Josh (Louis Corbett) visits his archeologist father (Sam Neill) in China. He plays the victim of his parents divorce for some reason that was never developed. Here he meets Ling (Li Lin Jin) and if you read the title you know there is a dragon and a pearl they are tasked with reuniting.

I imagine the idea was to combine the beauty and artistry of the Chinese cinema and give it a plot that won't confuse westerners who don't understand the real complexity of good and evil. The film did not do as well of a job as I had hoped. The artistry was only in a few scenes and the plot was western formulaic. The on screen chemistry never happened. It was forced. Wu Dong (Jordan Chan) the temple keeper was the only one with on screen personality.

I can't imagine a lot of kids wanting to see this more than once. I did like the drumming at the end during the credit roll. Might make for a rental on family night.

As mystical stories go this one was right on the money. A tale about kings, wars, and dragons. Josh (Louis Corbett) comes to china to be with his father who is an archaeologist of old Chinese artifacts. With him is a woman assistant Dr. Li (Wang Ji) who's daughter Jin (Lin Lin Jin) is part of a family that dates back six thousand years into the past.

Jin realizes that she can hear a flute, which cannot play by ordinary means. Rather a monk Wu Dong (Jordan Chan) uses it to call the chosen one (Jin) to go, and find what is known as the Dragon Pearl. Which in turn belongs to an actual dragon that has been buried underground for nearly six millenniums. Now both Josh, and Jin embark on an incredible adventure to retrieve the lost pearl, and give it back to the dragon so he can go back to the celestial plane.

Yet in the foreground is josh's father's second assistant Philip (Robert Mammone) who wants the pearl for himself, and its power. After convincing Josh to steal a book key Josh opens a tomb for which the pearl itself is hidden from curious eyes. Now with the pearl he is betrayed by Philip, and is on the run with Jin to get the pearl back to its rightful owner.

All in all, this was a great family film. It had good action, not over the top. The music was pleasing to the ear with the mystical sounds of old songs. Seeing the dragon itself was done really well with its grandiose slithering movements. Tales of old spoke of the dragons as good luck icons where the common folk look to them for guidance, and well being.

A mystical aspect if there ever was one in this film. It had sadness, happiness, humour, and adventure. Highly recommended to all ages.

I think some of the other reviews of this movie missed the point. This is a movie for kids. Specifically, kids at an age where they are watching TV shows like "Mako Mermaids','iCarly', 'Dog with a Blog', 'Big Time Rush', etc. My ten year old loved it, and can't wait to watch it again.

We chose this for our weekly 'family movie night', and it was a nice alternative to the animated shows we often have to resort too, since we try to limit our family movies to G or PG rated fare as much as possible.

Sure, the plot was 100% predictable to my wife and I. But it was still fun and entertaining none the less, and our kid really enjoyed it. In that context, it was one of the better movies we have seen in the past few months and I would highly recommend this movie to parents looking for something to watch with their young children. In fact, my wife wants to show the movie to the kids in her after school Chinese program because it's a perfect way for them to start using the Chinese they have learned in a fun context that also exposes them to some Chinese culture.