Okay, so here's an article I wouldn't have thought to write when I started doing this. I guess there's actually quite some precedent for movies based on the world's most famous tabletop role-playing game.
Some history: My knowledge of D&D largely comes from my father, especially since he still had plenty of 1st Edition AD&D materials lying around for me to peruse while I grew up. When he shifted over to playing the video games, I kinda shifted with him, so I didn't stay up to date with the later editions much. While I was vaguely aware of the 80s cartoon, the first film in 2000 was more prominent, as it came out when I was in high school. I didn't see it in theaters, but I remember watching it at a friend's house and thinking it was cheesy, but still kinda fun. The line about "Ridley" being the new word for "dumb" became a bit of an in-joke for us at the time. Since then, I hadn't done much with D&D, outside of the occasional video game, but when 5th Edition started to build up the brand's popularity again, I got back into it, and have since learned that two more movies got made in the meantime. Now that the new one is out, I figured I'd do a full sweep of all four, including rewatching the first one and reviewing the new one, all in one article!!
When the Empress of Izmir shocks her empire by stating her desire to break the caste system that had been created between the elitist mages and the common people, one of the mages on the council named Profion seeks to overthrow her by finding a magical rod that can control red dragons and contend with the Empress's own rod that controls gold dragons. Caught up in the intrigue are a pair of thieves, an apprentice wizard, a dwarven fighter, and an elven tracker. At first, the thieves are just out to steal some of the mage's stuff, but when Profion's henchman Damodar attacks the mage's tower to get an important scroll, they end up banding together to get the red dragon rod themselves and stop Profion.
Right off, the acting is straight up terrible. Justin Whalin plays the lead thief Ridley Freeborn, but acts like a poor fusion of Han Solo and Rick O'Connell, all charismatic and selfish. Marlon Wayans plays as Snails, the other thief, who mostly provides comic relief until the movie decides not to have fun anymore. The rest are worse, making me feel like they picked them up from a local high school theater club, with many of the scenes pushing some forced drama between the main characters, or often leaving them behind so that Ridley can be the hero. Jeremy Irons is being a really good sport, hamming up every scene he is in, and outperforming everyone around him. Richard O'Brien and Tom Baker show up as cameos, elevating their few scenes, but otherwise, it's pretty much a mess. It certainly doesn't help that the dialogue is filled to the brim with thoughtless clichés and low-effort banter. Pretty much the only good line is the one I mentioned in the opening paragraph about Ridley being dumb.
The thing is, the movie does have some good ideas going for it. While the plotting does feel like a thrown together mishmash from the original Star Wars trilogy, it's not like the premise couldn't have worked. And while the CGI has aged pretty poorly, you can tell some real thought went into it, desperately trying to make amazing things happen. Even the traps are pretty cool, and the movie does capture much of the aesthetic of the 3rd Edition manuals that would have been out at the time. Unfortunately, they can't hold the movie together. My memory of the movie being cheesy still fits, but I admit there wasn't much fun to be had, as I cringed pretty hard through most of it. Still, it does qualify a bass-line to judge the later films by. Hopefully, they can improve on this, as it wouldn't be hard at all.
Well, whatever hopes I may have had have since been quashed. I'm not quite sure if this one is better or worse than the first film, as the problems here are different. However, since it has a significantly smaller budget and scope, this movie had much less of a distance to fall, which weirdly gives it a slight advantage.
Taking place 100 years after the first film, Damodar comes back to wreck revenge on Izmir by obtaining the Orb of Faluzure and using it's power to wreck havoc and evil. This compels Izmir to rely on a ragtag group of champions to save the kingdom: a snarky thief, a wrathful warrior, a pious cleric, a stoic mage, and an old lord named Berek who may be past his adventuring prime to lead them on their quest. For what it's worth, the premise does come together rather quickly, sending the heroes off to encounter a variety of situations, all while the mages of Izmir (including Berek's wife Melora) work on magic that will reseal the Orb once the heroes get it.
If the first film was cursed with a kind of angsty, teenage-style melodrama, this one suffers from a more classic kind of melodrama. At least the acting has been raised to the level of a TV-level production of Shakespeare, but as a consequence, all charm has been dropped in favor of a very dry approach, with much of the dialogue being filled with cheap platitudes, clichés, and exposition. The special effects are a mixed bag. Monsters are few and generally look rough, and magic has been simplified down to some wave-y screen effects and the occasional bolt of lightning. The corner-cutting is pretty obvious, and can even mess with some continuity, making it hard to understand what is happening in a few scenes. Fortunately, the plot is pretty straight forward, even if certain events play out in a way to keep costs down rather than make a good story.
Still, the low budget does give the movie a kind of indie charm, and the D&D references are fun, if you know to look for them. I certainly did cringe less watching this one, if only to laugh more at its shortcomings. Of course, being a direct-to-DVD production does help to manage expectations as well. Overall, it's a pretty lifeless affair, bolstered by a few neat ideas, and a better understanding of its own limitations.
So, seven years and one edition later, they decide to try again with a new movie that has nothing to do with the first two at all. Not only is there no continuity nods, the tone and story take a dip into the muddy waters of dark fantasy, only to end up being an absolute mess.
The story follows a young man named Grayson who follows his father into a holy order of knights. However, the order is suddenly attacked by barbarians, taking his father with them. From there, he abandons his faith, joining an adventuring party of villains and partaking in their activities, all in the effort to rescue his father from an evil sorcerer who is eager to remake the Book of Vile Darkness.
First, the good stuff. The CG certainly takes a step up, as magical powers feel more tangible and the monsters are a more credible threat, from what little we see of them. The cinematography is also slightly better than the second film, feeling a tad more like a movie and less like a staged TV show. Finally, the casting is decent enough, finding an interesting group of bad guys for our hero to try and fit in with.
However, all of this is brought down by an absolutely terrible script. What few good ideas the story has are strangled by bad dialog, arbitrary story turns, and clunky exposition that doesn't really pay off in any meaningful way. It spends a lot of time setting up this dark philosophy of "the strong eat the weak" among the party, but it's so hamfisted that it can't be taken seriously. There's also some horror elements here and there, and some needless sex scenes (as this one decided to go for an R-rating), but this dark fantasy is a very shallow affair, with little sophistication or thought in its delivery. The editing doesn't do the movie any favors either, often cutting to the next thing without any explanation. Even the handful of D&D references feel tossed in, and when used, are barely explained, if it all. Overall, with it's weak attempts at maturity feeling childish and poorly thought out, and an ending that is both predictable and unsatisfying, this is probably the least recommendable of the entire series.
So, another 11 years and another edition later, we finally have a good D&D movie that works on its own merits as well as being a solid representation of the game and one of its worlds, namely the Forgotten Realms. Even if the other movies in the article have set the bar low, there was a lot at stake with this one still, and it seems to have succeeded, though it doesn't quite reach being a natural 20.
The focus is on Chris Pine's character Edgin Darvis, who started out as a heroic Harper. However, when his wife was killed, he left the Hapers and raised his daughter Kira with his friend Holga Kilgore, a female barbarian played Michelle Rodriguez. They eventually form an adventuring party, but when they are betrayed by the necromancer Sofina, Edgin ends up in prison, estranging himself from his daughter as well. From there, Edgin gets the band back together to reclaim his honor, his daughter, and make plenty of jokes along the way.
The trailers betrayed a very Guardians-of-the-Galaxy tone with this film, and the movie carries that tone all the way through. For what it's worth, the humor is largely pretty good, even if it does lean on sarcastic quips and other fourth-wall-leaning elements, but such things are certainly warranted, given how most sessions of D&D tend to be. However, the emphasis on comedy does tend to make the movie feel very rushed, as if it's in a hurry to hit all of its beats without much time devoted to the deeper character moments. It's almost as if the movie is afraid audiences will get bored if there isn't another joke soon, which is a shame, as there is some decent character stuff here.
The cast is quite good, as they're all pretty game (pun unintended) for a fantasy-adventure romp. They're chemistry is solid, and they portray the characters handling each new challenge with a casual ease. There is a bit of a problem where, after so many narrow escapes, the stakes start to lose their weight, but it sticks to its roller-coaster-style of story telling that it doesn't stop being fun. It was also neat to hear so many name-drops from the Forgotten Realms universe, even if they didn't do much for the plot, which is probably the way to do that (it's what Guardians did with their lore after all). It may not be the most substantial story to build or carry a franchise, but it works as a action/comedy, largely because of its dedication to that formula, without losing many of the things that makes D&D feel unique.
So there we have it! I'm glad that this retrospective gets to end on a positive note, as those first three films were pretty rough. Unfortunately, the future of D&D as a movie and/or TV staple is kind of in question, mostly due to its stiff competition (don't worry; I'll be getting to John Wick and Mario as well). Fantasy-based media is in an unusual place, at the moment, between this, Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, and so many more. However, it remains to be seen if this is a new golden era, or a phase that will be dropped in favor of the next Marvel mega-arc.
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