, and she with him, so they committed suicide rather than feed her to either Imoogi, Good or Bad.
Five hundred years later, their reincarnations (Ethan the news reporter, and Sarah the Yuhjiyoo) face essentially the same choice.
Philosophically, the movie is inferior to other action-movie ruminations on the human condition. Sort of Terminator 2 lite. James Cameron's Terminator 2, not Bruno Mattei's Terminator II. Most of the characters were dealt with in broad strokes (Sassy Black Nurse, Helpful Best Friend, Enigmatic Teacher, Psychiatrist Who Doesn't Believe Any Of This). Cliche? Abundant.
I do have this to say in its favor, however. The CGI was decent. If you want to see a giant dragon-snake thingy and its associated evil army dudes fighting Blackhawk helicopters (and ground support) in downtown L.A., this is probably the movie for you. The large battle sequence toward the end of the movie was well-choreographed and thought-out. There were even nice little touches, like when a Blackhawk flew close to the "camera" followed by two flying things, the "camera" rattled as though it were a real camera shooting film, and not a computer perspective on a complex series of numbers and colors.
And, if you're the sort of person who cares about this kind of thing, this is one of those rare films where the government (with the exception of one FBI agent, and even he could be argued to be "overly pragmatic" instead of "treacherous") and the military were entirely part of the solution, and not of the problem.
I don't know if I need to watch the whole thing again, but I wouldn't mind watching the Battle For Downtown L.A. section on a big screen.
Kevin Hogan
Hyung-Rae Shim
