I stumbled across this on youtube, and being a bit of a dragon freak, I gave it a watch. Firstly, the dragons are fantastic and the Walking With Dinosaurs style documentary sections are beautifully done. It's just a shame that when it comes to the humans that the worst actor was given the most screen time! I have seen a thousand B-movie actors who could do a better job than Paul Hilton. In fact, just about every other actor in this film could have done a better job! He was like a private investigator out of the least classy B rated crime flick ever. For me, he honestly let the whole film down. I guess his script had a lot to answer for too. Surely someone must have said during the recording of Dr Tanner's dialogue and voice-overs "there is no way any self-respecting biologist would speak/act in this way". Every time he came on screen I cringed. That said, Ian Holm's Attenbourgh-esque narration of the dragon's evolutionary journey was fantastic and the special effects and dragon designs were marvellous. And yes, the theories put forward wouldn't stand up to any real scrutiny... but if you are watching a fictitious documentary about the evolution of dragons throughout the ages, I think you can afford a little suspension of disbelief... This would have received a 9 from me if it weren't for Dr Tanner's character.

This one, another Documentary/movie combination, gives us a theory about the 'what if'. If dragon's were to be described from all over the world, and they had very distinct similarities in the ancient inscriptions and images, then 'what if' they actually existed. This movie combines the fictional find of a dragon's carcass and the slow unveiling of its features by a group of scientists, and an actual animation show going along the path of many dinosaur shows shown before on the documentary channel.Some critics bash this one into the ground for being so unbelievable. Its pure fiction thrown into some actual believable scientific explanations. The scientists describe every great aspect and ability of the dragon's that make them unreal and impossible to exist. The excuse made up for breathing fire is not something a scientist, or just a highly educated scholar, would find credible enough to exist, but it does not turn you into someone hating the show from that moment that the actor drew his conclusion. Evolutionary there really isn't anything credible, but so what? One must understand the very essence of evolution and such to really bring all the shown theories down. And given the scientific level of most discovery/animal planet or NGC programs, these channels surely do not aim for scientists as their main goal. Plus the fact that it is compelled into a film there is nothing you should complain about.The animation of the dragon's is very well done and albeit the fact that one, compared to the rest of the animation, very cheap scene is annoyingly often repeated, it stands its ground easily next to any other prehistoric documentary you would compare it with. The acting is not on the same level. The fake emotions and movements of the archaeologists are predictable and diminish the credibility of their story about the fossil's former capabilities. The lead investigator gives me a Daniel Jackson feeling (Archeologist from a famous Sci Fi series) in a way I do not like it. Therefore the usual pleasure of seeing people get astounded at something you, as the watcher, already know, is disturbingly absent.If one would take another look at the scientific value, you could laugh at it. If one could ignore the most of the details and look at it in a mere entertaining way, the way a usual citizen would watch to a dinosaur documentary on the animal channel, it is truly a superb film. Something worth to establish your entire family for and enjoy the nearly 100 minutes of dragon theories. The early climax of the two mating dragons imitating the ritual of eagles clashes into your eyes and awakens your possibly slumbered attention by the water and jungle dragons, and keeps you attended to the rest of the show.I would recommend this to anyone wanting a good show about dragon's. Do not expect too much and have yourself be awestruck by the visuals and pleasing story lines. The overall picture makes you forget the flaws and therefore I give this a nine.

I rented this movie tonight out of curiosity. First I thought this would be some lousy action movie with even lousier effects (think Ice Planet, for example). But I was positively surprised to find out that this science fiction quasi-documentary was actually thoroughly enjoyable.I am a fan of "Walking With Dinosaurs", and as a fantasy enthusiast, this documentary was right up my alley. Sure I know that dragons weren't real, but the theories provided seemed sound enough to me. And I have to admit, I was touched by the tragedy of the mountain dragons as well as awe-struck by the beauty of the dragons mating, taking the plunge and scorching the ground as they pull up.As a "what if" documentary this was a 10/10. If somebody wants to complain that this isn't a "real" documentary, they should pay in mind that it was not planned as such. Dragon's World is a different and enjoyable document to see, as long as you don't take everything too seriously.Besides, you never know...

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?