Dragonheart: Vengeance
Dragonheart: Vengeance is a 2020 American-British-Romanian fantasy adventure film directed by Ivan Silvestrini. It is the third direct-to-video prequel of the 1996 film, Dragonheart. The film begins before the events of Dragonheart: Battle for the Heartfire, but ends after them.[1] It was released on Netflix, DVD, and Blu-ray on February 4, 2020.[2][3]
| Dragonheart: Vengeance | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Ivan Silvestrini |
| Produced by | Raffaella De Laurentiis Hester Hargett-Aupetit Share Stallings |
| Written by | Matthew Feitshans |
| Based on | characters by Patrick Read Johnson & Charles Edward Pogue |
| Starring | Joseph Millson Jack Kane Arturo Muselli Carolina Carlsson Richard Ashton Tam Williams Fabienne Piolini-Castle Ross O'Hennessy Helena Bonham Carter |
| Music by | Mark McKenzie |
| Cinematography | Matthew Weston |
| Edited by | Charles Norris |
Production company | Raffaella Productions Universal 1440 Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures Home Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States Romania |
| Language | English |
Plot
In the years following Drago's bonding with Gareth, the seven dragons they raised spread out to different lands when they were grown. One of them traveled to Wallachia. This dragon, a female named Siveth, originally was welcomed by the kingdom and its ruler, King Razvan. However, after he was wounded in battle, Siveth refused to share her heart with him and was subsequently exiled by the king. 30 years later, Lukas, a young farmer discovers his family being killed by savage raiders known as the Bear, the Wolf, the Snake and the Scorpion. After losing his family and house to them, Lukas sets out on a quest for revenge. Lukas makes his way to the city where King Razvan rules, and begs for help, only to be turned down. Later, he is approached by a swashbuckling, sword-fighting mercenary, Darius, who offers his services to help track down the murderers. After a brawl breaks out between Darius and another group of mercenaries, Lukas is forced to flee, and learns from a blacksmith he meets that he could receive help from the banished dragon.
Lukas travels deep into the countryside to find Siveth, offering her a bag of crop seed as payment. Siveth initially refuses as she realizes that Lukas wants vengeance, not justice, leading him to leave. He also finds a horse with saddle and supplies to aid him in his journey. Darius, who has followed him, decides to train Lukas to fight so that he won't be killed. Deciding to go after the Bear, Darius and Lukas follow his trail and discover that Siveth has traveled with them, disguised as Lukas' horse. Realizing the dragon is helping them, Darius leaves after a heated argument with her, leading to Siveth and Lukas facing the Bear alone, along with his band of raiders. During the fight, the Bear falls to his death while trying to kill Lukas, leading to the latter being pleased that one of the four is dead to Siveth's chagrin.
After, Siveth and Lukas go after the Wolf, whom Siveth and Lukas subdue through cunning and her shapeshifting abilities. Though Lukas threatens to kill the marauder, Siveth tells him that he is more valuable alive, leading to them taking him prisoner when he agrees to lead them to the Snake and Scorpion. The Wolf keeps his word to them but he escapes as Darius blunders into the ambush, losing an arm to Siveth's ice breath. Despite this, they capture the Snake, and Lukas learns that Siveth and Darius are bonded. When questioning what to do with their prisoner, Siveth tells Lukas to spare her and take her back to town to face justice, while Darius says to kill the raider. To dissuade Darius, Siveth explains why she shared her heart with him; when Darius was a child, the king started a war to make himself more popular and take people's eyes off his corrupt dealings, and while Siveth was trying to prove the king's corruption, he was wounded in battle. During his return home, the king had his cart driver run Darius' parents off the road, killing them. Siveth then shared her heart with Darius to save him, leading to her refusal to share her heart with the king and her subsequent banishment. She kept the truth from Darius to keep him safe. Hurt, Darius reluctantly agrees to spare the Snake, having discovered they were receiving messages for their raids.
After imprisoning the Snake, Darius discovers King Razvan himself is behind the raiders' attacks, ordering them to kill off his subjects to prevent starvation as a result of him not preparing for food shortages. Lukas meanwhile, with help from Siveth, flirts with the girl Oana, the town healer, after meeting her earlier. The Scorpion returns for the Snake and frees her, poisoning Oana's father, the town's jailer, and setting his house ablaze to cover their escape. Siveth uses her ice breath to put out the flames and regroups with Darius and Lukas. Darius informs them of his discovery, leading to Siveth trying to steal back the orders given to the raiders from the king's guards, who took them.
As Siveth uses her shapeshifting to try and steal back the evidence, Lukas and Darius pursue the Snake and Scorpion, leading to them being ambushed by the raiders. During the fight, Lukas is poisoned by the Scorpion's venom-laced staff and he is further wounded by the Snake in battle. Darius kills the Scorpion when he tries to drown the former, and Siveth abandons her mission to save them after seeing Darius in trouble through their bond. Siveth kills the Snake to save Lukas, who repents and admits he let revenge darken his heart. Darius and Siveth also reconcile and he begs her to save the boy. Siveth then takes Lukas to the monastery that raised Darius as a boy and he is healed by Oana. Lukas and Siveth are confronted by Razvan and a crowd of townsfolk shortly after demanding the former be turned over for crimes the youth didn't commit, and the king orders Siveth to resume her exile. However, Siveth refuses and calls out Razvan on his corruption. Darius and the recaptured Wolf also appear, with the Wolf confessing about Razvan's evil deeds, Siveth offers her protection to anyone else willing to confess against the king. More people come forward from the king's guards and council to confess to Razvan's corruption, leading to him and the Wolf to being imprisoned.
In the days and weeks after, Siveth is welcomed back into society, and shares the saved crop seed she received as payment to end the famines created by Razvan. Lukas returns to his farm and rebuild his home, beginning a relationship with Oana and Darius, now recognized by the kingdom as being bonded with Siveth, goes on to live a happy life among the people as their protector. Lukas then reflects on everything that Siveth has taught him and gladly acknowledges that she showed him the path to happiness, friendship and a meaningful life.
Cast
- Joseph Millson as Darius
- Jack Kane as Lukas
- Arturo Muselli as King Razvan
- Carolina Carlsson as The Snake
- Tam Williams as The Scorpion
- Richard Ashton as The Wolf
- Ross O'Hennessy as The Bear
- Cameron Jack as Blacksmith
- Fabienne Piolini-Castle as Oana
- Helena Bonham Carter as Siveth (voice)[4]
Development
Production
Development of the script for the fifth movie began directly after completion of Battle for the Heartfire.
Filming
Filming began early November 2018 in Romania and ended on December 5th. Locations include Râșnov Fortress, the volcanic crater in Racoș, and Bran Castle. Post-production ended on September 21, 2019.
Visual effects
The VFX company Cinemotion Ltd. returned to do the CGI effects after working on the previous film.
Music
| Dragonheart: Vengeance (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | February 4, 2020 |
| Genre | Film score |
| Length | 47:00 |
| Label | Back Lot Music |
The score was composed by Mark McKenzie, after previously composing the score for Dragonheart: A New Beginning, The Sorcerer's Curse, and Battle for the Heartfire. Like the previous films, the score includes the original Dragonheart theme by Randy Edelman from the first film.
All tracks are written by Mark McKenzie.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hold On To Hope in the Dark Times" | 3:21 |
| 2. | "Love Changes Everything" (includes Dragonheart theme) | 2:19 |
| 3. | "Never Never Ever Give Up" | 1:45 |
| 4. | "You're Destined for Greatness" (includes Dragonheart theme) | 2:24 |
| 5. | "You Make Me Feel Magical Inside" | 1:42 |
| 6. | "Look At What You Have Left and Not at What You’ve Lost" | 2:45 |
| 7. | "Pledged to Peace" | 1:20 |
| 8. | "Great Love Surrounds What is Surrounding You" (includes Dragonheart theme) | 2:05 |
| 9. | "Snake Battle" | 2:55 |
| 10. | "Self Control Makes You Stronger" | 4:48 |
| 11. | "Trying to Kiss You" | 1:38 |
| 12. | "Look Behind You!" | 1:22 |
| 13. | "Risking Life For Something Bigger Than Yourself" | 2:07 |
| 14. | "Siveth’s Cat Mouse and Dragon Plan" | 4:59 |
| 15. | "Keep Looking Up" (includes Dragonheart theme) | 2:29 |
| 16. | "Hope It All Works for Good" (includes Dragonheart theme) | 9:10 |
| Total length: | 47:00 | |
Sequel
According to an interview with Arturo Muselli, a sixth Dragonheart film has already entered pre-production.[5]
References
- Feitshans, Matthew (2020-01-30). "DH5 transpires over the course of 35 years. It "begins" before the events of DH4 but ends after them. Still many years before DH1". @matthewGF. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
- "The legacy continues. Watch the trailer for Dragonheart: Vengeance starring #HelenaBonhamCarter as Siveth the dragon, #JackKane & @JosephMillson now and own it on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital 2/4". Twitter. 2020-01-09. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- Keyes, Rob (2020-01-08). "Dragonheart: Vengeance Trailer & Release Date". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- "Dragonheart: Vengeance". www.uphe.com. 2019-11-22. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- "Arturo Muselli video interview on Dragonheart 5 and Gomorrah at the Giffoni Film Festival 2019". MadMass. July 27, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2020.