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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Upper_Krust" data-source="post: 4098421" data-attributes="member: 326">Howdy Klaus! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Oddly enough I had a bunch of non-roleplaying friends watch the D&D2 movie on Friday night and a the response was generally positive, if not exactly glowing.I disagree. I think a fantasy film needs to be played seriously otherwise the audience won't take anything seriously. This is the difference between the first and second D&D movies. The first is played for laughs and ends up nothing more than a joke.I actually thought the lich looked okay. Certainly in comparison to some of the CGI. The two dragons looked great, but those gargoyles could have been better. I think always using practical effects if you can is a great idea. Those Gargoyles could have been actors in costume, then CGI the wings or something like that.The tattoos on Dorian the cleric looked really silly. I know these things sometimes look good in illustrations, but so did Damodar's blue lipstick and look how that turned out.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f631.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":eek:" title="Eek!    :eek:"  data-smilie="9"data-shortname=":eek:" /> But I thought the Rogue was a great character. I think what the D&D2 movie did well was avoid casting a load of fresh faced twenty-somethings in the main roles. That meant that the PCs actually looked like real people rather than necessarily a bunch of O.C. rejects.I think they did pretty good all things considered. Both Dragons looked excellent. The Spectres looked really good, I only wish that scene had been at night it would have made it so much more atmospheric.Couldn't agree more. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />My problems with the movie were as follows:1) There was no action scene at the start. To me that means tv movie. Think big, hit the audience from the start.2) Fight choreography. You always know when you have either untrained actors or bad choreography, because the camera will be in close up to mask exactly whats going on. This was one of those movies, quick cuts really ruined the fights, what there was of them. Note how long the actors trained with lightsabres in the Star Wars movies so you could pull the camera back and actually see whats going on.3) Spatial awareness. Again related to point #2. That battle with the bandits didn't make sense. The fight with the White Dragon was also a bit weird. What they should do is actually play out the fight using D&D miniatures and put this on a handheld camera. That way when you come to shoot the movie you know where everybody is (and you have a cool special feature for the DVD extras).4) Throwing knife aside, none of the characters had any missile weapons. I think this may have made the movie more dynamic, at least have one archer or crossbow wielder in there. In the movie Hawk the Slayer, the five heroes between them had a bow, a repeating crossbow and a flying sword.5) Damodar was ridiculously bad in every way. Its weird because Bruce Payne was actually pretty good in Passenger 57. But here he was channelling Jeremy Iron's Profion performance. Added to which every scene he was in was terrible in its conception. I mean the Throne room scene had potential, the elf mage getting stuck in the wall was cool, but a cage out of nowhere just happening to fall on both the remaining heroes!!  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f615.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":confused:" title="Confused    :confused:"  data-smilie="5"data-shortname=":confused:" />  Then the heroes get free and its a quick one chop to the arm and thats our action scene. Poor.Firstly they should have had Damodar flanked by Orc or Gnoll guards. The heroes teleport in and manage to defeat the guards only to have Damodar animate a Stone Golem, as one hero deals with that the other attacks Damodar (who has a sword). Damodar gets his arm chopped off, loses the orb, but just as reinforcement guards are piling into the room. The heroes make a hasty exit.Then the end fight and AGAIN Damodar puts up absolutely no challenge - this guy used to be the Captain of the City Guard for goodness sake and hes running away from a fight.6) Falazure. I think they missed a great opportunity to do something original (in movies that is) with the Dragon God. An energy draining breath weapon animating the townsfolk would have been all kinds of awesome. Then have the wizards (protected against the energy drain) have to fight their way to the top of the tower, hold the zombies at bay and keep one eye on Falazure.Still, it was a surprisingly entertaining effort.</blockquote>

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