Dungeons & Dragons Movie Review 2009
Can a powerful role-playing company and an amateur director bring a decent “fantasy” film to the silver screen?
In this fantasy opus, young thief Ridley (Justin Whalin) teams up with Snails (Marlon Wayans) to break into the mythical school of magic. Bumbling as they are, Ridley and Snails fall into a mage civil war where one side fights for the Empress (Thora Birch) and the other for a devilish sorcerer (Jeremy Irons). Upon their entry into the struggle, Ridley and Snails meet up with Merina and a feisty dwarf. Merina tells the thief twosome that they must acquire a magical rod so that the Empress may win the civil war.
Will Ridley be able to acquire the rod? One of them will sacrifice their life to save the quest, who will it be?Dungeons and Dragons reminded me a lot of “Masters of the Universe” and the Mortal Kombat films. There is action, science-fiction and brilliant special effects. The effects, seamless transition between worlds and the whole look of the film is definitely something to marvel at.
I loved the societies, beasts mixed with humans and the gorgeous dragons. I also really liked the costume and set designs. One thing that bugged me about the look was Bruce Payne’s fluorescent blue lip. What’s up with that?
But what maybe “Dungeons & Dragons” biggest flaw is its script. Its quite amateur and really makes a lot of the actors seem mundane. I really can say that 80% of the dialogue was mundane.
This film had no depth, intrigue or real substance. It was flash, tension, flash, tension, effect, flash and more tension. It was a roller-coaster and there were scenes where the music drowned out the dialogue. You could feel in the unrest and amateur direction in the director’s pacing.
This film was vastly hollow.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] fantasy action violence
Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Dec 8, 2000 Wide
Starring: Jeremy Irons, Thora Birch, Justin Whalin, Bruce Payne, Marlon Wayans, Kristen Wilson, Lee Arenberg, Robert Miano, Tom Baker, Richard O'Brien, Zoe McLellan, Edward Jewesbury
Director: Courtney Solomon
Screenwriter: Topper Lilien, Mark Leahy, Carroll Cartwright
Producer: Corey Solomon, Kia Jam, Tom Hammell
Composer: Justin Caine Burnett
Studio: New Line Cinema
