Damsel (Netflix) - Review (Non-Spoiler & Spoiler)

Millie Bobby Brown faces a dragon in Netflix's latest original - should you stream it?
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0:00 - Non-Spoiler
5:24 - Spoilers

[@Z-Strike026]

This sounds like a movie that deserves a Pitch Meeting.

[@blackbeardbarkbark]

Dragons are tight.

[@_Amit_Sunil]

Is there a movie that doesn't get a Pitch Meeting

[@chandnirai7039]

In my head I went “Ba-dum bush” 🥁 😂

[@johnnyskinwalker4095]

ah ha ha

[@gabrielleroux2333]

It will be super easy to make, barely an inconvenience

[@patiencembah7275]

I think my biggest loophole was, how come the dragon didn’t realise Elodie wasn’t a royal despite smelling her own fathers blood or meeting him

[@wannabefarmerr]

My thoughts exactly

[@chencoloma370]

Because if she were royally, and her mom was the royal while the dad married into it then turned king. The mom is the one with the royal blood. Not the dad. And the obviously Elodie has both parents blood, half royal/ half normal.

[@julianmarco4185]

​@chencoloma370 Kind of strange that the dragon was like: I'll kill your daughters... but somehow it didn't smell any of his (the father's) blood on any of the other girls it had killed recently and not question it. Does the dragon think that the queen had a harem of men who impregnate her?

[@DS94everXev]

Well both Elodie and her father were royalty of their own land.

[@safy907]

I questioned that too, but then thought "maybe the dragon thinks she's royal from the mother side. Only 3 woman get thrown.

[@Yeodoongiiie]

i kept screaming at the screen for her to shut uuuup😄 like the dragon will hear you ! wtf. haha

[@brianh3253]

Right? She was getting on my nerves! 😂

[@animemangalover94]

I mean I don’t disagree about the constant screaming, but I thought it was good to show the pain from the burns was so strong she couldn’t stop herself from screaming. A lot of action movies now have gotten to the point where the hero’s get shot or break an arm and just keep going without more than a grunt, I appreciated that as a relatively normal person she couldn’t stop herself from screaming in fear or pain, even if it was dangerous to make noise. Except then they had her get burnt worse and not react as much, and the stepmom got stabbed and is totally fine to ride a horse . . .

[@hardensoul7248]

@@animemangalover94yea and she didn’t scream much later in the movie!

[@animemangalover94]

@@hardensoul7248 you could read that as she's getting used to the pain/getting stronger mentally, I suppose?

[@hardensoul7248]

@@animemangalover94 that and she realizes she shouldn’t make noises for dragon to hear!

[@SneakyNinjaDog]

It also had a weird tone. Aside for the people getting horrible immolated, it has a very kid-vibe. The dialogue is very simple and often just stating the obvious. And the turn of the dragon is like the end of Never Ending Story.

[@candidwings5609]

Agreed - it felt like a poorly executed mashup of heartfelt fantasy adventure and action thriller monster/survival movie. Emotional beats didn't land and obvious plot armor undermined the tension. [SPOILER] Also, "befriending" the dragon came out of nowhere. If she had been communicating back and forth from the beginning - unraveling the mystery with the enemy - it would have made more sense and added some psychological tension to maintain the energy between action sequences.

[@koloblicin4599]

​​​​@@candidwings5609 . . [Spoiler!] . . . . . The psychology of the dragoness as a whole was whimsical. If she - reasonably - considered *all* humankind evil for the crime, why didn't she wipe them out earlier -afterall she did also kill more than three girls? Assuming L.O.D. did - in only three phrases no less - persuade Dragona that the girls were innocent, why would she join with her beyond the revenge? Maybe I'm wrong, but there's so much more, that's shallow at best.

[@frostfang1]

​@@koloblicin4599agreed! I had hoped in the beginning maybe she was lonely, or gave them some kind of trial (an unfornately lethal one), Or that Elodie could do more to prove humans weren't all horrible, so they could form a stronger bond than just... "I'm going to heal you instead of kill you, also revenge!" Like that dragon could have had that revenge to begin with. And the fact that that first king killed her children "unprovoked" and then also was willing to sacrifice his own daughters to survive...ya it wasn't really revenge he would feel too hard about. Having it become a game, or a maze she can figure out and win against the dragon, and proving the dragons changed since that first point of grief and revenge, and them building to some kinda bond or a substitute mother daughter relationship, or even more so between the dragon and her sister would have made a lot more sense and been more rewarding. And it's funny because it's not like media for kids haven't done this. One of my favorite books is Dealing With Dragons. The princess seeks out a dragon herself and they become very good friends, and she avoids a marriage to a prince she does not like or compatible with.

[@JDotWill]

Maybe they were trying to recapture some of that 80’s darkness that a lot of kid & family movies of that era had

[@BankMoviegoer]

I knew it was coming, but I still wasn't prepared for that joke lol

[@jujutaylor2186]

Seems like that joke was better than this flick😮

[@andrewfong2734]

Huzzah! We didn't get the cut to some meme or an extreme ironic closeup. Thanks, Dan!

[@LiliRoche]

The injury on her body also switched at the last scene. It was so obvious that I even noticed it as someone who only semi watch the movie.

[@TaroLoaf]

glad someone else noticed that. i was annoyed how they did that

[@ren9143]

I didn't notice and I'm glad I didn't

[@hardensoul7248]

I didn’t notice, any injuries if there was would’ve been healed by the slugs anyways! That’s what I was thinking!

[@LiliRoche]

@@hardensoul7248 it was healed but you can still see the scars and it was on the opposite side like lol.

[@josephwindle-puente9259]

Oh I didn't see the switch. But I thought the slugs healed it completely

[@Syldarin]

Intro had me laughing out loud. Dad humor at its finest 😂

[@kevinrose3268]

Same lol

[@fangorn875]

Lol..I see 3 imaginary dot dot dot when he tried 😂

[@daisyblossomflowerchild9702]

Dan's face just before he slowly hides under the desk 😂. ;)

[@Ductos]

This intro made it to Eleven.

[@benzaiten933]

he filmed it, knew exactly how much of a dad-joke this was, yet still included it - respect!

[@marcopolo2418]

The dragon turned "good" after her life was sparred not after she heard the truth.

[@TVandManga]

That Conan the Barbarian impression made me laugh.

[@Towkeeyoh]

So good tho

[@robostripez]

I will say that Disney should use this movie as a blueprint for the color grading for their future live action films. The colors were absolutely perfect for fantasy

[@musicmashups]

I honestly didn't think the script was that bad until [SPOILER] the magic slugs completely repair the dragon's entire facial tissue and it's gouged-out eye. Apparently these slugs have the ability to regrow muscle tissue from the ground up: I bet they were how Floria's broken leg got healed as well.

[@ramoneflemore1208]

and yes the dragon can talk. It's entertainment

[@veronicamaine3813]

Yeah because magic slugs are known not to be able to do that 🙄

[@CaulkMongler]

@@veronicamaine3813 I mainly wonder about the moral repercussions of the discovery of the worms. If she knows about the miracle worms, does that mean she on some level can pick and choose death for people who believe themselves to be crippled or terminal? What if they wipe out the population of miracle worms? 🤣

[@tashnyats1426]

the magic slugs in a dragons lair kind of made sense to me dragons usually protect extremely magical things

[@skrrtbrrt714]

Dude, it's Fantasy, we don't need to be scientific. If you noticed, they glow, and there's a mythical fucking dragon.

[@kenthehobo]

Not dad jokes, Dan jokes

[@kylecasey9254]

Pregnancy foreshadowing?

[@michaelmiller3012]

I enjoyed the movie. I enjoyed it because as soon as I started addressing the glaring plot holes in my mind, I decided "Nah. I'm not going to overthink it. It's fine."

[@dannysmi7162]

You can do that for every movie and then there will be no bad movies, in your opinion.

[@michaelmiller3012]

@@dannysmi7162 Not true at all. THIS film was enjoyable on the surface and really only falls apart when analyzing it. There are a LOT of films that are just plain unenjoyable.

[@tigrezangel]

I totally, totally agree. The ending makes no sense for the storyline. I think the movie was thought of as a series of cool shots and concept art and not from a cohesive story. It irks me when movies dismiss the logic of the plot and the story just to focus on cool shots.

[@HouseTargaryen24601]

I think there's actually a book this is based on.

[@tigrezangel]

@@HouseTargaryen24601 Ok. If the book goes the same way, then it has the same problem. I like the idea of the story, but the end messed it all up. The ending is crucial to be rewatchable.

[@MrMojoman1976]

That’s about 75% of modern movies

[@tigrezangel]

@@MrMojoman1976 you're absolutely right.

[@ricebrown1]

That was a solid Arnold impression.

[@keighleymccarty5531]

I just don’t understand why she didn’t just tell the dragon as soon as she realised it could talk….

[@hassanswift1103]

That is the same thing I thought! The movie stresses that she’s intelligent, witty and speaks well, but after realizing the dragon can speak she never attempts to communicate with it other than screaming!

[@keighleymccarty5531]

@@hassanswift1103 and then suddenly at the end decides to ‘tell the dragon the truth’ - why was she hiding it in the first place?? I honestly couldn’t concentrate on any of the rest of the film

[@jabezhane]

It's the "Supposed intelligent characters have to act dumb or 'forget important stuff' for the sake of something bigger happening in the plot later on!" trope. If you want a perfect example of this watch Season two of Joe Pickett and marvel at how the main characters suddenly lose 80 IQ points and fail to think how modern tech works (and the legal system etc.) in the last two episodes.

[@88detour]

Well a lot of evil things took place in that castle. Why not burn it to the ground. I like the story in that Millie Bobby Brown and the Dragon become adversaries.This movie wasn't deep or that particularly well written. I thought Damsel was a nice little charming movie. I could watch it again.

[@UncleOf5]

Actually kind of like the movie

[@kevoyystewart7616]

You mentioned that Elodie caused an entire kingdom to fall even though not everyone was complicit, but she did give them an opportunity to leave yet som didn’t leave. I agree that she could've at least considered relocating her people to that kingdom but that would also cause the same displacement that you mentioned that she caused the evil kingdom.

[@DikaWolf]

Exactly, anyone who didn't leave she considered complicit. I would have too.

[@walt776]

As for the ending, it think was pretty well established that the kingdom-at least all the nobility-was in on it, so I didn’t walk away thinking they had just slaughtered a bunch of innocents. Anyway, I thought the movie was fun whenever the dragon was onscreen. Otherwise, meh. Felt like they didn’t want to commit to the horror movie nature of the premise, so we got a very safe and watered-down popcorn movie when it should have been darker. (Which would have been a better fit for the ending.)

[@gurmeharaulakh9262]

It being darker would have meant a decent script

[@rodneycooperjr3223]

There was a part of the movie in which she was using a little flame from her amulet to light her way through a tunnel in a cave. It was giving me "John McClain in the air ducts" vibes, and I really wanted her to say something like... "We'll go to the kingdom, get married, be wealthy, have a few laughs" Seriously though, there were parts of it that felt like Die Hard in a fantasy setting with a young female protagonist, right down to her running around barefooted for most of the movie 🤣

[@outkastkidd]

Bruh it’s fantasy. Like dam , yall critique the stupidest things.

[@rodneycooperjr3223]

@@outkastkidd What critique?

[@kevintrjohnson]

Didn't Nimona do the same thing, better, last year--the kingdom in that movie is built entirely on a mythologized moment as well, with a betrayal (Nimona's young friend/love interest turning on her out of fear of being ostracized by her people) turning into the propaganda of heroism (her casting-out of Nimona is made into a grand, heroic deed).

[@themeanhornet1070]

Ehhhhh. It was OK …. Wouldn’t got into a car and went anywhere for it.

[@Smallgirl24]

I never get tired of your clever intro puns 😂😂😂 they bring me joy

[@halinasarapata5611]

Dan, I love this review. I am a tiny-micro-youtuber and watched this movie yesterday and made notes. And definitely made a comparison with 'Ready or Not' in my mind. I'm so proud of myself

[@yomamma359]

The Dad jokes are my favorite and take the most courage to deliver, great intro 😂

[@15Candles]

That's not Dad jokes, that's Dan jokes 😂

[@teruphoto]

Hey, at least that joke slayed one person...

[@darrenschlotman24]

It throw me off when her burn scar moved from the right to the left!

[@fumzsimmer1992]

I couldn't understand why they were trying to trick us with the happy romance at the beginning, as if we hadn't seen the trailer 😂

[@vickijackson5547]

I don't think they were trying to trick the audience. Just tell the story of how Elodie was put at ease enough to go along.

[@sonicpsycho13]

It was like 10 minutes of basic setup. They spelled out the basic premise from the beginning. They're showing how the protagonist got into the situation. If the movie started with her at the bottom of the pit, you'd be asking how she got there.

[@lopezcarmencecilia]

I didn't see it that way, the beginning was basically her being sold off to a family for money. She was basically a meal/prey being prepared. Just to be clear I didn't know anything besides the summary. Obviously, I think it totally depends on how you view arranged marriages.

[@themeanhornet1070]

LOL the evil king looked like he walked off a deck of cards with that beard.

[@IonutZumba]

Dan, you are getting better and better with each review, this was one of the most accurate, entertaining and honest review I''ve seen in a while! Way to go! Your evolution with your channel is inspiring!

[@natchats3099]

In the end however, she does ask who wants to leave before she burns down the village, which I assumed to run away and run onto her ship

[@trent2219]

Ready or Not with a dragon and dialog written by chat gpt. It at least was pretty to look at. MBB is always charismatic. On the ending, I think the ppl in the kingdom and definitely the other higher ups, knew they were going through a bunch of princesses likely killing them (the marriage ceremonies were out in the open) and reaping the benefits. Now setting the kingdom on fire is still way overboard though.

[@Suzanne_sf]

Hi Dan! Thank you for letting us know about the spoilers. I still want to give it a watch to find out more about the plot. I sat through the Game of Thrones finale, so I will watch this for the dragon alone if nothing else. I just wish it was better. I like it when a fairy tale is told differently than it usually is. Also, if she does have problems getting to her goal, then maybe I will think of it as "just fine." I will be back to see the rest after seeing the show. :)

[@Silberfuchs1986]

I am not sure how you get the idea that a whole kingdom lives in a single castle. It's just the nobility and their staff. So while the dragon burning the whole castle surely would also kill a lot of rather innocent staff, there seem to be A LOT of people involved in that sacrifice scheme, not only the three royals. Also I am sorry but the idea to bring your entire kingdom over to then all live in a castle (where already a whole kingdom supposedly lives?) is outrageous. That's not how it works...

[@handuong2893]

My husband was really annoyed by the damsel nonstop screaming 😂😂😂 it could have been better but it was cute for what it was.

[@benzaiten933]

but if she's not constantly screaming, then how would she inform her enemies of her location?!

[@Daniela-gp4fk]

Yes i agree, nonstop screaming, i was constantly annoyed and shouting at the tv to stfup, what is wrong with you ?? It also gave a lot of anxiety because it felt like she was constantly in danger. Netflix is going down rapidly, these are really bad movies. I think the movie would have been saved by some good actors and another script. A 1/10 for me..

[@gabrielleroux2333]

@@Daniela-gp4fkyour last sentence don’t make any sense. With a different script , it wouldn’t be “saved” it would just be a totally different movie 🙄🤦🏻‍♂️

[@spiritloa]

In the trailer she looked like a badass. But she was such a noob lol.

[@jackpreston9435]

Lazzy writing.

[@brandonsavare6915]

I really liked this movie. It wasn't the best, but it was far from the worst. This movie was honestly a breath of fresh air compared to most of the slop that Hollywood has been dishing out the last couple of years. I'd honestly say it's a solid 7/10.

[@kenyoung149]

Totally agree. Plus it was cheaper then going to theater and being disappointed

[@HushIAmTalking]

Just finished watching this movie. Maybe my expectations were just low but I had a lot of fun with it! It had some gorgeous shots and fun action sequences and it was about the right length for me. Was the plot entirely predictable with some questionable dialogue? Are there some (glaring) logical inconsistencies? Yes! But they didn’t stop me enjoying it tbh

[@raceydaniels]

The end made perfect since. The royal court watched girl after girl get tossed down the pit to the dragon and she gave them an out and they chose their fate pretty much agree with everything else he said tho

[@nevskislake]

"Though I think it should be a crime to cast Angela Bassett and give her nothing meaningful to do." Yes! This!

[@Artofcarissa]

I saw this movie and while I liked parts of it, I feel like other parts of it didn’t make sense. Spoilers below Are we really gonna believe that putting a royals blood in a regular persons palm would make them smell like a royal for multiple days? Or even multiple hours? I did like the twist of the king not coming unprovoked and murdering the baby dragons, which is why the dragon asked the king to sacrifice his 3 daughters. I also wasn’t really a fan of the dragon speaking. The cg was decent but the dragon design was kinda meh, especially the face

[@TwinRiver100]

saw the trailer for it, not sure it really got me that much excited. felt like something that would've been at home in the early 2010s or something like that as far as premises. i like your alternate ending idea where she takes over with the dragon, takes out the elites that were perpetuating the system and brings others into the kingdom and space that has abundant resources or something. i pretty much figured i'd skip this movie due to it seeming shruggable to me. watched this to see what i was missing out on and maybe if i was being too hasty as far as writing this off.

[@animemangalover94]

I definitely wouldn’t say this is a perfect movie, but I didn’t feel like the burning of the castle undercut the message/motivations of the characters. The difference between ready or not and this movies ending is the fact that it’s been centuries in between the dragon babies murder and the castle’s burning. Everyone of the nobles who showed up to the ancient ceremony I assumed were descendants of the royal family and knew the full story. Why else would they all stand around and watch 3 foreign girls get thrown in a pit every generation? She also gave everyone like 5 minutes to get out of the castle, which was obviously there to spare the ‘innocents’ (servants) from the dragons revenge. It’s meant to be wish fullfillment in the sense of having survived the scapegoating and suffering these ‘rich privileged ppl’ have subjected so many girls before you to, to turn what they’ve done back on them. Like an old fairytale the ending is to get revenge and vindication, not to be a better person. In terms of her leaving this country behind without a governing apparatus, she never expressed care for them and compared to her ppl, they will at least have a climate to grow food in. She cared about her ppl because they were her responsibility, it doesn’t make sense that she would tell them all to move away from their home and join this island community, there’s no guarantee there would be enough land to support her ppl and the rest of the kingdom anyway. That would also smack of being a conquering/colonising force, I think it was definitely a smarter thematic choice to return home rather than bring home to this new land. She also was self-aware in the beginning of the movie that she has never seen riches like this, she wouldn’t know how to govern a country this rich anyway. I also don’t think revealing the royal families fake sacrifices would have made a difference. At least the whole capital town knows that every generation foreign girls are brought in, married to the royal family and then disappear. And if we assume that only the nobles know the real reason for the dragons revenge, as far as the commoners are concerned the dragon is a monster that they have no empathy for. To anyone living near the mountain it’s definitely a good thing to kill the dragon babies because more dragons = more of them/ their livestock being eaten. Frankly the best thing she did for the ppl of the country was somehow convincing the dragon to leave and follow her home to the freezing cold?

[@AnkokuDragon]

I think you are judging the morals of a dragón too harshly... She scorched her place out of anger when Elodie escaped, for her to be minding her power when finally going against the people she had a grudge with... Is asking a lot... The dragón might only care for Elodie, as the revelation on killing innocents wasnt enough to turn her, it was when Elodie saves Her life that closed the deal. And in that point of the story, Elodie wasnt in control of the dragon, while Daenerys was.

[@Elmerphant]

Spoiler: Minute 45 : 18 in the movie (Millie/Elodie looks out the mountain and you can see the Castle on her side but then the Kingdom is on the other side of the river. Even when she first arrives they pass all the fields and town by the docks to then pass over a huge body of water/bridge to the royal castle. The castle is not near the main land where the common folk live. They live across the bridge over the river.) The kingdom isn't totally destroyed. It's just the castle with the wealthiest. She gives everyone a chance to run away. First the bride and then the people in court. Anyone who decides to stay gets burned. The entire kingdom is huge with rich fields/crops. You can still see people in the town when she is leaving to board the boat. Remember the court are there (in their masks) to watch as the King, Queen, and Prince throw innocent girls into the cave. They are just as complacent as the royals. So they only destroyed the huge castle and not the entire kingdom. I can see your point about her taking over but it caused her so much trauma and they can govern themselves. As their kingdom is in tact. She leaves with her family and the Dragon (and the money they gave her father) because she must rule her own Kingdom (as her father is dead). SO she is being responsible and taking care of her people.

[@blackpills.t.n7266]

Lmao she gave them 30 seconds to run and They were at the TOP of the tower, How were they regular people supposed to make it out with so little time??

[@kellybrincks]

I was looking forward to this when I first read about it. I will still check it out. Just watched 'Stop Motion' today. Discussions to be had.

[@kaijunaut6400]

Elodie offered for anyone who wasn’t complicit to run. Anyone who stayed was likely part of the royal family or cult. And it wasn’t the kingdom that burnt down, just the castle and again she gave them a chance to run away.

[@DanMurrellMovies]

She told one courtyard to run. I think that castle contained more than one courtyard

[@kaijunaut6400]

@@DanMurrellMovies from what I could see think there only is one courtyard in the castle and aside from guards or other workers which we see run away, everyone involved is there.

[@animemangalover94]

@@DanMurrellMoviesI didn’t realise it until you mentioned the shot compositions inside the castle made it seem small, but maybe the castle is relatively small. This is apparently an island nation, and when you see the dragon take up 1 whole corner of the courtyard roof, and the end shot of Elodie walking out the castle door, it really doesn’t look that big. I would also assume anyone in the castle but not in the courtyard heard/saw the dragon coming, and ran the hell away lol, hopefully warned anyone who hadn’t seen it along the way.

[@vaporwave4880]

The dragon had no moral high ground in any case. It murdered countless innocent girls and tortured them first.

[@eliza00]

i wish it would’ve had the alternative ending you described. i personally was very confused with the direction it went in at the end. i also don’t understand how the bloody handshake made all of her blood smell royal?? also why only daughters? did it explicitly say that the three baby dragons were all girls ? what happened to the daddy dragon? why did elodie’s father knowingly go into a dragon lair and have his men calling out for her?? the dragon holds no resentment to losing an eye? aren’t dragons immune to fire??? why was her fire more like lava? i have so many questions lol

[@croked]

never change dan 🤣

[@SilverScale.]

I think it's implied the dragon burned the castle city after everyone who needed to run got out of dodge. She lets them go before the dragon showed up, and it's implied they let them leave then burned the place down. Imo, if neither Elodie nor the dragon want a city there anymore after all they've done, it's fine not to move in there and not keep that whole thing going, you know?

[@wimpymcsteel4458]

She gives anyone who does not support the King a chance to leave. Some do, but most stay behind. It is implied that those who stayed behind knew of, and approved of the sacrifices. Kind of a reach, if you ask me, but this is a fairy tale.

[@counter10r]

@@wimpymcsteel4458I found it interesting that it was all the servants who left--that is, the ones who had given her the corset busk dagger, pomander lantern, and the crinoline sleeves that she could use as a wormbag lantern when the pomander gives out. I really wanted a scene to show that it was intentional, not just Elodie Magivering conveniently provided random stuff. But I also thought it was stupid that the rest of the nobles and the royal family, who obviously have been actively participating in the princess-sacrifices for generations, just hang out so that they can get torched. I think it would have been more satisfying if there'd been some interaction with an Aurean who would be left as the next steward of the land. To my eye, it was just the castle (I mean, we saw acres and acres of fields and vineyards in the scenes leading up to the wedding), so while you can argue that the administrative and military center of the kingdom is gone, there's still lots of resources--unless it also had to do with the dragon. That might explain why Elodie is sailing home WITH the dragon accompanying her--but there's nothing in the script that actually confirms that Aurea's abundant wealth had anything to do with maintaining the dragon.

[@Enriqueguiones]

Isn't the play "Iphigenia" about a girl who thinks is going to marry a handsome man only to be sacrificed in a gruesome way? That thing was written in 406 BC. So much for "originality"...

[@stefanlammer3439]

..but it's really not fair to Euripides to compare his work with this...

[@benzaiten933]

you know the idiom: "there's nothing new under the sun". but that doesn't mean you can't tell a compelling story, no matter how many times its been told before.

[@MrKrtek00]

someone already took all the Mezopothemian action movie ideas

[@Enriqueguiones]

@@MrKrtek00 I dunno. Arthurian lore is pretty dope and I wouldn't say it took too much from Gilgamesh. One would think that a medieval fantasy would take at least a couple of ideas from the fantasies of the Middle Ages...

[@joannedelacruz4664]

Yup and There is no such thing as originality at this period. Everyone had already covered all the plots of story telling. The only difference is the way they deliver it

[@mikko272]

Hei was the timeline established on how many were were sacrificed and was it only tree, i feel that there is some disconnect.

[@knaditya8228]

I was waiting for this review since the movie release, I just remembered Dan was going make Demon Slayer review of S4’s first episode did I miss it or he is not going to make it anymore?

[@syahlawatimohamadbeji7120]

Spoiler.. As Elodie's father is bleeding to death, shouldn't the dragon have been able to sense that his blood is not royal, and then question why his daughter's is?

[@solannedmundo.harina9908]

Man idk

[@raceydaniels]

The father?! Hell all the bleeding she was doing 😂

[@amirrhodesve791]

i mean, one parent isnt going to have royal blood. or that would be incest.

[@user-xi6lw4pf9g]

Maybe the dragon though the royal blood line came from Elodie's mother.

[@Panthror]

The 'Game of Thrones' vibes were all over this movie, if I'm not mistaken Elodie lived in the same castle that show used as the home of the Starks before she went to marry the prince.

[@mikligardur9104]

I agree with your take on the ending and regarding the castle. The castle scene at the end just felt wrong.

[@rosed7060]

For me nothing will ever come close to the Smaug thief scene in the hobbit.I literally held my breath in the cinema. My anxiety was through the roof. And Bilbo had to be really really quiet to not get caught. Cumberbatch was amazing. So I am not sure if I am able to watch this …

[@josephwindle-puente9259]

Also ... she showed the cut to the dragon when she dropped in the pit #2. Ya know the cut at the ceremony before dropping into the pit that was healed with the slugs during #1.

[@counter10r]

Was it that the larvae could cure any wound, or just the results of dragon fire? (I only watched once, so not sure if the injuries on her arm were scrapes or also burns--obviously, the wound on her chest was a burn.) Though referencing dragon fire, my partner wondered why dragons wouldn't have some immunity to their own fire. Obviously, it doesn't injure their throats/mouths--maybe it has to be exposed to open air/oxygen in order to burn?

[@ElizabethWilliamsBushey]

I thought the same thing when the castle went down. Did all the servants get out safe?!

[@Ushi123]

That dad joke was not that bad. It made me laugh. 🤣🤣🤣

[@pringlw]

I found the moral lesson of this movie disturbing. The dragon killed hundreds of innocents and yet somehow remained the victim. The dragon was fooled into killing women from a different family line - but what if the women were descended from the original king? Would they be less innocent? They had nothing to do with the original king’s sin. Finally, what about the villagers? Why did they deserve to die? This movie celebrates and whitewashes guilt by association. Really disturbing.

[@jenjen462]

Just like many others, I was under the impression that the innocents ran away before the castle was burt, granted it seemed to happen quickly after I warning but assume that was to save time and rescources of filming all the people running away... I thought the movie was pretty good, I am someone who is pretty easy to please though when it comes to movies. It wasn't the most amazing movie ever but, it was pretty and it had a good message: Stop perpetuating evils and show mercy/forgiveness (aside from the justice that was rightfully enacted on the evil royals). I was actually really glad they had it end where she spared the poor dragon momma. I mean, she did terrible things too but that was because she never learned to let go of her grudges until the end of the movie I guess. There were a few decently noticable plot-holes but for one of her first movies I feel like Millie did quite well with this one. Quite a lot of raw emotion and gorgeous scenery paired with a light (predictable) easy to follow story that felt somewhat like a proverb I guess is what I'd compare it to? Just overall I found it to be a nice watch and it didn't make me angry in the end so that was a bonus. One thing I didn't understand specifically is the flaming birds scene though... Like, why would the birds even be down in the dragon's cave? Birds are pretty smart at times and I don't think that a huge flock like that would be going anywhere near a huge ass dragon but ey, I guess they wanted the cool and traumatic scene. Also, poor horse as well? Yeah. Actors all did very well, I liked her little sister Floria, she was someone I'd never seen but I thought she did pretty well too. Cute.

[@gbdomingo]

For me, it’s been happening for generations, the entire kingdom is complicit.

[@sonicpsycho13]

Yeah, the entire kingdom is implied to be knowledgeable of the sacrifices and agrees with it, hence the "Eyes Wide Shut" masks during the wedding/sacrifice ceremony. It's like Slavers' Bay in GoT.

[@tzk121]

Exactly. There's absolutely no way to determine who was complicit and who was not in a movie like this. They all needed to go.

[@RafCole]

I want a compilation of Dan's intro jokes. Pls, anyone? Come-on, that's comedy gold!

[@TheFantasticFox822]

Love the Arnie impression 😂

[@energyknowsbest7853]

I just watched the HT Commentary for Robin Hood, so I know how much Dan loves "Forget what you think you know." 😂

[@jonathanortega753]

Reminds me the 80's film Dragonslayer which I've never seen it however I seen the trailer and it looks magnificent and the dragon design looks unbelievable real

[@johnnyskinwalker4095]

you should see Dragonslayer, it's pretty great. and the practical effects were great for what they had to work with.

[@counter10r]

@@johnnyskinwalker4095Dragonslayer was one of my favorite movies (I was in college when it came out in '81), with Ladyhawke ('85) a close second.

[@johnnyskinwalker4095]

@@counter10r oh wow Ladyhawke is so great! Literally my two favorite actors as lovers as well Ruger Hauer and Michelle Pfeifers(speaking of wahich watch Flesh + Blood with Rutger). I just love these 80s fantasy movies. I think they have something unique about them that will never be repeated.

[@KJBigBelter]

YOU'RE opener is 100% better than DAMSEL opener which made my eyes roll so hard they clanked. I love a girl power movie but not when it starts with a dig at the opposite sex. You're not being too deep at all.

[@CHRNESFWE]

DAN DOWN DAN DOWN

[@jessrl8025]

That groan you gave after your joke 😂

[@ChimobiHD]

That opening, just wow 😂

[@GamingandFrightened]

I absolutely loved this movie. I was invested the entire time

[@MrMojoman1976]

Fair review. I liked the movie overall, but agree it wasn’t anything exceptional. The stuff in the mountain was pretty cool , as it reminded me of a lot of the sword and sorcery movies of the 80s . Dark and drab and all that stuff . However, I found the rest of the stuff looking a bit too colorful and low rent . Like they raided a local renaissance fair to get their wardrobe for a few days .

[@counter10r]

I thought the costumes were actually good--obviously fantastical and pulling from lots of different periods/etc. And some nice details--it wasn't until I was looking at the stills that I realized that the crown Elodie gets for her wedding actually has dragons on it. Bassett's gowns had a more middle-eastern cut, which supported her saying that her father was a rug merchant.

[@user-sw9bo1hv9z]

Dan's takeaway: "Life unjust? Just burn it all down."

[@lanceshadow5582]

I just finished watching this movie, and i actually had fun. Not an all time classic but i may be biased because i love fantasy

[@SeanPolreis]

I agree completely with your comments Dan. But I would add that even the point about the dragon coming around once she realized she was killing "innocents" was problematic for me. A dragon that has that kind of awareness would likely also realize that even so-called royal blood daughters of a guilty party are as innocent as anyone else. In other words, the children cannot be blamed for the sins of the father.

[@GeekHappiness]

Your thoughts of the ending mirror my own. She’s so very smart in the movie, only to undercut that with the short sighted decision at the end.

[@joseph39457]

I actually really loved this movie the character arc was go good

[@ProuvaireJean]

The SPOILER discussion was like the ROTJ contractor scene in Clerks. 😅

[@scottschroeder4920]

Thanks for saving me the time. The very first line made me want to research it…

[@nowkent]

I thought it was just the castle that she burnt to a crisp, and not the whole kingdom, but I did think it weird that they didn't show the rest of the kingdom.

[@Windupchronic]

It sounds like the screenwriter played the free trial for Final Fantasy XIV and got through the critically acclaimed expansion Heavensward. That's a lot of similarities.

[@Suzanne_sf]

You're right. However, it was different from what I've seen before. I thought the glow-worms were cool as well. Your ending does make much more sense. Also, Elodie was of royal blood, just not that royal family's blood, so a bit of a plot hole there. Also, I don't see how Elodie can put aside that the dragon killed her father. I know her father did bad, but still, running off to the end of the film as buddies with the one who killed her father? Still, it was a fun watch for me.

[@Nkflyguy21]

I liked it. The dragon was epic and scary.

[@jammywham9125]

I loved the world they created, not a major fan of some of the plot points, but i adore the gold dragon, the worms and the blood trickery/magic.

[@onslaught011]

I had the same experience. Being that I was told I was making too much of this movie when I can’t really get behind the kind of character with a flat arc that seems to boil down to “lies make baby Jesus cry”. Deeply underwhelmed by the latest Netflix endeavor

[@godspeedrebirth]

I would have it at STAY AWAY.

[@englishchick21]

The novelization for this movie came out about a year ago and the ending is much better than what is presented in the movie as it is more like what Dan wanted! The royal family does get its comeuppance but avoids the overall death and destruction. You can tell the screenwriter and author were given the start of the plot and then went in completely different directions.

[@diggerthegroundhog8799]

Hi Dan. So I'm of age to have seen every Dragon movie ever made at release and this was a noble effort except for one thing that blew my mind. And shame on Netflix for missing this. Maybe the strike is to blame but come on? When our Damsel is about to slay the dragon, she has the open burn wound on her left breastplate. When she shows up at the castle for revenge the scar is on her right breastplate. Huh? And then in the near future when all is well, no scarring? They must have had great plastic surgeons in the olden days?

[@jabezhane]

When stuff like that happens you do wonder if the actor actually said to the makeup person "you know I spent the past three days with that wound on that side?" Or maybe its all added digitally in post?

[@ollyb7570]

It’s the modern version of a straight to DVD release. Nothing wrong with that. I suspect tweens will enjoy it for what it is - silly fun.

[@phillipjohnson8903]

It kinda feels like they built a movie around that flaming birds scene.

[@TempestMia]

We watched it last night and had the exact same qualms!!

[@DarthEd77]

I rather enjoyed this movie. I'd put it solidly in the "It's Good" category. Dan, Elodie gave the servants time to evacuate the castle. We see some of them leave in the background. We don't need to see every single servant evacuate from the castle before it was set on fire to assume they left! You're also assuming the whole kingdom lives in the castle. That's not the way feudalism works.

[@DanMurrellMovies]

A handful of people evacuate from the immediate area. Then the dragon lets loose. There’s no one else in the castle? An army of servants and cooks? Or people who were there but not involved? I don’t see how innocent people weren’t caught up. And yes, not everyone lives in the castle. But you’ve deposed the rulers with no replacements and burned down the heart of the kingdom. The mechanism for trade, diplomacy and protection is gone. At best, the population will be conquered by a rival kingdom.

[@DarthEd77]

@@DanMurrellMovies We saw the one exhalation of dragonfire that killed the royals. But I think you're making an assumption about how much time passes between when that happens and when we see Elodie leave with the whole castle engulfed in flames. The castle is mostly made of stone, presumably. I'm not a firefighter, but I rather doubt the fire would spread so rapidly. I think it would take hours, not minutes, to be completely engulfed like that. And I wouldn't be surprised if the dragon had to breathe fire on the castle additional times to engulf the whole castle as well. I would like to think Elodie doesn't just leave the castle right after the royals are killed, also. She could have made sure everyone had evacuated before she gave the dragon the go-ahead to engulf the whole castle. Am I projecting or reading into the text what I want to have happened in between those two scenes, off-camera? Possibly! But it doesn't mean it didn't happen that way either. Based on what we know about Elodie's character, she wouldn't have let innocent people be killed if she could have avoided it. She's exhibited nothing but empathy for others from the start of the movie when she's chopping wood that she gives to people to who need it to warm their homes, not exactly typical for a princess. You seem to think it's more likely that her experience has made her lose her empathy. I'm too much of an optimist, I suppose, to believe that's the case. If she had lost that empathy, she probably would have been meaner to her father before he died, but she's at least somewhat comforting, if not forgiving, so I think it's likely she's retained her empathy. As for the state of the kingdom after the royals are killed, I think that's up to the people living there. Maybe they'll try democracy. Maybe they'll leave and live elsewhere. It's up to them. But I feel that's beyond the scope of this movie, personally. I'm not saying this movie is perfect by any means. I just think it was good.

[@DarthEd77]

@@DanMurrellMovies P.S. I loved Ready or Not, and I agree that's a better a movie.

[@yalautitlamiranda7677]

Loved the intro😂

[@Stefhubb]

Thank you for saying exactly what I wanted people to hear. Elodie literally became the villain by the end of this movie.

[@wedamon]

Visually, I thought the slow-mo walking away from an explosion scene would have looked better if she’d been on horseback galloping. She was walking sooooooo slow it just didn’t work for me at all. I liked how she MacGyvered her dress, though

[@johnnyskinwalker4095]

So exactly like Danerys, it ended up in a big rushed mess.

[@counter10r]

This occurred to me as well (and we KNOW they had GoT in mind with the queen's immolation scene and the melting crown!)

[@johnnyskinwalker4095]

@@counter10r for sure ah ha

[@madelynngallagher8508]

There were a lot of scenes in the movie between her and the deagon that reminded me of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets...is it just me?

[@vernonhampton5863]

Thank you for this review. And the spoiler warning

[@novembersevenmusic]

That opening joke earned my sub😂