Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God

A surprisingly satisfying film. This film takes the subject matter far more seriously than the original film, with the end result bringing me more into the story then the previous film. While on it's own it's really only passing fair amongst other films of the genre, it's connections to the original film, and it's remaining true to the spirit of the material from which it was drawn made this movie an enjoyable watch for me. Without giving any spoilers, I would have to say as a D&D'er, this film is much truer to the game then the original movie in every possible way. The character's are more interesting, the perils they face are more dire, the antagonists are clever and deceitful (which is rare in any genre), and their is definitely some decent, though not great, acting. I would definitely recommend this movie.

The first few minutes were the visual equivalent of a bad novel's prologue. Rathern than introducing the problem through the story, the bad guy tells you about himself and his plans, although not in enough specifics for it to make sense. Fortunately, the heroes don't watch the prologue, and they're reasonably good at explaining the plot to the viewers as the movie goes on.

The movie did a good job of using D&D terminology (arcane vs. divine magic, etc.) and had the feel of a typical D&D adventure. It was paced fairly well, and the acting was appropriate for an original Sci-Fi channel movie. The special effects were very well done, but some of them weren't too understandable unless you were a D&D player.

If you aren't a D&D fan, there's probably not much here for you. If you are, then it's worth watching, as long as you can avoid speculating on what color certain beasts are or complaining that certain things aren't the way they are in the manuals. Just assume their DM has house rules, OK?

I was someone that had mixed feelings on the original D&D movie. I thought the script was clunky, the acting was awful as far as good guys were concerned, it contained wildly inappropriate dialog for the setting, and the tone made light of what could have been dramatic events. On the other hand, the movie looked good, had a couple decent fight scenes and the huge Dragon war at the climax was dynamic and exciting. Still, with it's less than impressive reception, I figured this would be a series of one.

Imagine my surprise when a sequel was announced, and even greater shock when I watched the films premier and found it to be everything I felt it's predecessor lacked. The acting, while not Oscar worthy, was perfectly reasonable work from a handful of unknowns. The plot is treated seriously this time around, with a minimum of cliché and jest (Although there are two laugh out loud moments) and actually features an intelligent foe with a genuinely epic plan for the forces of justice to combat. Speaking of which, the heroes are a nice diverse bunch, and the film manages to showcase each one's unique talents well.

As for the action and eye candy, there's plenty. The fights are staged better than 90% of the action flicks on the shelves, with realistic flow and quick pace. The special effects are among the best I've ever seen in a non-theatrical film and are leaps and bounds above any other Sci-Fi premier yet broadcast (Though not quite as good as a theatrical release). The final battle is not as kinetic as the first films finale, but manages to be a fitting climax to the quest.

If this is what this crew can produce with a terribly low budget, I say give them 70 million bucks and get Dungeons & Dragons III in theaters ASAP!

This, my friend, is Dungeons & Dragons. This is not a cinematic masterpiece. This is not Shakespeare. The storyline wont change your future. But it's 1:45h of real entertainment for any Dungeons & Dragons fan.

Unlike the first movie, D&D:Elemental Might go back to the book. Many fantasy movies have wizards and fighters, but I believe the creators actually focused on really bringing the things we recognize from the D&D world into this one. There's a real "party" with classic Dungeons & Dragons professions represented and they really do what is to be expected by their roles. There's real dungeons... There's dragons... and there's even a few unique D&D monsters that is recognized from the books. The villain is more evil. The good is more good. There's heaps and heaps of magic, and even divine magic (which is unique to D&D) plays a great role this time around.

If you ever played D&D and you can accept some budgetcuts on bringing your fantasy to life, get ahold of this movie. If you never played D&D but you are a general fantasy fan, get this movie because it's the most fantasymovie you have seen since Lord of the Rings. If you are neither a fan of fantasy or an oldtime fan of Dungeons & Dragons, you can probably forget about this one and watch something else.

I will buy it and I want to see more D&D movies in the future!

The first D&D movie was largely hated by D&D players, partly because it wasn't a good movie, but also because it was not very much like D&D the game.

Perhaps because of the cool reception of the first, this was changed dramatically in the sequel. It now really is like the game, sure to provide lots of geek moments where viewers try to guess which spell is being cast or what magic item is being used. The characters also tend to act like D&D characters, and they actually explore a dungeon.

Unfortunately, as a movie, it has some shortcomings. For one, much of the acting is uninspired. Not bad, but about a wooden as a dummy of Keanu Reeves. The first movie also suffered from this problem, but in this movie, it's probably because most of the actors are new, this generally being their first film. Exception being Tim Stern, the guy playing the Rogue, who brought some life to his character.

The characterization and dialog isn't great, either. Less character development than in some commercials, even though this is a fairly long movie. But I chalk that up also to the inexperience of the screen writers (though also is relatively common in D&D games, so perhaps is a feature, not a bug).

When it comes to special effects, they are about on par with Sci-Fi channel offerings. Slightly better. Lord of the Rings it ain't. But not terrible, either.

Still, just judging it as a fantasy movie, it's much better than most other low budget ones. Worth watching. And for D&D players, it's a lot of fun.