Everyone thought Erik Reed, not so secretly known to be the White Dragon, was a good guy until what became known as the “Dark Day.” First, his nemesis, Ashtagor, kicked his butt. Then he somehow convinced the media all the carnage and destruction were Reed’s fault, including the 1,263 lives lost. Honestly, that never makes much sense, since survivors presumably witnessed the two-sided battle. Whatever, asking such questions regarding this film is a fool’s errand. Regardless, Reed subsequently went into hiding to protect his family.
Unfortunately, too many people want payback from Reed, including Virtuo City Mayor Trevon Sterns and tech billionaire Jai Katua. They will find him eventually, so his old comrades, Iris Maine and Conor Frost, want to reach him first. However, Katua will sacrifice his body to extract his revenge. While Reed’s power derives from a crystal, Katua’s come from his mad scientist super-soldier experiments. They transform him into Dragon Prime, but at great personal risk.
It is hard to describe the strangeness of the film’s tone and mysticism. Perhaps some of that is a function of the sudden emergency re-writes, but a lot of the New Age mumbo jumbo feels baked in from the start. Regardless, it should be noted the budget reaped a lot of Kickstarter money from everyday fans, so the Schoenkes (son and father) probably felt duty-bound to complete the film as best they could.
In fact, viewers can see flashes of electric screen charisma from Frank, even though his performance as a whole is somewhat uneven, because it is literally, sadly, unfinished. Of course, it is jolly fun to watch Mark Dacascos in his significant yet too brief portrayal of Xang, the monk guarding the last surviving recharging well for Dragon crystals. David Ramsey (formerly John Diggle in Arrow) nicely plays against his Arrowverse-type as the scummy Mayor.
