Having watched this new movie a couple nights ago (thanks to the internet), I feel compelled to write a review of it, so here goes. To start with, a little background. This is the second D&D movie, and I was sceptical when I heard about it being made. this is due to the legacy left by the first film which was... well it was bloody terrible. Hammy acting (Jeremy Irons in particular as the movies main villain Profion), bad SFX and a total lack of understanding the D&D game in particular (the Beholders being the best example of this failing).
So when I heard they were making a sequel set in the same fantasy world (an empire ruled by a king and a council of wizards named Izmer) and it starred one of the major characters from the original film (Bruce Payne's evil soldier Damodar), I was practically groaning. Still, as time went on and I read snippets of info on webpages and saw some stills from the movie I began to kindle some small hope thatit might be okay. While I would dearly love to see D&D given the same treatment as Lord of the Rings, the realist in me knows that is likely never going to happen.
This movie is okay. It's not brilliant, there are bits where myself, Tony and Gareth were groaning, but also a lot of times where we were smiling as the film got things right. It got the magic right, the wizards made gestures, spoke arcane phrases and even used material components. They pooled their power for a ritual, researched through books, potions and even summoning creatures to consult with. Heck, there was even a brief explantion of how arcane and divine magic differ from each other!
It got the monsters right, and there were plenty of them. I can name a few straight off: A lich (skeletal wizard), a death knight (Damodar), a white dragon, a half-orc, wraiths, piercers (at least I think thats what the living stalactite critters were anyway), a magmin (small lava being) and a couple varieties of demon/devil.
Most importantly (for me), it got the characters right. In the first movie only one of the entire cast of characters seemed believeable, the fighter/thief Ridley.The others being a complete idiot of a thief (Snails), a 'dwarf' (Elwood) who was actually the tallest person in the group when he wasn't crouching to make himself look the height he should be, and an elf ranger (Nora) with the worst pair of stick on pointy ears ever! This time out they treated the characters with respect and we get a far better mix with:
Berek the Fighter: The party leader, who is an older veteran warrior, semi-retired but called up to lead the quest by the king due to his experience. He loves his wife Melora (a member of the wizards council) and is sworn to do his duty and save his country.
Lux the Barbarian: My favourite character, she is a 6' beautiful blonde killing machine. She throws herself into battle, fearlessly taking on far greater numbers (an entire bandit army at one point). She clashes with Nim as his cautious approach goes against her reckless attitude.
Nim the Rogue: I've always loved clever, sneaky characters and this one is both. The most cynical member of the group, he clashes with Lux over their respective styles to problem solving, though they do learn to respect each other as the story progresses. His skills with puzzle solving and trap finding are invaluable, and the groups quest would have failed without him.
Ormaline the Wizard: A decent looking elf this time (her ears are barely noticeable, as they should be), and a powerhouse mage to boot, as evidenced by her spells which wipe the floor with a bandit army and she utterly annihilates a white dragon that ambushes the group! She has the least dialogue of any of the group though, but if anything that helps to reinforce the mystery of her power.
Dorian the Cleric: We actually get a cleric this time, but it is a shame that he doesn't last that long, meeting a rather grizzly end about halfway through the film. Still the actor played the part well, with the quiet dignity of a typical priest.
The villains are better this time out (not difficult considering how bad they were in the first film), and while Damodar is the arch bad guy this time, it is the Lich who steals the plaudits for the best performance (witness him summoning a small horde of Wraiths to battle the heroes when they disturb his lair).
The main plot revolves around the party trying to recover the Orb of Faluzure that has been stolen by Damodar. with it he can wake up the long slumbering form of Faluzure the Night Dragon, a being of godlike power in the shape of a gigantic zombie dragon, which was long ago imprisoned by a cabal of wizards. With this incredibly powerful being loose, Damodar intends to raze Izmer to ashes and then rule over whatever is left in retribution for the defeat he and Profion suffered a hundred years before (the outcome of the first movie).
The SFX are a marked improvement on the first film, but still fairly poor when compared to even a modestly budgeted big screen movie. Still, there are some stand out sequences such as Faluzure itself, Ormaline's use of a Ring of the Ram, and a truly great battle against a white dragon. The action is good too with a great fight in which Lux and Ormaline take on a bandit army by themselves, while the others work on opening the entrance into a dungeon.
All in all this is a big improvement on the first film and I'm now hoping they make another one. If they do, I certainly hope they keep the scriptwriters who wrote this one, as they have a good grasp of what a D&D movie should be like. I'm going to award this film 3/5 as it has plenty of room to be better, but it is certainly entertaining in its own right. A big step in the right direction.
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