Dragon Warriors

I saw this at Dragon Con, and have been looking forward to watching it again ever since.

This isn't a movie to watch all alone on your computer. It's a movie to invite a bunch of like-minded fantasy film fans over to watch while playing drinking games.

Fantasy tropes abound, as well as out-and-out spoofs of films you should know - and probably do.

It's an indie film, not a big budget affair, but if you are a fan of indies, this one is worth your while.

Name that original... and have a great time.

I picked this movie up out of curiosity, having never heard of it before. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The story, while simple, was lighthearted and enjoyable. And the characters were likable and fun. Many of the references and sight-gags used had a Mel Brooks quality to them and fit the tone of the movie and never distracted from the movie its self. The CGI, while not blockbuster quality, was decent. The practical effects and make-up were very well done. The only flaw I could personally find with it was the use of Blue screen, which was clearly used because of budgetary reasons, could be a bit distracting at times, but also gave it a somewhat stylized look. I'd recommend Dudes and Dragons to fans of Fantasy and Spoof movies, and players of D&D.

An evil wizard, Lord Tensley (James Marsters), seeks the hand and heart of the beautiful princess, Lady Ennogard. When she refuses, he locks her away and releases a deadly dragon, which he controls, to terrorize the land. He vows that, until she accepts his love, his dragon will destroy all who dare display any sign of love throughout the kingdom.

As I understand it, this movie began with crowd funding, which was successful, and under the name "Dragon Warriors" went around to various festivals and received generally positive feedback. When picked up by Momentum, it received a name change. Exactly why is unclear, but maybe it was a legal thing because of the RPG of the same name. I am not a fan of the new name, because it makes the movie sound of lower quality than it actually is. But maybe others disagree.

There are some cheesy special effects, but this actually may be appropriate for how silly the movie is. While at first I was doubtful, it surprised me with its charm and clever writing. In contrast to the effects, the costumes and makeup are really good. One of the main characters is an orc, and his makeup (or mask) is as good as any Hollywood film.

What the film amounts to is a very strange parody. Someone else compared it to a mix between "Lord of the Rings" and "Princess Bride". I disagree, but they may not be far off. The nods to "Rings" are clear, and there are more than a few "Star Wars" jokes. But they are actually clever, rather than hackneyed like on "Big Bang Theory". You can tell the writer really gets it. When the damsel in distress says, "Help me if you want to hold me, you're my only hope," I was in love with the movie. It was at that point I knew they were really having fun and even ready to poke fun at themselves for having that fun.

Interestingly, while everyone else is tongue-in-cheek, Marsters plays it straight in most scenes. This provides an excellent balance, and actually makes him an even more important character than just being "the bad guy". He is also the one who ends up grounding the humor. Compare him to Adam Johnson as Ramicus, who steals the show in every scene. I have not seen much of Johnson's work, but he has excellent deadpan comic timing and delivery.

Whether or not this movie will appeal to everyone, I do not know. But I feel the nerds of the world will get a chuckle. Again, when compared to "Big Bang Theory", you can tell the people involved in this movie really get the culture and are not trying to make fun of the fans or reduce it to stereotypes. There is a true intelligence at work here that has to be admired.

For a low budget movie with questionable cgi this is a slow burner that does catch fire.

Where this wins over similar competitors is its awareness of its audience. Its smart humour is based in solid foundations of its watchers references whether it is Star Wars or Lord of the Rings (OK I gave it away), it's a nerd movie. Still with solid actors like Marsters, Johnston as protagonists and even Denton who projects himself well beyond some excellent Orc makeup effects this film is in safe hands. Luke Perry I would not have recognised in a thousand years does OK but is overshadowed by his contemporaries who provide energetic and articulate voices for their roles.

I would admit the guys get all the best lines and the female characters are not as well served in this area. A bit more flesh on their characters bones would have been appreciated. The pacing of the movie however was well done and the low budget cgi effects for the backdrops reminded me of the old Dr Who green screen, which to my mind added to the charm of this movie.

While this film is no "Princess Bride", If you appreciate intelligent movies that don't take themselves too seriously then you might just have found a little gem.

One afternoon I blindly stumbled across the last 10 minutes of this film, and those 10 minutes (plus the post-film "bloopers") made me chuckle so much that I recorded the next full airing. This proved a great move!

"Dudes and Dragons" (or "Dragon Warriors", as it is also known) is simply slapstick comedy done well - lots of pratfalls and wisecracks that are certain to tickle your funny bone, provided you have one. It isn't the beneficiary of a rich budget, but the costumes are decent and the acting more than passable. If you just want to spend a lighthearted two hours snorting out your beer at one joke after another, you could do worse than this one.