Dungeons and Dragons movie review

Dungeons and Dragons was released in 2000 and is based on the popular role playing game. The movie starred Thora Birch, Justin Whalin, Marlon Wayans, Jeremy Irons, among others. Dungeons and Dragons is takes place in the empire of Izmir, and there is the corrupt and evil mage Profion who is trying to take control of the empire out of the hands of the young and idealist Empress Savina. There are mages who support the Empress, and one of which is Marina. So while two thieves Ridley and Snails are attempting to rob the magic school, they get caught by Marina who casts a hold person spell on them. While she is capturing them from the other room she hears a disturbance and when she goes in she sees her instructor murdered by Damodar the evil sidekick of Profion. Marina, with Ridley and Snails in-tow escapes through the use of a magical spell. They are pursued by Damodar until they are corned, here they meet a Dwarf whom they follow into the sewers. At this point the party is wanted by the authorities dead or alive, so Snails, Ridley, and the Dwarf reluctantly join Marina to try to find the staff that controls red dragons, as Profion is trying to get the Empress to relinquish the staff that controls gold dragons. From here we have a D&D adventure, with the classic theme of good vs evil. This movie was an absolute box office flop, with mostly negative reviews. Even though the movie lost a lot of money, there was still two sequels that were made to follow this movie (one of those I will also be reviewing). Let me say right now, I really like this movie a lot. I honestly feel like this movie is beautiful looking, even the CG dragons and monsters work for me. I will say that the characters kind of felt like cartoon parodies of characters, and unrealistic and lack any true depth. The Dwarf is basically a totally pointless character, as he adds absolutely nothing to the story, he doesn't participate in any actual battles or anything, he just tags along. There is very little to know actual battles as there would be in an actual D&D game, which is also quite disappointing. None of the characters are particularly likable other than Thora Birch as the Empress, who is honestly the best character in the whole movie. Snails (Marlon Wayans) is honestly nothing more than a stereo-typical comic relief black person, which is almost embarrassing to watch. Marina and Ridley are okay, I mean their acting and roles would be passable for a made for sci-fi channel movie, but seemed to fall short of what one would expect for a major movie release. Also with Jeremy Irons as Profion he is basically a study in over-acting, which makes him come off as almost a cartoon villain rather than a villain we could take serious. However, even all of those flaws aside, I really do like this movie a lot. First of all I am really into D&D and passionate about the game. It was nice to see a D&D adventure come to life, and there movie does attempt to follow the actual rules and technical aspects of the game. Also I do like the characters for what they are, and I like seeing Ridley and Marina who are from basically different worlds, she an aristocratic mage, and he a commoner and thief be capable of coming together. I also like some of the themes of the movie as well, especially the Empress who is a ruler who wants to make the empire better for the people, and is standing up against the ruling class, and I like that Ridley a member of the common class just sees her as being the same as any other politician. I feel like that theme is really realistic, and I see it in a lot of people who say things like, "all politicians are the same". I also like how the movie plays into some of the prejudices between the classes and the races in the D&D world, with Dwarves hating elves and the rich vs the poor. I mean honestly, i really like this movie a lot, and I see more that I like about this movie than that I don't. So here's the thing, a movie doesn't have to be a technically great movie to be a good movie, just like there are movies that are done technically perfect, that are shitty movies, and that is something most film critics don't seem to understand. Yes, technically this is a bad movie, but if given an honest look, this is actually a pretty good movie. Would I recommend this movie? Yes, I would, especially to my friends who play D&D and who want to see a campaign come alive. It isn't a great movie, but it is a lot of fun, and it is a movie that I love re-watching. This movie will always have a place in my collection, and a special place in my heart.