Available on YT in HD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e3_Xer-SY8&t=5833s
Gotta say i saw it this year for the first time and i'm frankly super impressed it's from fucking disney.
I think this is one of those few movies that do not make a great impact/get memory holed fast, and yet a lot of tropes live on and propagated a lot (see game of thrones).
It's impressive to me that, while being a linear plot with few rendezvous and being a "fable-like" movie, it has a lot of sociopolitical subtle critique, trollish undertones, and very dark ones too.
Below are some spoilery considerations, read further only if you saw the movie (or intend never to possibly see it).
First, Ulrich, the mage figure: Instead of many mage figures in movies, which are mysterious, we get to see the "behind the scenes", his doubts etc, the human side. He has some sociopathic lines (like when he says "spiteful" with a grin. He also has the first "Trump speak" line a little before that, lol). He's the main good guy, but yeah, a bit of a egotist where he can be (i loved that)
Galen, the Luke skywalker protagonist, is quite the low key narcissist, he has a sense of morality but is portrayed as a somewhat privileged clown.
Valerian, the embodiment of "strong woman", fails at all rounds, including the ending where she almost ruins everything, although it is not a matter in the movie, a viewer can enjoy that moment.
Casiodora Rex, the king, is obviously a parodic portrayal of the hipocrisy of governors in general, taking advantage of the dragon to control the masses, being an obvious clown (like when he says he cant read the name and then his daughter basically calls him out).
Tyrion, the "bad guy", is basically the only one who isn't a trollish figure and actually acts for a greater purpose (along Elspeth)
Elspeth is the first decent princess saw in a movie. She isn't a love object, isn't intended to be saved (ok the scene is here, but her character wants to be a sacrifice), and follows through. Her end is quite... Raw. One of those scenes you wouldn't expect disney to make, given the nobility and sex of the character.
Note on Hodge who's the best ironic character of this kind around i think.
Characters quirks aside, putting it together, i think it's obvious that many things worked alongside to make the movie what it is:
First you got the linear core of the story, about slaying a dragon. Then you get it used as pretext to show corrupt politics and social/moral degeneracy. Lastly, the "trollishness" is a subtle attack on "fantasy stereotypes", the white knight, the strong woman, the wise mage, the brave king. Of those the mage stands, as he's the paragon of the story, but not without somewhat showing his own human personality.
If i saw it when i was 14 i wouldn't have picked up all this stuff, now at 30 i can say i see it as a mature/very well done piece of cinema.
What you say?
A cool film, also clearly inspired parts of the manga Berserk.
Yeah, it made me check the dragon lore in modern movies.
Mostly fluffy domestic beings made to be "cute".
In the YT comments a lot of fans of the genre have dubbed it the best dragon to date and for what i saw i tend to agree. Fearsome ruthless motherfucker, and yeah, berserk might have had some inspiration from it.
The SFX on that dragon are superb, maybe not when flying if I recall. I remember trying to find more info on the making of, can't remember if I did. Looking it up, it was Industrial Light and Magic that did the effects, good stuff. I miss things like this, too much cheap CGI dragging down already poorly written films.