Midnight Chronicles

This movie was apparently supposed to be a television series based on a pretty good fantasy role playing game that I am vaguely familiar with. Considering that White Wolf had their short lived, but popular Vampire series, I suppose this wasn't a vain hope.

Midnight Chronicles does violate one huge tenant of all good fantasy literature: make one of the characters unfamiliar with the world, so it can be explained to the audience slowly and clearly. If Midnight Chronicles had a Richard Cypher from the non-magical country next door, or a hobbit from the shire, or a Harry Potter who grew up with Muggles or a Gen who comes from a small village on a remote island, or a Paul Atreides who must attend his lessons, or a Buck Rogers from the 20th century, etc. If there was one character who was as lost as me going into it, then it would be fixed.

It only got a 6 because it is a B grade fantasy adventure movie in the grand tradition of Hawk The Hunter, but Midnight Chronicles is better than most of the stuff that get's on TV. Sets and costumes and makeup were decent. Acting was kind of goth and pretentious for film, but better than a lot of TV shows. Even the orc masks were pretty good. Other than violating the "one character must be ignorant" rule, I can see no reason this wasn't picked up for a series. So I wish the best to everyone still pulling for this project.

I gave this such a high score because I could not believe it only had a 3.5 rating and I want to see a sequel. Most low budget films are barely worth watching; bad dialog, bad CG, etc. Those who think this is bad; either have never seen a truly bad movie or have a very short attention span. I admit there is some bad dialog and some badly delivered dialog in this movie. If you want lots of action and bad CG effects, then this movie is not for you. That being said, this is a great movie for people who enjoy fantasy. Hell, take out the Orks and Elves and you still have a good movie. Don't expect a lot of action just good entertainment. My only regret is that it ended; I want to see more.

I agree that most of the set designs were pretty good for a low budget fantasy movie. Some of the actors were good but there were some notably terrible ones as well. The writing was horrific. Worst of all was the number of times they referred to "the Legate" or "legates" OMFG it should have stuck out like a sore thumb during the editing process at the very least and should have been caught after the first draft of the screenplay. My friends and I were cackling and wincing every time they said the word. If it were a drinking contest we would have died of alcohol poisoning.

Aside from that, almost NOTHING HAPPENS for the first 70 minutes of the film. The opening slate has a poorly written quotation that is subsequently negated by an overly long and rambling voice over that fails to explain much or move the story forward.

I've played plenty of RPG's and love fantasy fiction but could not love this dog. Avoid it.

First thing i did after watching this movie was go on the internet to see if it actually was the pilot to Midnight the series i'd been watching. Unfortunately this wasn't the case which has left me with a very unsatisfied feeling. You do get a good introduction into the world of Midnight, but when you feel the story is just about to take off the ending credits start playing. I just hope the makers of this movie see the actual potential of the story and decide that they have made a pilot after all and not a film that has to carry its own weight.

The acting actually wasn't too bad and the sceneries combined with the computer generated settings gave the movie an authentic feel.

Coming into this film, I had no pretensions. I am only somewhat familiar with the Midnight RPG that this is based on, and I must admit, the setting is one of the best parts about this deathly slow film. At an hour and forty minutes, it certainly feels its length.

Set in a kingdom held under the weight of a near eternal darkness, the bulk of the story follows a 'Legate', a sort of warrior/mage that are the inquisitors of the world, doing the bidding of the godlike 'Darkness'. There is a lot of mythology in the story, way to much for its ambitions. I found the setting to be tantalizing and evocative. The filmmakers used most of their budget on moody VFX shots of cityscapes filled with towers and castles, but left little for the costumes and actors. I swear, most of the actors in the film were culled from the nearest community theater where the film was shot. With the exception of the darkly intriguing Charles Hubbel as the Legate Mag Kiln, none of the actors are interesting in the least.

In the end, the film really does try to tell an intrigue laden story, but it is constantly sabotaged by its own ambitions. This story and world may have worked in the hands of a better director, better actors and a more coherent, less busy script. If you're interested, check it out, otherwise skip it.