From the trailer, I could see this would have an expensive budget, and I wasn't disappointed. The animation was absolutely gorgeous. The character designs were very good, had realistic facial expressions, all the imagery were a visual treat. The action scenes were so well made. I didn't expect the dragon to have an Elsa-face though, but that's just me nitpicking, and apart from that, It's so good.
However, the movie had some serious issues when it comes to writing and the pacing. The movie constantly shows you what happens when you go around trusting strangers randomly, and then there's Sisu constantly blabbering about trust. I thought maybe they'd give Namaari a better redemption arc, but boy was I wrong. Naamari never apologises for the two times she messed up - and while I do agree that Raya had her faults too - but Naamari should have apologised. In the sacrifice scene, Naamari should have stepped up, sacrificed first, and the movie would be a lot better. Raya has enough trauma from Namaari's action, and she definitely shouldn't forgive her that easily. While Sisu argues that and tells Raya about how she trusted the other dragons and they trusted her, it should be noted that they were literally siblings, while Naamari and Raya weren't even friends - they knew each other for a few hours only. There's a huge difference between them. And thus, the movie delivers the message that, no matter how much someone hurts you and how much trauma they cause you, you should learn to forgive and trust them. That's incredibly toxic and that's where the movie fails.
Honestly, the movie did have the potential to be great. In fact, had it been a series, or slightly longer movie, the character relationships could be explored further. It'd have been better with slightly slower pacing.
But one could argue that we shouldn't look too deeply in a disney movie. And in that case, it's a pretty good movie! It will make you laugh and you'll enjoy all the interactions between the characters. Boat guy had some funniest scenes!
Over all, a solid 6/10 for me.
Raya and the Last Dragon
2021
Action / Adventure / Animation / Comedy / Drama / Family / Fantasy
Raya and the Last Dragon
2021
Action / Adventure / Animation / Comedy / Drama / Family / Fantasy
Plot summary
Long ago, in the fantasy world of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together in harmony. But when an evil force threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, that same evil has returned and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the legendary last dragon to restore the fractured land and its divided people.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
May 20, 2021 at 10:17 PM
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU 2160p.BLU.x265 720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
Brilliant Visuals but Problematic Message with a Rushed Plot
The most disneyious Disney-Movie
This Disney film is one hundred percent Disney, that's the best description I can come up with.
There are too many sidekicks, but they are still likeable. The moral of the story is overused, but that doesn't make it any less valuable. The visuals and worldbuilding are stunning, the story is too formulaic. The story is cheesy and also beautiful. So simply Disney.
A funfilled fantasy with high class animation
Yet another brilliantly done animation movie which is absolutely absorbing and should please audiences of all age groups. The movie has an Asian background and the antagonist is Raya, a warrior princess on a mission to bring back a dragon gem which will then help to bring back her father who has been turned into a stone statue by evil spirits. All this she does with the help of Sisu the last dragon who converts into human form for the mission. The plot keeps us glued to the screen since it has all the elements of an emotional drama ( father -daughter relationship) .The kingdom is split into 5 parts resembling the parts of a dragon starting from Fang, then Heart, Spine, Talon and finally Tail. So there is a mission, an assorted crusader group from the 5 areas, a few evil spirits ( the druuns), some adventures on the way, a bit of betrayal by a member, death of a member, and finally a fight to gain the gem which breaks into 5 pieces. Now Princess Raya has to retrieve and reassemble the 5 pieces to make the gem whole again and achieve results. ( Similar to mission of Avengers end game ?).
There are a few nicely done scenes like a hand to combat of princess Raya and princess Namaari, dragons dancing and flying all over the landscape, Vietnamese boats area etc. The dialogue speaks of trust, togetherness and peace like " Maybe the world is broken due to lack of trust" and " We are a world of orphans because we are fighting over a piece of gem". Very relevant to what is happening in our world today.