The Storm Riders (1998)
Flying Swordsmen Fantasy
A solid variant on the Hong Kong flying swordsman genre that contains some epic plotting This is the point where the Wu Xia film discovered CGI effects
Dragons
The dragon is a creature from folklore. It is usually seen as large and reptilian in nature, able to fly and breathe fire. Dragons are frequently hostile to humans but can be tamed and ridden by a select few. Some depictions of dragons have them as intelligent and able to speak. In other versions, they desire to hoard treasure, while possessions of their teeth, blood or scales can offer magical boon.
Dragons have appeared in various works of fantasy and fairytale where they are fought by heroic adventurers and dragonslayers. The depiction of the dragon on screen goes back to at least the silent Siegfried (1924). There have been a number of animated examples but the live-action equivalent took flight with the CGI revolution of the 1990s. Following the boom in Epic Fantasy films in the 2000s onwards, there have been a number of fantasy works about and/or featuring dragons.
There is also the tradition of Chinese dragons, which are not reptilian or fire-breathing in nature but are more wisely creatures that often aid people in adventures.
Sucker Punch (2011)
Fantasy Action in Dreamed Alternate Realities
Bizarrely uncategorisable film from Zack Snyder that seems a mix of Girl, Interrupted and Inception
Tales from Earthsea (2006)
Anime/Epic Fantasy
Hayao Miyazaki’s son Goro more than capably takes up his father’s mantle in a anime beautiful adaptation of one of Ursula K. Le Guin’s later Earthsea books
Taro, The Dragon Boy (1979)
Anime/Young Boy's Adventures
Likeable and charming Japanese anime for children about a young boy of hubris who sets out on a series of adventures
The Throbbit (2015)
The Hobbit Parody
An excruciating fan-made parody of The Hobbit films filled with amateur actors delivering performances in ridiculous falsettos. What makes this mind-boggling is its realisation it can’t compete with Peter Jackson on effects, resulting in things like Smaug played by a drag queen
Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
Live-Action Transformer Robots
The fifth of Michael Bay’s Transformers films. This comes with more of an outright comedy focus than any of the other films where Bay seems to be second-guessing his critics and spoofing his own peccadilloes in quote marks, only to produce the silliest entry in the series yet
Unico (1981)
Anime/Young Unicorn Boy's Adventures
aka The Fantastic Adventures of Unico Japan. 1981. Crew Director – Toshio Hirata, Screenplay – Masaki Tsuji, Based on a Story by Osamu Tezuka, Producer – Shintaro Tsuji, Music – Ryo Kitayama, Art Direction – Akio Sugino. Production Company – Sanrio. Plot The gods are jealous of the young unicorn boy Unico who can bring […]
The Watch (2020)
Terry Pratchett Adaptation
Mini-series based on the works of Terry Pratchett that feels as though it is made, designed and cast by people who haven’t even read the books
Willow (1988)
Epic Fantasy
Outside of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films, not much else that George Lucas has made has been a success. This Ron Howard-directed epic fantasy proved to be a big flop where Howard’s lightweight touch fails to make a one-dimensional plot fly
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962)
Brothers Grimm Anthology/Biopic
Anthology of Brothers Grimm stories from George Pal where the brothers are wound in as characters. The film’s effectiveness is killed by Pal pitching everything down at a mawkish and simple-minded level
The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity (2020)
Wu Xia Film
A Chinese-made Wu Xia film with an exquisitely polished blend of CGI and visuals. This rather intriguingly operates as a blend of Wu Xia and murder mystery
Your Highness (2011)
Epic Fantasy Comedy
The epic fantasy quest film is well due a parody, unfortunately this majorly unfunny effort written by its leading man Danny McBride only makes a beeline for the witless and vulgar
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie – Pyramid of Light (2004)
Anime/Playing Card Dueling
An animated film based on the hit playing card phenomenon, which proves largely incomprehensible to anybody not versed in the game