Age of the Dragons (2011) – Review

Where to watch Age of the Dragons

1 1/2 Stars

Age of the Dragons is a silly retelling of the Herman Melville classic Moby Dick. All of the main characters are here, and the plot is essentially the same as the book’s, with one large exception- instead of a great white whale, Ahab is after a giant white dragon. This adaptation comes off more as juvenile and an excuse to create a film from something already written in order to cut the work load in half. Originality would have been better with this, use the ideas from Moby Dick sure, but to copy it practically scene by scene in this dragon world is ridiculous.

To give a great example would be the Pequod, the fictitious whaleship from the novel, is transformed from a ship that sails the oceans to a ship with wooden wheels traversing the medieval countryside. It’s kind of like a wooden tank. Of course it still bears the same name as the original, but comes off as something out of the imagination of a four year old. It’s just too silly to be taken seriously, especially when, in this environment, you still have actors trying to play the serious roles from the original story.

Danny Glover does give an interesting performance as Ahab. Although I much prefer Barry Bostwick’s Ahab in the far more tongue-in-cheek modern day Asylum adaptation 2010: Moby Dick. Vinnie Jones is smart to pick up the paycheck and play a role that only lasts a third of the film. Corey Sevier and Sofia Pernas are stiff and feel like high school kids reading Shakespeare.

The visual effects are fine for something that’s competing on store shelves with other straight to video fantasy flicks. Skip this one unless you’re a huge Moby Dick fan, there’s little fun or excitement in Age of the Dragons.

Director: Ryan Little
Stars: Danny Glover, Vinnie Jones, Corey Sevier, Sofia Pernas