Review of Dungeons & Dragons (2-Movie Collection)

Neuroglyph · Feb 17, 2011

Alright folks! It’s time to step away from the gaming table, pop some popcorn, grab a case of your favorite soda, and kick back with your fellow D&D enthusiasts to watch the new Dungeons & Dragons (2-Movie Collection)!

Yes it’s true... this week, Warner Home Video packaged the Dungeons & Dragons movie (2000) with its made-for-TV sequel, Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God (2005), into single two-movie package, which is now available on Blu-Ray.

Dungeons & Dragons (2-Movie Collection)

Starring: Jeremy Irons, Justin Whalin, Marlon Wayons, Bruce Payne (twice!), Mark Dymond, Clemency Burton-Hill
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Year: 2011
Media: Blu-Ray Disc
Cost: $19.98 MSRP ($14.99 [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-2-Movie-Collection-Blu-ray/dp/B004DN2Y5O"]from Amazon.com[/ame])

In addition to getting a collection of the two Dungeons & Dragons movies, this edition also includes Special Features:

Additional Scenes, Including an Alternate Ending
2 Commentaries: 1) Director Courtney Solomon and Co-Star Justin Whalin and 2) Courtney Solomon,
Cinematographer Doug Milsome and Game Co-Creator Dave Arneson
Documentary Let the Games Begin Making-of Featurette and Special Effects Deconstruction of the Theatrical Trailer

And for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: WRATH OF THE DRAGON GOD :

Dungeons & Dragons Heroes Commentary Featuring Wizards of the Coast
D&D Special Projects Manager Ed Stark and Other D&D Players
Making-of Featurette Rolling the Dice
The Arc: A Conversation with Gary Gygax

Now, I know that for some of my fellow D&D gamers out there, this news flash is probably causing copious amounts of eye-rolling, face-palming, and possibly heads slamming repeatedly into keyboards. I know the disappointment we all felt when the first Dungeons & Dragons movie was released. Heck, I was even there at GenCon 2000, when Justin Whalin was one of the guests-of-honor, and was packed into a theatre at MECCA to see the first trailer for the upcoming movie!

Oh, if only we knew then what we found out later at our local theatres, Mr. Whalin would have found himself fleeing Milwaukee ahead of an angry dice-hurling mob!

But just for nostalgia sake, I did go back and watch the first movie, hoping it might make me feel better about the flagship Dungeons & Dragons film. Sadly, I must confess that it did not. It’s just so hard to feel good about watching Jeremy Irons’ Profion brutally overacting to Bruce Payne’s Damodar, while Marlon Wayans spastically decimated every scene he was in with his non-funny comic-relief character called Snails. I actually cheered when he died. And do not even get me started on painfully moronic way that beholders were portrayed!

But surprisingly, I have to admit that I do have a certain genuine fondness for the sequel Dungeons & Dragons movie, “Wrath of the Dragon God”. Even though it never saw theatrical release – and frankly, after being burned out of 8 bucks for the first movie, I would have had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the theatre a second time – D&D: WotDG was actually a pretty good fantasy movie. Oh, I’m not talking about an epic fantasy movie the likes of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings or any of the Harry Potter block-buster movies.

But more in the same B-movie vein like Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, and Krull. Sure they aren’t great cinema, the acting is a bit forced, and the special effects are kinda hokey, but darn it, they are a helluva lot of fun to watch with your D&D gaming buddies on a cold winter evening! I can’t help it… those types of fantasy movies are one of those “guilty pleasures” that I just can’t give up.

D&D: WotDG really tried to take the material seriously, and despite the allowing Bruce Payne to reprise his role of Damodar as the main antagonist, the characters actually had a certain charm to them. They did all the cool things that D&D characters do in a real game – fight liches, battle dragons, delve into lost dungeons, solve horrible death-traps, recover artifacts, and save the world from impending doom! And D&D: WotDG did it all with complete sincerity and respect for the material, without the farcical stylings of a Wayans Brother mucking up the scenes!

And besides that, there is some great bonus material on this new Blu-Ray version which a lot of us avid fans of Dungeons & Dragons are going to want to have for their own. The documentaries and commentaries are a fun addition to the films – at least to the sequel anyways – and having the conversation with D&D creator Gary Gygax is just one of those “warm-fuzzy” things that we gamers like to enjoy now and then.

So go grab your copy of the Dungeons & Dragons (2-Movie Collection), available now on Blu-Ray, and is out at your local video stores or available from Amazon (at a nice discount). Maybe if we are lucky, and Blu-Ray sales are good, someone might even consider writing a third Dungeons & Dragons movie with a bit more flair and better direction than its predecessors.

You hear me Peter Jackson… I’m talking to you sir!

So until next review… I wish you Happy Gaming!

smtwtfs · Feb 17, 2011

3rd movie announced

The screenplay for the 3rd movie has already been written.

Dungeons & Dragons: The Book of Vile Darkness (2011) IMDB:
Dungeons & Dragons: The Book of Vile Darkness (2011) - IMDb

WotC forum discussion with promotional contest:
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/26508065/Book_of_Vile_Darkness..._the_Movie!

darjr · Feb 17, 2011

The extra's have me interested. Funny, I didn't think I would have been interested, but the extra's have me considering it.

Obvious_Ninja · Feb 17, 2011

There is already a third one coming. Whether its going to be any good or not is anyone's guess.... lets hope at least...

Dungeons & Dragons: The Book of Vile Darkness (2011) - IMDb

renau1g · Feb 17, 2011

Hmmmmm....I hated the first one, I was so bummed as our whole group gave up our game night on the Friday to go see it rather than play because we were so jazzed. Sadly, we were so disappointed it was a like a kick to the...... somewhere. I never saw the second one, I might have to give it a whirl.

pawsplay · Feb 18, 2011

I saw the first one for free with some of my Amtgard friends when we did a demo. I actually found it quite entertaining. It's almost mind-blowingly bad. Watch it with me, sometime, we'll kick it MST3K style. I mean... blue lipstick, man! Evil blue lipstick. You just can't make this stuff up.

The sequel is actually less entertaining, because it's less bad. Since it's not quite good, it comes off as mainly embarrassing. Watch it once, if you get the chance, for completeness sake, but apart from some decent swordplay and some cool-looking effects, you are looking at live-action cardboard. Most BBC specials have better scripts and pacing.

Neuroglyph · Feb 18, 2011

renau1g said:
Hmmmmm....I hated the first one, I was so bummed as our whole group gave up our game night on the Friday to go see it rather than play because we were so jazzed. Sadly, we were so disappointed it was a like a kick to the...... somewhere. I never saw the second one, I might have to give it a whirl.

You sound like my group... our D&D group went and found it to be so disappointing. Although the second one didn't have much of a cast, I really kind of enjoyed it.

BTW, thanks Obvious_Ninja and smtwtfs for updating the post with the IMDB link to the new D&D movie. From the title alone, I'm a little scared to see where they are going to be taking the franchise - I loved the Book of Vile Darkness as a sourcebook, but it makes me twitchy to imagine how it might fit into a movie. Only time will tell...