Dragon tale fires the imagination
IMAGINATIVE, VIBRANT TAKE ON A CLASSIC ADVENTURE SURE TO HAVE MASS APPEAL
RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON (PG)
Director: Don Hall (Big Hero 6)
Starring: the voices of Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim.
Rating:
An ancient tale unveils a fresh new heroine
Disney Animation’s long-range plan to diversify its character base and revitalise its production slate pays off most handsomely indeed with the deliriously enjoyable action-adventure offering, Raya and the Last Dragon.
Featuring Disney’s first-ever protagonist of Southeast Asian origin, this fast-paced and vibrantly illustrated affair will play equally strongly in cinemas (where the movie’s magnificent lighting and colour scheme will really pop) and loungerooms (where it is sure to build a devoted fanbase in years to come).
Kelly Marie Tran voices the role of Raya, who is first introduced to viewers as a lone-wolf warrior, speeding across a barren landscape that recalls the world of Mad Max: Fury Road.
Raya is actually heading deep into the badlands of a mythical land known as Kumandra. Once upon a time, Raya was a young princess of one of Kumandra’s five kingdoms.
However, a spat between those five nation states has brought Kumandra to the brink of total oblivion. A dispute over the ownership of a magic jewel that keeps dangerous spectral forces at bay ended in disaster. Not only did this powerful stone get split into many fragments. Its unplanned redesign also resulted in the release of the dreaded Druun, a terrifying shapeless entity that loves nothing better than transforming human beings into statues.
Not surprisingly, Raya’s onewoman mission is to reassemble the broken Dragon Gem before the Druun has completed its project of turning all mankind to stone.
This all might sound rather heavy for an all-ages animated movie, but nothing could be further from the truth. Particularly once Raya joins forces with Sisu (Awkwafina), a nervous, babbling water dragon who secretly holds the key to extinguishing the sinister force of the Druun.
The playful chemistry exhibited by Tran and Awkwafina as Raya and Sisu is an undoubted highlight of the production. While the pair share excellent comic timing, they also work together to communicate everything happening in a busy story without totally overwhelming young members of the audience.
Overall, quite a fine effort – especially for those still missing the days when the How to Train Your Dragon series was in its prime.
Raya and the Last Dragon is now showing in General Release, and is available to stream as a premium offering for an additional surcharge on Disney+ from tomorrow (Friday).
NOMADLAND (M) General release
One of the finest movies of 2021 returns to wide release after a limited run midsummer. The Oscars buzz is only going to continue to build on this uniquely captivating experience, so why not beat the rush while you can? It all starts with a quiet woman named Fern (Frances McDormand) bumping into old friends. One of them inadvertently refers to Fern as “homeless.” Unerringly polite, yet unfailingly blunt, Fern immediately issues a correction: “Not homeless. Houseless. I am houseless.” What does she mean by that, you may well ask? Well, Fern is a member of a rapidly swelling class of people in America who now refer to themselves as “nomads”: people who live yearround in campervans, travelling to the places where seasonal work is plentiful enough to draw a basic wage. The many colours and singular feeling coursing out of McDormand’s commanding portrayal of Fern is acting of the highest calibre.
Particularly once you learn McDormand is (with a minor exception or two) virtually the only actor in the cast. Almost everybody she interacts with in Nomadland is a real-life nomad, and what McDormand draws from these people is something so authentic and true, it almost has no business being in a movie at all.
BOSS LEVEL (MA15+) General release.
Mindless action is the only order of the day in a moderately satisfying mash-up of Groundhog Day, Edge Of Tomorrow and something Nicolas Cage will occasionally do to pay off a tax bill. Frank Grillo stars as Roy Pulver, an elite Special Forces soldier permanently reliving a day where a steady stream of cold-blooded killers is about to wipe him out. These hardass hoods are acting on the say-so of some bent Army brass (fronted by a hammy Mel Gibson) trying to keep a top-secret project, well, secret. Grillo’s presence grows on you throughout, a major plus considering how many times his character must hit the repeat button to learn how to be alive by midnight. Co-stars Naomi Watts.