With “Dragon Soldiers” the title says it all, because here a group of soldiers has to deal with a fire-breathing giant lizard. The trash actioner, which is reminiscent of Asylum films, is celebrating its free TV premiere this Tuesday.
Thanks to Tele 5, trash lovers can get their money’s worth every Tuesday, because here the station shows pure Billo trash on a weekly basis, for which the infamous production studio The Asylum (e.g. “Titanic II”) shows responsible. Today, May 24, 2022, you can’t expect an Asylum mockbuster, but definitely a cracker that could come from exactly this corner: “Dragon Soldiers”, which celebrates its free TV premiere on Tele 5 at 10 p.m.
If you can’t catch today’s TV broadcast of the trash actioner, don’t despair, because there are several good alternatives. “Dragon Soldiers” is currently not only available as a subscription to Amazon Prime Video at no extra charge, but can also be accessed free of charge in Tele 5’s in-house media library for a week after the broadcast. Of course, you can also order the Blu-ray and DVD via Amazon:
›› “Dragon Soldiers” on Amazon Prime Video*
›› “Dragon Soldiers” on Blu-ray and DVD at Amazon*
That’s what “Dragon Soldiers” is about
When more and more people disappear in a forest and the search parties do not return, the residents of a small town are very worried: What is going on there? Mayor Mordry (Butch McCain) is alarmed and sends an elite force into the forest to get an idea of the situation on site. As soon as the soldiers arrive, they quickly realize that something is wrong.
Could it have something to do with a primeval monster that is said to still be up to mischief here? After all, stories about the mysterious dragon have been told for decades! Artie Cameron (Ruben Pla) and his comrades rise to the challenge and set out to take on the beast. They will soon find that the monster is more real than they ever imagined…
Only suitable for trash fans
Of course, a film like “Dragon Soldiers” can only be recommended to people who enjoy deliberately bad filmmaking. In this case, it doesn’t seem to be that bad, because with an IMDb average of 3.1 stars, Hank Braxtan’s junky actioner is definitely one of the “better” trash adventures and has Asylum pickles like “Ape Vs. Monster.” (2.2 stars on IMDb) or “Atlantic Rim 2” (1.8 stars on IMDb) left behind.
Of course, you still have to be prepared for the usual dilettantism: The CGI design sucks, the acting is horrid, the dialogue is utterly outrageous, and the storyline is hackneyed. Anyone who expects more from “Dragon Soldiers” should rather watch “Reign of Fire” with Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey and Gerard Butler, who was the godfather here and can come up with really impressive, visually stunning dragon action.
›› “Reign of Fire” on Blu-ray and DVD at Amazon*
If you are also in the mood for slightly trashy cult cinema, we can recommend the long overdue home cinema remake of “Red Sonja”, in which Arnold Schwarzenegger and Brigitte Nielsen embark on a fantasy adventure in which you from today’s point of view, I can’t resist a smile or two. On July 21, 2022, the film will be released for the first time in 4K in a limited steel book. You can find out more about this here:
*The links to the Amazon offer are so-called affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, we will receive a commission.
