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Well, I for one am happy that they did not give into the urge to have a Drizzt or Jarlaxle cameo, which is what even some classic games like Baldur's Gate 2 and so on suffer from. And I'm even a fan of the characters, just not in the usual gratuitous appearance way.
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I'd say the inclusion of the characters from the cartoon was definitely fan service.
OK, I'll give you that. What it comes down to for me, though, is whether it detracts from the story, or renders it inaccessible to others. And in this case, it did not.
Is there something between fan service and easter eggs? That's probably where I would put this. YMMV.
The showing I went to was nearly full and the families there all clearly enjoyed it - when the lights went up the faces were smiling and/or laughing and talking about it on the way out.
Same here, only add applause, too. And I am sure those were gamers, who left the movie feeling like it had honored the game and how we play it, while also being good in it's own right.
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I'd say the inclusion of the characters from the cartoon was definitely fan service.OK, I'll give you that. What it comes down to for me, though, is whether it detracts from the story, or renders it inaccessible to others. And in this case, it did not.
Is there something between fan service and easter eggs? That's probably where I would put this. YMMV.
I'd say an easter egg is something subtle, or in the background, that only those in the know would really catch and appreciate, like Tom Morello's cameo in this movie (even though he isn't in the background his heavy makeup and prosthetics make it hard to identify him). The cartoon characters are not easter eggs as they are pretty prominently featured, taking center screen several times, even though they don't have any lines in the movie.
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I just saw tomorrow's Dork Tower comic. Did they really not thank Gygax, Anderson and Greenwood?
Yeah, I sat through most of the credits and was looking for a thank you message. Unless it came right at the end or I just missed it, they did not.
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I didn't notice it, but according to New Rockstars there was a painting of Gygax in the movie (speaking of Easter Eggs) and I wouldn't be surprised if Arneson and Greenwood were also included in a similar way as well.
And well, I always thought Elminster was supposed to be Ed Greenwood's self-insert, and Elminster is in it, albeit played by an actor who looks nothing like Ed Greenwood. To be clear, I have no objections to said actor. Just saying that even if the character doesn't look like Ed Greenwood, if Elminster appears, he is there in spirit.
I'd chalk any other lack of mention up to Hasbro shenanigans.
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I saw it at ~5:00 pm opening day, and if it weren't for three small groups coming in during the final few trailers, I thought my son and I would be the only people in the theater. (Granted, the theater was showing the movie on two screens both starting at the same time, so maybe the other theater was more full.)
We both loved the movie! I don't think it's going to be a classic or anything, but it's a solid movie worth seeing, and honestly, it's better than most fantasy movies I've seen. I agree with most of the comments in this thread about the pacing, the level of humor, and the special effects.
One scene that I particularly like was when the adventuring party, as a group, fought the BBEG. Mechanically the scene was good, but what I really liked about it was the nod to a D&D-style fight where it takes multiple PCs working in tandem to take down the villain. I don't even mind how the fight was ultimately resolved.
I thought Chris Pine was... fine. But I also feel like they could have used a more charismatic actor. The character didn't really showcase any class abilities other than the time he sang a song to cheer the barbarian up. The class-specific thing he primarily brought to the movie was his charisma, and I've found Pine forgettable in past movies (even in movies where I've liked his performance), so I would have preferred a more distinctive actor for this role.
I loved Hugh Grant, though! I thought he played a great weasel.
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I'd chalk any other lack of mention up to Hasbro shenanigans.Did they even mention WotC? I noticed in the main end credits, the film was "Based on Hasbro's Dungeons & Dragons."
Well, WotC is a division of Hasbro, so that's not wrong. I expect they are abiding by branding and marking requirements for that particular form of media.
FR got Dragonborn in 4E....something about continents swapping out with it's sister planet on the other side of the sun. I think they sacrificed Maztica for them. Come 5E they were still part of the setting
All I know is my next paladin will sound more like Rege.
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Well, somebody has to be a dissenting voice.
Went to this today and I found some parts of it mildly entertaining but most of it fairly boring.
I was kinda amused by the fact that you have 4 quite high level characters together with Chris Pine who seemed to be maybe a 1st level expert or something :-)
Some parts were slow yeah. Probably could have used another editing pass
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I enjoyed it. It was too slow at the beginning, imo but it amped up pretty well by the middle.
I did like the fact it was just a D&D story rather than a pure marketting exercise - the IP mentioned was a teensy bit shoe-horned in and heavy handed for my tastes, but the nongamers I were with disagreed pretty unanimously about that (I took three nongamers and was slightly nervous about the post mortem but turns out they all liked it more than me, so I needn't have worried.)
(I took three nongamers and was slightly nervous about the post mortem but turns out they all liked it more than me, so I needn't have worried.)
That's funny how the target audience tends to be more critical of the thing targeted towards them (us).
Yeah - no doubt the total lack of expectations on their part helped. But my involuntary "I wouldnt have done it like that" thoughts played a part, for sure.
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I liked the movie and I thought it was exactly what the hobby needs: well executed light family entertainment that was respectful of the genre.
I was worried that there would be too much slapstick humour, but I think they nailed it.
I hope the movie becomes really popular and leads to extra sales for all TTRPG companies.
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(I took three nongamers and was slightly nervous about the post mortem but turns out they all liked it more than me, so I needn't have worried.)That's funny how the target audience tends to be more critical of the thing targeted towards them (us).
Very true. My mom and her friends enjoyed it as a generic fantasy caper movie, while I was perhaps a little too focused on waiting for someone to cast a spell I recognized like magic missile or fireball.
(And instead they went straight for time stop? Wow. A 17th level lich caster, up against a bard and a bruid who haven't even figured out how to cast spells yet?)
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Well I for one was glad it was nothing like Game of Thrones. For starters my children are just getting into D&D and I wanted something they would enjoy watching. Plus it just wouldn’t make sense, nothing about D&D indicates realistic gritty fantasy in the style of Game of Thrones.
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So glad we decided to see it. Not an amazing movie, but a perfectly good romp written in a decidedly TTRPG tone. I could absolutely hear the players and GM bantering over some of the scenes, especially the paladin explaining the trap and the subsequent deus ex machina to get past the chasm, and ESPECIALLY the entire speak with dead sequence.
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So glad we decided to see it. Not an amazing movie, but a perfectly good romp written in a decidedly TTRPG tone. I could absolutely hear the players and GM bantering over some of the scenes, especially the paladin explaining the trap and the subsequent deus ex machina to get past the chasm, and ESPECIALLY the entire speak with dead sequence.
Oh, that speak with dead sequence was just perfect. So many games we've had people get punked by poorly worded questions (or incautiously worded wishes...). My roommate and I both laughed out loud.
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I finally got around to watching this movie last night. Rented it through Amazon, and thankfully only for $6. My kids (9 & 12) loved it.
It was…..about as good as the first D&D movie, but with better special effects, and more Easter eggs. I particularly liked them throwing in the kids from the old animated series.
I thought the overall story was crap. Of the characters, the only ones I truly liked were Edgin, Holga, and Xenk. The rest were ‘meh’ to annoying. I thought it was silly to have Szass Tam as a kind of main villain, but without actually having him as the main villain. The fight with the wizard at the end was ridiculous. The fat dragon was idiotic. And, for some inexplicable reason, the party was able to battle (and win against) an undead Red Wizard, but had trouble with a displacer beast?
The grave yard scene was good, though.
Overall, I’m glad I watched it (if for no other reason than the aforementioned kids enjoying it), but I’d never willingly spend money to own it or watch it again.
Themberchaud (the fat dragon) was right out of the game's lore. He makes an appearance in at least one adventure (which I've played in, so it was fun for my group seeing him on screen).
Dose he really have a problem with his Fire Breath? Movie seemed to suggest it wasn't really working and he was just spewing flammable gas
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And, for some inexplicable reason, the party was able to battle (and win against) an undead Red Wizard, but had trouble with a displacer beast?
Or completely explained in scene. Displacer beast no weapons no magic. Undead red wizard weapons and magic readily available.
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I really liked the movie. My son (D&D player) and I saw it in the theater on opening day and we both had a great time. Theater was full and the crowd seemed to also like the movie.
More recently, my wife (NOT a D&D player) and I rented it. She enjoyed it quite a bit, and was surprised that I actually liked it even more the second time.