Dragon Warriors

This was a fun little film poking fun at fantasy tropes.

I enjoyed the characters and the dialogue and laughed at lots of the gags.

I've watched lots of low budget movies and wondered how they possibly got the cash. I see this one was funded with a kickstarter, which I think is pretty neat.

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.

Thoroughly enjoyed this film despite the cheap CGI, but after all, this is a low budget Kickstarter project--it struggled with funding and could be deemed successful by simply completing the project. The effects did fit the tone of the movie but it would be even better to see the film come back in a "new and improved" version thanks to an influx of cash. Sometimes the poor effects are a distraction--but for the most part they are adequate for propelling the story--and in some places they successfully play off the cheesy effects to comic relief.

Most of the actors--certainly the main cast played their parts well, with special recognition to our "hero" and the villain (you will recognize them both). Special mention goes to the Ork who managed to express himself well under tons of makeup and prosthetics, and without speaking a word. Charmingly funny, the film lovingly lampoons the "Sword and Sorcery" genre--and as other reviewers have mentioned there are clear nods to "Star Wars", "Princess Bride" and others. You'll know 'em when you see 'em.

Overall, genuinely funny without resorting to crude humor, or swearing as humor, or even the usual T&A. I wouldn't hesitate to let kids watch, but there's plenty for the grown ups to enjoy (I would not categorize this as a kid's movie, but there's little to object to either). Probably due to editing choices, as usual in this kind of film, some bits work better than others, More time, more money probably would have helped.

The story is pretty straight forward, and loaded with recognizable tropes that serve to support and push forward the humor and the plot. While there is nothing totally original here, it is put together well enough and is just original enough to keep it fresh rather than just a simple rehash or cliché. Yes there are flaws (some of the dialogue could have been tweaked), as you'll find with all very low budget films, but it is well put together for the money, and you can see the cast enjoyed themselves--while a few actors were a bit uneven, for the most part the acting was well above what you tend to see on this kind of budget--even when those bottom of the barrel budgets manage to lure in recognizable professionals.

Definitely recommended. Amusing, recognizable yet reasonably original-- it should give you a satisfying escape.

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.

It was worth the watch. Funny. Stupid. But definitely worth the watch