The campy Dungeons & Dragons was released in 2000 with little hype and fan fare. It’s one of those movies that’s so bad, that it becomes entertaining. The movie takes place in Izmer where dragons exist and an evil sorcerer, Profion (Jeremy Irons), wants to rule the land. Savina (Thora Birch) recoginizes Profion’s evil scheme and searches for heroes that will save the world. Along the way, she recruits the heroes for the ultimate battle in the conclusion of the film!
The movie has terrible CG but it fits well with entire production. Acting and the script sucks but it’s fun to see Iron hamming it up as the villain. Don’t take the movie seriously and you’ll have fun. I’m sure it was suppose to be an epic movie like Lord Of The Rings but the final product is pure cheese.
Grade: B-
This Blu-Ray also includes the tv sequel with the best title ever: Wrath Of The Dragon God:
The tone for the sequel is way different than the first movie. There’s less CG and more characters running around in the woods. It reminded me of Xena. The movie knows that they’re not going for the “epic” route like the first movie. It’s not a bad movie, technically, I think it’s better made than the original. But it’s not as entertaining because it’s not campy.
We’re back in Izmer where Damodar, another bad sorcecer who was in the first movie , wants to control a dragon and ravage the world. A good king learns about the plan and sends its heroes to stop Izmer’s plot. Yeah, the story is similar to the first movie but I had a hard time finishing it. I had nothing to look forward to because it was predictable and there weren’t any “WTF” moments like the original.
Grade: C
Video:
The transfer for the original movie is soft and pixelized. The colors looked dull and whenever there’s CG, the scene shows more pixels. The video quality is pretty bad.
Grade: C-
The sequel is better and it’s not pixelized. The forests have nice colors to them and the details can be clearly seen.
Grade: B+
Audio:
I think studios have easier time converting audio than video. Most of the time, when video is bad, the audio is still great and this is one of them. The sound effects are used well and the bass shook the room.
Grade: A-
The sequel’s audio isn’t as impressive because it was made for tv. Dialog is clear but nothing really stood out with the surrounds. Still a good track for a tv movie with dialog easy to comprehend.
Grade: B+
Extras:
This set has a bunch of extras including commentary from the first film’s director, Courtney Solomon. You can’t help but feel sorry for him. He loves the RPG and you can tell he’s disappointed with the final movie. The sequel has a commentary track by D & D players, which is pretty unique and interesting. Other extras include deleted scenes, bedhind the scenes featurette, trailers and alternate ending.
Grade: A
Conclusion:
WB is offering up 2 movies for the price of one. The first one is worth watching because it’s campy while the second flick, I’d avoid. It has great extras but the video/audio presentation is a mixed bag.
I’d consider renting this set instead of buying.
Overall Grade: C (Not an average)
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