Film didnt work even in fantasy
 Oct 3rd, 2007
Advantages:
nice graphics in places
Disadvantages:
poor script, bad directing
Recommendable:
No
Detailed rating:
Did you enjoy it?
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Characters / Performances
Special Effects
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  SarahJohnston_greenmums
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~Background~
Dungeons and dragons is a paper and dice RPG game that has stretched over 3 decades. Often seen as a 'geek' thing, due to often referenced in the media, it is played by people you wouldn't think geekish at all, for example, the actor, Vin Diesel! Many writers have drawn best selling novels from playing the game, most prominently RL Salvadore. The game has such a big cult following, references can still be found in modern PC RPG games. With such a history in the game as well as of the game, it was only a matter of time that the sheer imagination would leap out of the writings of fans and players into the big screen. ~ Film Summary ~
Two rogues decide to make a quick break-in, not realising that they might interrupt something that will change their lives forever, and send them on a quest to retrieve a staff that will finally bring balance to their autocratic world where if you aren't a wizard, you aren't important seems to be the order of the day.
~The DVD~
The cover art leaves a lot to be desired. Although the centre image is well done, it's the only part of the box that has any form of 'love' spent on it. It's a rather despondent plain red other than the image. It looks cheap and you could be mistaken into thinking it's a knock off copy. ~Special Features~
No special features. That or I missed them. However I have a fondness of playing to find any hidden easter eggs, so the chances are there wasn't any
little titbits to play with.
~Price & Availability~
Amazon have them from new at £6.48
~Technical Stuff~
• Actors: Jeremy Irons, Bruce Payne, Justin Whalin, Marlon Wayans, Robert Miano
• Directors: Courtney Solomon
• Format: PAL
• Language English
• Region: Region 2 ( DVD formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Classification: 12
• Studio: Entertainment in Video
• DVD Release Date: 13 Aug 2001
• Run Time: 107 minutes
• DVD Features:
• Main Language: English
• Available Audio Tracks: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Trailer - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
• Documentaries
• Deleted Scenes
• ASIN: B000057X1K
~Cast (in credits order)~
Jeremy Irons ... Profion (Lion King, Die Hard with a Vengence)
Bruce Payne ... Damodar (Highlander:Endgame, Hellborn)
Justin Whalin ... Ridley Freeborn (Jimmy Olsen in Lois & Clark: The new adventures of superman)
Marlon Wayans ... Snails (White Chicks, Little Man, Scary Movie 2)
Thora Birch ... Empress Savina
Edward Jewesbury ... Vildan Vildir
Zoe McLellan ... Marina Pretensa
Lee Arenberg ... Elwood Gutworthy
Kristen Wilson ... Norda
David O'Kelly ... Three Eyes
Richard O'Brien ... Xilus (Rocky Horror show)
Tom Baker ... Halvarth
~Opinion~
Unfortunately this film failed in so many ways to give any justice to the game, and it appears the focus was mainly on the CGI and special effects, much to the detriment of the storyline and script.
Even the cast of brilliant actors had a hard time of it. Jeremy Irons, an actor who has played some superb sly bad guys (such as Scar from The Lion king and Simon Gruber in Die Hard 3) fought a shoddy script to be as mean as possible, however most the time he came across as if he had a bad throat, Oscar winning Irons usual growling voice had to deal with poor lines as "Let their blood rain from the sky! "
Even the comedic actions of Marlon Wayans (White Chicks, Little Man) could even lift this movie from its doldrums. Although he portrayed a rather funny sidekick as 'snails' you still didn't get the feel of loss when he was murdered. I often had the feeling the more funnier lines were adlibbed, as Wayans looked more natural, where as often 'supposed' funny lines even this comedian looked very uneasy and out of place.
Richard O'Brien played a rather good Rogue Guild Leader, however the performance seemed strained and sometimes felt 'cut' (as in parts were cut out that were probably relevant) Not at all like the flambiant energies he usually exhibits. However it seems that O'Brien did take one thing from this film away with him, his line "You finish the maze, you win the prize!" often appeared in his game show, Crystal Maze.
The best scene by far was Ridley's triumph over the rogue guilds treacherous dungeon maze; however, even by game standards it was less than believable and on occasion very easy to realise how to get through. Obvious continuity flaws even prevailed in this scene, with Rileys scabbard being floppy one minute, and drawing his sword from it the next!
This film has a total of 27 'goof's and issues wrong with it, ranging from missing continuity, to just plain stupidness, however the majority are continuity issues. They can be found here on IMDB : http://imdb.com/title/tt0190374/goofs . I feel this is a testament to how little attention was spent on the film, which had the potential to be a lot better, had they not visibly expected a character of 'names' and some occasional good effects to carry it through. Even the Dragon fight near the end was glitched, often using repeated scenes, occasionally reversed, probably in a effort to save money.
Even though the cast has Oscar winners and a list of top actors from US and the UK, when they advertised the film for release they did not mention any of them once again proving that they expected the CGI animation, and the games enormous reputation to see it through. Unfortunately I don't believe either the director or the producers were game players, as the whole film seems to be made with errors and problems, goofs of the unintentional kind and no real 'love' actually lavashed on the film at all.
All in all it was disappointing; although the graphics were occasionally brilliant, the relation to the game for anyone who has ever played it was totally lost, the script was lame and direction was obviously rather rushed ad left actors feeling rather visibly fed up and not giving it their all. It is a shame, as the storyline had a lot of potential had it been approached better.
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