The sorcerer and his apprentice Galen are on a mission to kill an evil dragon in order to save the King’s daughter from being sacrificed in accordance to a pact that the King himself made with the dragon to protect his kingdom. A fantasy film from Disney Studios that exhausted all possible visual effects of the time.
The scenes involving the dragon are first-rate. The beast is one of the meanest, ugliest, most reprehensible creatures I've ever seen in a film, and when it breathes flames it looks like it's really breathing flames.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
23 Oct 2004
rotten:
Verges on the nasty for the nippers; sails close to deja vu for fantasy fans; fated, probably, to damnation by faint praise.
– Paul Taylor,
Time Out,
26 Jan 2006
rotten:
A well intentioned fantasy with some wonderful special effects, Dragonslayer falls somewhat short on continuously intriguing adventure.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
26 Mar 2009
fresh:
The film excels as a visual exercise, as a study in adolescent psychology, and even as astute political analysis.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
26 Nov 2012
fresh:
This movie has two big things going for it -- the dragon and the man who masterminds its slaying.