The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I'm going to state up front that I went in to this movie expecting a relatively simple plot, slightly above average special effects, but plenty of action. Well, the plot was simple so I got that right.

Mini non-spoiler plot:
Two thieves (Ridley and Snails) break into the Mage's School after the villian (Profion) sets the river on fire creating the perfect distraction. They get caught by an apprentice mage/librarian (Marina), see her teacher get killed, and get embroiled in a plot to recover an artifact that will control dragons.

Characters:

Ridley (Justin Whalen) is a fairly typical heroic thief-with-honor and does a good job at it. He is cocky without coming across as smugly overconfident and gets the snot beaten out of him when he isn't using a magic weapon.

Predictably, Snails (Marlon Wayans) is completely successful as the comedy relief sidekick. His greed provokes him into doing some mildly stupid things but is otherwise a competent character.

The mage/love interest Marina (Zoe McClellan) is a fairly two-dimensional character, although more developed than the highly enjoyable, if overly stereotypical, dwarven berserker Elwood (Lee Aranberg). Elven tracker Norda (Kristen Wilson) had decent lines but was forced to wear a shiny breastplate complete with hammered-in nipples.

Evil arch-mage Profion is played by Jeremy Irons, a normally competent actor. Here he comes across as a poor man's Christopher Lloyd. His character's believability comes from the fact that only by becoming one of the most powerful mages could he ever hope to acquire any form of respect. His lines are snarled in particularly un-threatening ways.

Profion's henchman and head of the Crimson Guard (whatever that was) Damodar proved to be a much more enjoyable character than I initially expected. Bruce Payne has the presence and confidence to be the "black knight enforcer" and still manages one fairly believable, if false, plea for assistance.

Empress Savina was less believable than Profion, despite having Thora Birch as an actress. Her lines were incredibly simplistic without a hint of regality and the delivery was stilted. It was like her character from American Beauty had been given the title "Empress" and told to 'pretend you are an empress who cares about the injustices the commoners experience even though we can't really SHOW you anyone suffering.'

Effects:
Okay, the dragons were cool. They were very smooth and had very believable movement. The beholders, which didn't appear in any commercial, were unbelievable. I think I found them more impressive than the dragons.

The spells were mostly classic 1980's lighning bolts and shimmery fields. Several "flaming bolt" spells were used but no massive explosions to imply power. The opening scene where the river was set fire would have been better had we seen a few commoners incinerated or boats a flame to justify some of the movie's constantly harped upon but never explained "injustices."

The thieves' maze was okay, but only consisted of three traps: pendulum blades, flame blasts, and a descending ceiling.

While the action sequences were painfully brief, they were well done. No one swung their sword two feet above their target's head or flailed about at their ankles. The actors had been given enough training to look realistically comfortable with their weapons.

Conclusion:
I guess I was spoiled by Sci-Fi's adaptation of "Dune." The occassional decent scene got my hopes up only to dash them a few seconds later when the moment ended and something horribly trite occurred.

I think it would have been helped by another month or two of time in the FX shop but they were smart to release this long before Lord of the Rings. If you aren't bothered by stereotypical characters you'll probably enjoy the movie but if you have *ANY* expectations you will be disappointed.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 2 (Sparse)

Dungeons And Dragons - The Movie
Author: Topper Lilien, Carroll Cartwright, and Courtney Solomon Category: movie Company/Publisher: New Line Cinema Line: Dungeons & Dragons Cost: $5-$7.50 Capsule Review by James McPherson on 12/08/00. Genre tags: Fantasy	I'm going to state up front that I went in to this movie expecting a relatively simple plot, slightly above average special effects, but plenty of action. Well, the plot was simple so I got that right. Mini non-spoiler plot: Two thieves (Ridley and Snails) break into the Mage's School after the villian (Profion) sets the river on fire creating the perfect distraction. They get caught by an apprentice mage/librarian (Marina), see her teacher get killed, and get embroiled in a plot to recover an artifact that will control dragons. Characters: Ridley (Justin Whalen) is a fairly typical heroic thief-with-honor and does a good job at it. He is cocky without coming across as smugly overconfident and gets the snot beaten out of him when he isn't using a magic weapon. Predictably, Snails (Marlon Wayans) is completely successful as the comedy relief sidekick. His greed provokes him into doing some mildly stupid things but is otherwise a competent character. The mage/love interest Marina (Zoe McClellan) is a fairly two-dimensional character, although more developed than the highly enjoyable, if overly stereotypical, dwarven berserker Elwood (Lee Aranberg). Elven tracker Norda (Kristen Wilson) had decent lines but was forced to wear a shiny breastplate complete with hammered-in nipples. Evil arch-mage Profion is played by Jeremy Irons, a normally competent actor. Here he comes across as a poor man's Christopher Lloyd. His character's believability comes from the fact that only by becoming one of the most powerful mages could he ever hope to acquire any form of respect. His lines are snarled in particularly un-threatening ways. Profion's henchman and head of the Crimson Guard (whatever that was) Damodar proved to be a much more enjoyable character than I initially expected. Bruce Payne has the presence and confidence to be the "black knight enforcer" and still manages one fairly believable, if false, plea for assistance. Empress Savina was less believable than Profion, despite having Thora Birch as an actress. Her lines were incredibly simplistic without a hint of regality and the delivery was stilted. It was like her character from American Beauty had been given the title "Empress" and told to 'pretend you are an empress who cares about the injustices the commoners experience even though we can't really SHOW you anyone suffering.' Effects: Okay, the dragons were cool. They were very smooth and had very believable movement. The beholders, which didn't appear in any commercial, were unbelievable. I think I found them more impressive than the dragons. The spells were mostly classic 1980's lighning bolts and shimmery fields. Several "flaming bolt" spells were used but no massive explosions to imply power. The opening scene where the river was set fire would have been better had we seen a few commoners incinerated or boats a flame to justify some of the movie's constantly harped upon but never explained "injustices." The thieves' maze was okay, but only consisted of three traps: pendulum blades, flame blasts, and a descending ceiling. While the action sequences were painfully brief, they were well done. No one swung their sword two feet above their target's head or flailed about at their ankles. The actors had been given enough training to look realistically comfortable with their weapons. Conclusion: I guess I was spoiled by Sci-Fi's adaptation of "Dune." The occassional decent scene got my hopes up only to dash them a few seconds later when the moment ended and something horribly trite occurred. I think it would have been helped by another month or two of time in the FX shop but they were smart to release this long before Lord of the Rings. If you aren't bothered by stereotypical characters you'll probably enjoy the movie but if you have ANY expectations you will be disappointed. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 2 (Sparse)

Dungeons And Dragons - The Movie