Better Late Then Never

A Disappointing Continuation

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I say this because a lot of SyFy movies are bottom-of-the-barrel quality. Not Wyvern though, which is not perfect but entertaining and alongside The Lost Future miles above anything else SyFy has done. Visually it is not too bad, nothing mind-blowing with some scenes in the editing looking as though they had been hindered by budget, but the effects do look as though care did go into them and the scenery is very nice. Apart from an unnecessary music collage, the music is fitting and doesn't harm the film's pace. The script is an improvement on the usual cheesy and stilted dialogue usually in SyFy movies, and the story has suspenseful and thrilling scenes, not predictable and much more realistic than other SyFy movies with the main character having an interesting back story. The characters are clichéd in a way, but also likable, and the acting while not award-worthy is actually solid with nobody coming across as bland or hilariously bad. Overall, a good, solid movie, not brilliant, but compared to a lot of other SyFy movies it is watchable. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Fair dragon-on-the-loose adventure, set in modern-day Alaska. A mythological Norwegian beast turns out to be very real as it attacks a small wilderness town. The beast itself is nothing special, a typical CGI creation that looks like a cross between a dragon and a winged canine. But the plot moves along briskly enough (with a wink and a nod to JAWS in the form of a town festival taking place while the monster is on the loose), and this low-budget TV movie is graced by the presence of not one but two veteran character actors, Barry Corbin and Don Davis. Corbin has been in many movies and co-starred in the wonderful TV series, NORTHERN EXPOSURE. Davis is perhaps best known for his role in the original STARGATE TV series. They give this slight monster movie some measure of gravitas.

sending their staffers out to write good reviews of their crappy movies.Okay, even I'll concede that this is SLIGHTLY better than most of their "original" films, but it's the same story.Get a bad CGI monster, film somewhere in Canada and pretend it's the United States, have a film where the character actors (including at least one recently from a Sci-Fi Franchise) are systematically picked off by the monster.The hook in the plot is that this story takes place in a remote part of Alaska where they have days of sunlight around the summer solstice, and everyone goes a little nutty from lack of sleep...So a 100 foot man-eating flying lizard doesn't necessarily attract as much attention as one might think it would. Really.Oh, I think there's a global warming message here somewhere. If only Al Gore could work THAT into his presentation, someone might give a hoot.The tell that this is a TV movie. No one uses curse words no matter how bad things get... "Stuff Happens" said by a trucker. No trucker would say anything that tame...

Wyvern is a cut above the average from the Science Fiction Channel offerings. The Wyvern is a mythical beast from the ancient Norse religion who was a complete killing and eating machine and when it bit Odin, Odin banished him to the frozen icecap. But as we know the icecap has been melting so the dragon creature is loose.The film is a cross between Northern Exposure and the old science fiction film The Giant Claw. For all of you not familiar with Fifties Science Fiction, The Giant Claw was about a giant flying creature from outer space who came to earth to nest. That's what old Wyvern is doing as it lays some eggs. Barry Corbin and Elaine Miles from Northern Exposure are in the cast so you don't forget we're in Alaska. Corbin's the guy who tells the rest of the townspeople what they're dealing with. His Norwegian background in the folklore of his people makes him able to identify the monster. There's even a Rob Morrow like doctor played by David Lewis who is something of a wise city slicker as much out of place as Morrow was. The Wyvern really has a grisly plan for him, this creature is as intelligent as Stephen Spielberg's raptors in Jurassic Park.Wyvern's a bit better than what we usually get from this channel, the characters were interesting. I've only one question to ask, do you think the Russians could see the Wyvern from Kamchatka?