Also, the movie's setup takes much more time to unfold than it does to come to its skimpy conclusion, which takes a weird mystical turn, presumably to appease younger audiences who might not like the more obvious bittersweet turn.

That may not matter to some audiences, though, because the computer-graphic effects involving the dragons are superb, especially the sequences where Draco swims under water and where he bursts out of a waterfall.

The Tippett Studios animators (who also did the "Jurassic Park" dinosaurs) studied Connery's facial expressions before bringing the character to life. The dragon, which looks like a cross between a horned lizard and a rattlesnake, may scare some of the younger audience-members, though, and some of the violent swordplay is surprisingly graphic.

Despite the effects, what really brings Draco and the movie to life is Connery's wonderful vocal performance, which stands out over the other performances as much as the dragon does the human characters. (Christie, in particular, is wasted in an undeveloped role).

That's not necessarily a bad thing, though, since Quaid's growl sounds more like a pirate or Michael Keaton in "Beetlejuice" than a Celt or Scot.

"Dragonheart" is rated PG-13 for considerable violence, much of it involving swordplay, some gore (the heart transplant scene), vulgarity from the afore-mentioned sneezing scene and for the scariness of the dragons.