Written by Luke Barnes
Raya And The Last Dragon is an animated action adventure fantasy film directed by Don Hall and Carlos Lopez Estrada. We follow Raya (Kelly Marie Tran), a warrior who sets out to collect all the pieces of the dragon gem, to save the world from a dark evil.
So before I get into this review, I just want to say how nice it is to see Kelly Marie Tran come out swinging like this after all the hate she endured online, it is truly inspiring.
I enjoyed the premise and thought the story was a neat idea, it was original yet also a little familiar.
However, sadly that is where my praise for this film ends. I did not hate this film, but I did think it was very, very generic.
So firstly, none of the characters feel likeable- they just don’t click. They all have their moments here and there across the course of the film, but these aren’t enough and the second the film ends you forget all about it and its character’s none of them leave an impact on you.
Likewise the emotional heart of this film feels very hollow. The two big driving forces in terms of the heart of the film, are Raya being able to revive her dad and Raya’s rivalry with her arch enemy Nammari (Gemma Chan), both of these plot threads are resolved, but the payoff leaves you feeling cold and unmoved. Disney animation needs to take a few cues from Pixar to fix this.
Another fault of the film comes with ancient dragon Sisu (Awkwafina), who is the comedic side kick of Raya for most of the film. The issue with Sisu is that the narrative builds her and other dragons up to being these immensely powerful beings and yet they don’t show the dragons doing anything to justify this reputation. Moreover, Awkwafina is not funny in the role and doesn’t not nail the performance, her character feels like it is trying to be Eddie Murphy’s Mushu and Robin Williams’ The Genie, all at the same time and yet doesn’t bring the charm of either.
Overall, this is very watchable and is fine fare for families just looking for something easy to watch. However, I would not say it is worth the price point, as the film itself is deeply average. Wait till June.
Pros.
Kelly Marie Tran gives a good performance
The lore and the world is interesting
Cons.
The emotion doesn’t stick
Awkwafina is badly miscast
It is very safe and predicatable
2.5/5
Another Millennial Reviewer 