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At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

I can see why many may not enjoy this movie, it is rather long at 2 hours and involves a moderately complex story which includes the Spanish civil war in the 1930s. But I enjoyed it for the good story that it is.While most of the story is fictional, one of the two principal characters is real, Charlie Cox as Josemaría Escrivá, born in 1902 and who became a Catholic priest. He died in 1975 and in 2002 was canonized as a Saint in the Catholic Church. He founded Opus Dei which is simply a way of looking at faith and service as a daily mission, involving the ordinary things in everyday life. One priest who knew Josemaría Escrivá very well says that the film's portrayal of him is basically very faithful.However the character that Wes Bentley plays, Josemaría Escrivá's childhood friend Manolo Torres, who became involved in the civil war, is entirely fictional as far as anyone can tell. Bentley plays him as a young man in his 20s and 30s, and also as an old man on his deathbed.Which brings in Dougray Scott as the old man's son, Roberto Torres, also a fictional character, who is doing research on Josemaría Escrivá and wants his elderly father's views. They have not spoken in 8 years, and Roberto doesn't understand why. But it becomes the key element of the resolution of the story.There is an early scene where the kids are being told about dragons, more in the sense of demons, and that is built upon for the title of this movie. In the end the old man tells his son that he can tell him the whole story "but there will be dragons."SPOILERS: It turns out that Manolo was about the complete opposite of Josemaría Escrivá. Their lives went in separate directions. Manolo's motto always was "pick the winning side", regardless of your own principles. He personally killed people, or had them killed, but at the end of the civil war in a fictional scene where Josemaría Escrivá and others were about to escape to the safety of France, a sniper was about to shoot them but Manolo instead killed the sniper, saving his old friend. On his deathbed he still had the rosary given to him years earlier and had a vision of young Josemaría Escrivá standing there in his room right before he died.

The dark, ominous themes of the shots reflect on the gruesome war setting and emotionally charged events that shape the story. Dramatic wide angles and poignant close ups convey the story's mood in its vivid cinematography. As the director of cinematography, Gabriel Beristain creates a stunningly accurate visual representation of the character's emotional turmoil. Each shot portrays an expertise at visual storytelling that takes years of experience to develop.Both technically and artistically, There Be Dragons is harmonious and excellent. Characters were not unnecessarily sexualized nor were there extensive uses of vulgarity. Director, Producer and writer Roland Joffe invested his entire self into this film. Critics assert Joffe infused too much of himself into the film, but many viewers argue that this aspect is what makes There Be Dragons so impactful. The prevalent concern of critics, however, is the weaknesses of the script, which they consider too long and busy. I agree with this, as the many layers and details in the film made it difficult to summarize and retell. Actors Charlie Cox and Wes Bentley, who portrayed José Maria and Manelo respectively, were outstanding in their roles. The entire cast was professional and talented, portraying a genuine connection to the story and their characters. Amy Hubbard, John Hubbard, Ros Hubbard and Cathy Sandrich cast the film. Vibrant and stirring, the There Be Dragons soundtrack was thoughtfully composed by Robert Folk with special attention paid to the underlying moods of each scene. Music and picture meld flawlessly. An epic score with a Spanish feel, listeners are told a story of bravery and drama with their ears alone. Folk's use of choir and orchestra translates the theme of the movie exquisitely.

There Be Dragons – TRASH IT (D) First thing first there are no dragons in it, Bummer. As it's a period movie I thought there will be some dragons in it but hey it's all about civil war in Spain and no dragons (Sad Face). The movie tells the story of London-based investigative journalist Robert Torres (Dougray Scott), who visits Spain to research a book about Josemaría Escrivá (Cox), the controversial founder of Opus Dei. But Robert hits a wall, both professionally and personally, when his most promising source-his own father, Manolo Torres (Bentley), turns out to be his least cooperative one. Robert begins to unearth his father's toxic secrets when he learns that Manolo was not only born in the same Spanish town as Josemaría, but that they were childhood friends and attended the same seminary. The two men take radically different paths in life, with Josemaría dedicating his life to his faith while Manolo is swept into the brutal and tumultuous Spanish Civil War. Manolo descends into a dangerous and jealous obsession when the beautiful Hungarian revolutionary Ildiko (Olga Kurylenko) doesn't return his affections and instead gives herself to the courageous military leader, Oriol (Rodrigo Santoro). The production value and cinematography of the movie is great. They have spend lots of money on it but bad direction and tedious screenplay with mostly average performances by all actors makes it unbearable and laughable at times. Lily Cole was alright in a very small role. The performances by all actors from Charlie Cox to Wes Bentley to Rodrigo Santoro to Olga Kurylenko is good at times and horrible at times. There was no one good to direct them so they just let it go and try their best but most of the times it just didn't work at all. In the end, starting is atrocious and in the middle it gets little better but then again it ends on tedious note. Trash this one big time, don't even need to rent it!

"There Be One Draggin' Movie" is more like it... I respect the tragedy of the Spanish Civil War and the hatred for Franco but pullllllease... get to the point... I don't want to feel EVERY bullet... the ones that should have been meant for me.... ugh!I liked that the film reflected the pain, confusion, and agony of war but it's not the first time something has been made of the topic... the movie goes on and on and on switching between battles scenes, treachery, religious strength and doubt, love... thank God for no cheap sex scenes... maybe I just don't get it but the wringing of hands can only be put up with for so long... and NOT for two hours.... aaaaaargh!