The Dragon Pearl (2011) Movie Review, Trailer and Poster

Australia 2011
Director: Mario Andreacchio
Cast: Sam Neill, Li Lin Jin, Louis Corbett, Wang Ji, Robert Mammone, Jordan Chan
Rating:
Language: English, Chinese
Release Date: April 2011
Running Time: 1 hour 33 minutes

The Movie Review

The Dragon Pearl was really some intriguing for me, not because of the story which we all soon realize there's nothing very special about it, but the fact that up to this very moment, there is only one user review on IMDb and zero amount of critics review... Whow, nobody knows about the movie? Usually that lonely-status of IMDb page only happens to relatively old indie films which mainly concerns about drama. So I decided to pay the admission fee on a lonely Thursday nite to see what this Australian fantasy movie is all about. So here it is...

A lonely young boy named Josh (Louis Corbett) is travelling to China from his hometown in Australia to catch things up and meet his father, Chris Chase (Sam Neill), who


The DRAGON PEARL
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works as an archaeologist. He befriends a young Chinese girl, Ling (Li Lin Jin), whose mother, Dr. Li (Wang Ji), is also the colleague of Chris Chase. On the way to the archaeological digging site, Ling constantly hears soft tunes of flute being played out of nowhere, but no one except her can listen to the sound.

And then on the site, Josh and Ling sees an energetic man, Wu Dong (Jordan Chan), protesting against the excavation and upon leaving the site with disappointment he drops an ancient looking flute. The kids follow him through a unique mountain road that leads to an ancient dragon temple. There in that serene 3000-year old place, it is revealed that only the descendants of the emperors that could hear the sound of the flute, and even Wu Dong himself can not hear the sound that he's been playing this whole time.

In that place they work together to solve the puzzles on a scroll that finally has been given to "The Chosen One", Ling. And this time, Josh's great skill in solving puzzle is really useful. Beneath the temple, there's an ancient yellowish red Dragon who has been feeling sad all this time for having lost his Pearl. Although Josh is initially hesitant to believe what he saw, let alone helping the dragon, but Ling explains that Chinese Dragon is very different with the Western ones which Josh says that they're like to kidnapped people and burnt stuff. To convince the little empress and his white friend, the Dragon takes them on an air ride journey through the mountains back to the past to see why the dragon had lost his pearl and why he needs Ling's help to find it back so that the dragon can "go home".

Will Ling and Josh be able to find the missing pearl, while no one believes them? And what is actually happened in the past that make the Dragon lost his pearl?

In the cinema, there were only around 30 people with several kids. It wasn't crowded because I caught the evening show and it wasn't on the weekend. I can safely say for sure, this family movie will appeal only to kids around 5 or 6-years old, but arguably will not be such a buzz to pre-teens. I was sitting in front of several kids who chuckled happily and seemed excited to the story. But for kids who already know about comic books or have seen several other much more adventurous film, I honestly think there are better options out there in the movie theatres. Sam Neill, of Jurassic Park (1993), looks very beat up and to pair Li Lin Jin (as Ling) and Louis Corbett (as Josh) is a rather miss decision as there's no chemistry between them. Ling is overly excited while Josh is the opposite. But I'm grateful for casting Jordan Chan (Kung Fu Hip Hop (2008)). Thanks to him we would actually see some acting, some Kung Fu and comical moments.

I won't mind much for the acting department not to shine very brightly, But I do disappoint in the story. The adventure is not that exhilarating, basically they are just going from here to there without any really meaningful points that could serve to lock the audience's full attention. The CGI is ok and the dragon does look kind and nice. What I remember the most is probably the puzzles that Josh and Ling need to solve down in the ancient tomb, now That's Creative! But the chasing scenes between Josh & Ling and the bad guys is hard to believe, but then again... for kids this scene proved to be entertaining. And I was happy to hear those kids genuinely cheering.

For me personally I was even more amazed at the ending credits where we could see about 2 dozens Chinese drum/percussion instrument players are playing in such a fast-pace harmony. So parents or whoever you are, see this movie if your little ones like dragon, Chinese culture and puzzle solving. At least the story is clean from bad contents and devoid of bad innuendo as well, in the end this is a good-spirited family entertainment.

> For the official website and the image gallery: The Dragon Pearl.

© iwan pranowo of Movielogy.com
posted: Friday, 30 April 2011 04:10 am