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Dungeons & Dragons

List Price: $24.98
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Dungeons & Dragons: The Movie. . . .
Review: In the empire of Izmer (a D&D setting designed specifically for the film), the evil mage Profion is plotting his rise to power through traitorous means that involve a magical rod which can control Izmer's dragons. It's up to a duo of bumbling thieves, a student sorceress, a self-conscious dwarf, and a too-stoic elven tracker to put a stop to Profion and his minions. If this sounds like your bread and butter, though, you may be mistaken. This year 2000 fantasy offering attained by New Line Cinema (yes, the same company that gave us the spectacular Lord of the Rings films) is an acquired taste, and should appeal primarily to those fantasy enthusiasts so rabid that even bad fantasy fare will satisfy. I myself fall into this category, and despite its many glaring faults, Dungeons & Dragons: The Movie is pretty enjoyable. The sad part is that it should have been so much better, given the Dungeons & Dragons license. Though many of the realms of D&D are borrowed shamelessly from Tolkien, they still contain some depth and vastness that hardly shows up during the course of the film. If you're an avid D&D fan, you're going to have to wonder why orcs, halflings, elves, dwarves, and humans would all share the same space in a local city pub, why dragons cannot speak or do much thinking at all, and why the film is more about a single hero than a party of adventurers. Yes, one of the two aforementioned bumbling thieves is clearly the Luke Skywalker of the story, and it is a true shame.

Speaking of Star Wars, it was clearly more of an inspiration to director Courtney Solomon than the Dungeons & Dragons source material itself. This movie is completely structured in the guise of a Star Wars film (although it's considerably better than Episodes 1 and 2), and really just replaces the Emperor with an evil mage, Darth Vader with a warrior in blue lipstick (yes, BLUE LIPSTICK), and... well, you get the idea. Yes, the plotline is tired, and no, there are very few moments in the film where a band of companions is wandering the countryside, battling monsters or compiling treasures. What's more, there are very few moments in the film when the lead characters are even being developed. For example, the dwarf, Elwood, stumbles into the companions completely by accident, and then, for whatever reason, decides to stick with them. His motivations are completely unknown. The film's prerequisite elf character is likewise insubstantial (if not more so). Her sole purpose is to guide the party and occasionally offer bits of stoic wisdom - apart from that, she's useless. Add to this some garish and visibly artificial sets and costumes, and you have a movie that stands out like a geek in high school. It cannot help but be mocked.

As far as the DVD is concerned, make sure you check out the film's deleted scenes. In almost every circumstance, these scenes should have been left in the movie! In fact, this would have made for a moderately better movie experience, and the story and characters would definitely have made more sense. A director's cut would be welcome, though I'm not going to hold my breath.

So, why the four star rating given all my qualms with the movie? Well, because it's entertaining, even if it's often for the wrong reasons (and also because I can't give it 3 and a half stars). And, I admit, there are moments in Dungeons & Dragons that work really well despite the absurdity of the moments that have come before. The film's score is also worthy of note, as it's exceptionally good. Still, unless you like fantasy films just because they're fantasy films, this may not be for you. As for myself, much of my enthusiasm for D&D has waned since the release of The Fellowship of the Ring. Yes, D&D is a cool license with an acceptable treatment, but The Lord of the Rings is the ultimate license with a titanic treatment. I cannot recommend Dungeons & Dragons without reservation or regret, but it's not as loathsome as others would have you believe, provided you have an open mind.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Very Bad Movie. Period.
Review: On a whim, I decided to pop this movie into my DVD player to see if it was any good. I saw this movie several months before Lord of the Rings came out so I was hoping for a decent Fantasy Adventure movie. I was wrong. A very [bad] story, they should have developed a better villain, a better story and adventure. The action sequences wasn't really that good. The people who made this movie based on a very popular geeky RPG did really bad writing the story and had a better design. Had they used the Dungeons and Dragons Forgotten Realms setting, it could have been a good movie. Not many diversity with the villains also. It could have been real intersting if the party fought against orcs, beholders and even dragons. There hasn't been much emphasis on elves which could have made the story more intersting. The movie had some interesting twists but it is a really bad movie. If you really want to see a good fantasy adventure, see Lord of the Rings. It has a better story, better action, better characters and J.R.R. Tolkien is the man. Don't even bother for this horrible movie.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Influence 'vs' plagirism.
Review: DUNGEON AND DRAGONS wasn't a very good movie. However, contrary to what the majority of other reviewers have written, it wasn't a completely terrible movie, either. The film had a built in fan base from all of us RPG's and former RPG's and the expectations were so high that it was a major letdown.

I won't try to explain the plot because it's so convoluted. Needless to say it involves some dungeons, lots of dragons, jewels, thieves, magic, swords, and colorful costumes. Also, the movie was heavily inspired by STAR WARS and INDIANA JONES.

There is a lot of over-the-top acting here and lots of cheesy dialogue. However, for a movie like D & D, this really shouldn't be a complaint, do you know how much cheesy dialogue and over-the-top actions come out of players mouths during a gaming session. Or have you actually listened to how much cheesy dialogue people speak in real life for that matter?

The character of Snails in the film is really annoying. However, he's also one of the more enjoyable characters just because he doesn't fit in with the norm of this world.

The dragon fight near the end of the film is great. It would have been nice to see it done bigger, but it's still a pretty cool fight.

The most confusing part of the movie is the end. I still haven't figured out what went on there. If you know, e-mail and let me know because it's bugging the heck out of me.

Overall, an average fantasy/adventure. It was brought about by a first-time director and all of the mistakes of that first outing are cleary seen. However, it makes for an interesting 90 mintues of popcorn-eating, mind candy.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Don't cry Jeremy, I stll love you......
Review: I like fantasy. I love Tolkein. I've been playing AD&D for almost 20 years. Geek credentials presented, this film is a waste of anyone's time. The Saturday morning cartoon show was a lot better than this, in it's worst episode. But we know this film is BAD, and to everyone defending the movie's "virtues", let's be real for a minute...devil's advocate, sure, but I've had crack additcs try to tell me that crack gets a bad rep, and Jesus freaks defend the Inquisition, so knock it off already, will you? This movie sucks(how's that for eloquence?), and it's sad to see my favorite actor, Jeremy Irons, involved in this mess. Ah, well. Go watch "Damage", "Dead Ringers", "Kafka", or "Lolita" for Mr. Irons at his best. Hell, go watch the Teletubbies, but don't watch this fiasco. (Note to RPG'ers: my DM had us in a tavern recently(cliche?no, really?), getting info, when our group notices the idiot characters from this movie, heroes and villans, all sitting at a booth, getting drunk and feeling sorry for themselves. Our party, normally anything but a hack'n'slash group, gleefully made an exception in their case, dead bodies everywhere.....tee hee).

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Dungheaps & Drivel
Review: Oh the humanity! This absolutely pungent movie is so bad, I would rather eat the CD than watch it again. When it came out 2 years ago I wanted to see it, but friends said, "Wait, and rent it."... BR>If you have ever played a role-playing game, you must have cried as you watched this 'movie' miss the mark on every attempt at humor, action, or, god forbid, a plot. Thieves who scream like little girls; teamwork in the style of the Three Stooges; and a plot that plays out like a bad 6th grade school play..
I just can't believe that Gary Gygax became so desperate, that he stood on the set as an active participant [an actor] and let this travesty become his namesake.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Absolutely terrible
Review: This movie is one of the worst movies I have ever seen and I don't mean that in a good way.

See, some movies, like "Hobgoblins," "Crab Men from Sirius Six" and much of the Godzilla series, are absolutely terrible, but it isn't a problem. They know they're bad, so they just busy themselves with making an interesting plot or maybe just some campy acting.

D&D thinks it's good. It's overacted, poorly plotted, looks terrible and just doesn't have a single redeeming scene.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This isn't D&D
Review: I pitty the GM who came up with this story and these rules... lol

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best fantasy movies and true to it's name!
Review: This movie is by far one of the best, if not the best Fantasy movie of all time and unlike some game based movies, creates the feeling of the game. Although some people who either don't like or are unfamilar with the game may not like it, I don't know why those people have to discourage everone else who might see it , those who like Dungeons & Dragons and other Roll Playing Games (RPGs) will almost certainly love this movie.

The movie has everthing you would expect out of game Heros, Vilans, Monsters, Magic, Magic Weapons, Etc.

If you like the game or are into fantasy movies then you have to see Dungeons & Dragons!

if you don't like fantasy movies,unless you have a valid point, don't write reviews that might discourage people who like fantasy from getting this one just because you personally didn't like it and stick to writing reviews for movies you do like.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: NOW WHAT ABOUT MY HEAD?
Review: Most of us seem to agree: This movie stinks--but it's fun to poke fun at. And when a movie is this bad, it's really hard to write a serious review. So instead, I'm giving you the complete list of things I noticed while watching the movie. Enjoy!

The basic storyline is this (sorry if it's hard to understand, but the runes that I'm translating from are a little hard to read): There's this evil guy named Profen (as in Ibuprofen) that exaggerates EVERY scene that he's in, flapping his hands around like some amateur actor. I'm not exaggerating. To show how evil he his, he sets loose this dragon. But the dragon, sensing how stupid this guy is, ignores his commands. Appalled by the dragon's disrespect, Profen kills the dragon in a scene that looks very reminiscent of the Rancor scene in Return of the Jedi.

Back in the town, there are two guys, our two heroes. Well, actually, there's only one hero, the other is "comic-relief" ala Jar Jar Binks style. In short, the "comic relief" is VERY annoying.

The two main characters decide to break into the magic guild's tower. Now that sounds like something Robert E. Howard's Conan would do, right? But our two main characters don't handle it as well as Conan would have. In fact, they end up meeting a feisty mage (magette, magess, whatever) that reminds one of Princess Leia. The main character acts like Luke in some parts of the movie and cocky like Han Solo in others. He acts like Han Solo in this part, where they get confronted by a guy with a liking for blue lipstick and a claw that looks a lot like Predator's. Actually, Mr. Blue Lips was an ex-band member of KISS.

They (the good guys) fight, they get away, they go to this village where there is this bar scene (Oh, that looks like that scene in Star Wars!) and they meet this weird guy with a purple head that looks kinda sorta like the Elephant Man.


Then they meet this elf that looks like Michael Jackson.


There's an Empire and a Senate.


A place where the Senate meets that looks like the setting for The Muppet Show.


The Phantom Menace introduced Princess Amidala. Well, this movie introduces her sister, Princess what's-her-face, and yes, her costume does change with every scene, and each time she changes her outfits get more and more ridiculous.


I was about to bet that Prince was going to have his own little role.


I was also about to bet that Mr. Blue Lips (who ALWAYS whispers) was going to say at some point, "I see dead people."


There are multiple scenes that reek of the Indiana Jones trilogy. Going through gauntlets, stepping on the right stones at the right time (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). Scampering over bare floor, trying to get an ancient relic, spiked ceilings coming down (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). And finally, to complete the trilogy, standing in front of a ruby, legs straddled-like, scratching the chin (Raiders of the Lost Ark). Yeah, I'd say that the makers of this movie raided a lot from other popular movies, as if they were thinking "Hey, if we borrow all the cool parts from other cool movies, then our movie will be cool!"


Other Irks:


The funeral for Annoying as Jar Jar Binks-nuf said.


The "grand finale" is a big flop.


And, finally, the fact that they force you to play this stupid puzzle game in the DVD edition, just so you can watch the deleted scenes.


Well, give or take a little black magic, that's what's in this movie . . . .


NOW WHAT ABOUT MY HEAD!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: D&D didn't deserve this
Review: The movie is disappointing in all aspects. For those out there who follow the D&D universe this movie is a total let-down. I would even say that the only thing in common between AD&D and this movie is its title. The way I see it it's not worth renting, let alone purchasing.


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