The Last Dragon
The Last Dragon
PG | 20 March 2005 (USA)
The Last Dragon Trailers

"The Last Dragon" is a nature mockumentary about a British scientific team that attempts to understand the unique incredible beasts that have fascinated people for ages. CGI is used to create the dragons.

Reviews
magarameen

This Show was telecast in 2006 in India.Since there was no proper disclaimer that,the show was only a "Mocumentary" (some of the graphics and enactments were good but had flaws that can be seen by a trained eye.)I now have a tough task in my hands to explain to the 8 year old guy,a dragon enthusiast,that it was only a mocumentary and no dragon remains were found in the Carpathaian mountains. Carpathian,hmmm.. (The next day I was viewing the "Titanic" and a ship appears to save some survivors,with the name "Carpathia" written on its bow. I suggest that,the creators of these kind of "made real" shows,must play all over,but with a suitable disclaimers.Kids believe.

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ironlungs716

As a Dragon lover I completely enjoyed this movie. It was very interesting from the moment it started until it ended. I KNOW it was only fiction, but it was made to look so real. The level of special effects were superb and very convincing. And why is it not possible that Dragons might not have existed ? Millions of years ago is such a long time ago. The movie made it seem all so possible that their existence was a reality. Anyone who loves Dragons will enjoy this movie and I highly recommend it. Patrick Stewart as the narrator was an excellent choice as well. He has such an authoritative voice and commands attention. I personally wish they would make more movies like this about Dragons. My only complaint is that they dealt only with the fire breathing race of Dragons and did not include some of the other races common amongst Dragons.

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James Ruwaldt

I was expecting a show about the mythological origins of dragons, as well as the observations of real animals or misperceptions of other natural phenomena that may have inspired the myths. Instead, I was presented with a proposed account of the evolution of dragons, as if they were real. The narrator did mention in passing that dragons didn't exist, with such clauses as "if dragons were real," and there may have been a disclaimer at the beginning, which I missed. However, the program gives the impression that dragons did exist at one time and that hikers in the Carpathians actually did discover bodies of dragons and scorched knights. Perhaps the producers weren't really trying to deceive, but the program does seem like a hoax in the making. In any case, whether it had been presented purely as a work of fiction or as alleged science, it didn't belong on Animal Planet. Animal Planet is supposed to be about real animals. The show Animal X tends to push the boundaries a little too much as well, particularly with its spooky narrator who tries to encourage viewers to lower their skepticism. The Sci-Fi Channel or The History Channel would have been a much better choice for broadcasting this show.All that said, however, this was a very fascinating program. The production values were excellent, and the science behind dragon evolution appears sound. As a "what if" program it's excellent.

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AirraptorXRC

The Carpathian Mountains of Romania: hikers exploring this fabled range have stumbled onto a unique find, one that requires an official investigation. Paleontologists arrive to find an ice cave in a glacier, revealed by unseasonably warm weather in the region. Inside, they find the corpses of several 15th century knights and make an amazing discovery; a frozen, yet perfectly preserved body of a creature once thought to be only a myth: a dragon.So begins the latest foray from the BBC and the Discovery Networks, "Dragon's World: A Fantasy Made Real", with effects by Framestore, the same company that gave us "Walking with Dinosaurs". The story takes a simple concept - what if dragons were real - and runs with the idea, using science to explain how these animals might have existed.I'm a big fan of the dragon, perhaps the most powerful and inspirational beast of myth, legend, and literature. As a fan of these spectacular beasts, I was practically salivating when I first saw the teaser in January for this program on Animal Planet and have been checking out their website since. It was an exciting thought to think that I would be seeing wyverns taking on T-Rex and winged drakes soaring over snow capped mountains. Dragons were coming to life in the real world.Personally, I enjoyed the program I saw on Animal Planet, narrated here in the US by Patrick Stewart. Stewart is an excellent narrator, and even he apparently got caught up in the action of the program, actually missing a cue at one point. His narration will be missed when I get the actual program, which I hear is narrated by Ian Holm. The program transitions smoothly between the dragons scenes and the scenes involving the investigation into the dragon corpse. Even the autopsy scenes are done well; I wasn't tempted to go look for a snack during these scenes.This program is not without it's faults. While I can believe how an animal that can get to be 900+lbs took off, I'm not quite as sold as how they breathed fire. I can see why the writers and producers went with this method - ancient manuscripts describe the dragons' fire in this way - but I prefer the "Reign of Fire" method. I'm also a little wary about how dragons warmed their eggs; somehow, the idea of dragons "cooking" their eggs doesn't appeal to me, but again, according to most ancient literature, this is how it was done. I also felt that the program should have paid more attention to the aquatic and marine dragons, the fabled "wingless" dragons of China.Perhaps my favorite scene was the mating dance of the mountain dragons, inspired by the rituals of eagles. To see these dragons grasping their claws together and free falling is a sight that anyone would have been awestruck to witness. I was also impressed with the scenes involving the dragon corpse, which actually looked real in many scenes. Usually, when Framestore uses latex models, they somehow can't seem to make them look like anything other than rubber puppets; this was not the case here. In a program where the majority of the dragons were CGI productions, this is a plus.I would recommend this program to anyone who is a fantasy aficionado, or someone who likes dragons and a good story. I've read one reviewer's comments that maybe that this should have been on the Sci-Fi Channel instead of Animal Planet, but I disagree. As one producer said, this is the ultimate animal, one that is known by nearly all human cultures, from the Inuit in the north to the Aboriginies of Australia. It would have probably been more at home on the Discovery Channel, but considering that the BBC has a contract with Discovery's parent company for programs like this, I'm not complaining. And one must remember that while it is done in the style of a documentary, it is a story; but then, isn't that what a documentary is anyway?

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