SummaryThe Empire of Izmer has long been a divided land. The Mages - an elite group of magic users - rule whilst the lowly commoners are powerless. Izmer's
young Empress, Savina (Birch), wants equality and prosperity for all, but the evil Mage Profion (Irons) is plotting to depose her, and establish his
own rule. (Wizards of the Coast)
SummaryThe Empire of Izmer has long been a divided land. The Mages - an elite group of magic users - rule whilst the lowly commoners are powerless. Izmer's
young Empress, Savina (Birch), wants equality and prosperity for all, but the evil Mage Profion (Irons) is plotting to depose her, and establish his
own rule. (Wizards of the Coast)
The special effects work fine for minor acts of magic, but the climactic aerial dragon fight is lame, and most of the performances are at the level of high school plays.
It's so terrible it's funny...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
This is one of those movies that is so bad that it's awesome. The overacting is hilarious, the CG is laughably bad, and the characters are completely out of place for the setting. This is definitely worth watching if your looking for a bad movie to laugh at and make fun of.
Whalin is awful, Birch is saddled with lines that would make a silent film star blanch and Irons devours huge chunks of scenery with the ferocity of one of those dog-fighting dragons.
This is my prime example for the trope„So bad that its good“. It should be awful but is hilarious entertaining instead. I wont blame anyone for a different opinion because it could be one of the worst (if not the worst) films of the year and it is not an advertisement for D&D. It should be noted that the director said that there was a lot of interference form investors / license holders and it should be mentioned that this was his first (big) movie. What makes this film so bad? The acting. All actors deliver a poor performance or are just stereotypes which is a shame because most if not all are acclaimed or at least performed better in other roles. I will admit that I like many parts of the character interactions. Jeremy Irons as antagonist delivers an over the top bad guy with is hilarious entertaining to watch. He would even be far too much for a James Bond villain. The other bad thing is that this movie uses all cliches, tropes and stereotypes that it could. If you play stereo type bingo you will run out of sheets ;-). The special effects are O.K. for me (Compared to the much earlier Jurassic Park they are garbage). Overall I consider it a guilty pleasure that I should have rated at most 3 /10 if it was not a “So good that it is bad” movie and hilariously entertaining.
There is very little good I can say about this movie. Acting on the whole is either very bad or too over the top (I?m looking at you Irons.) I will compliment the movie for at least trying to capture the Dungeon & Dragons atmosphere and lore, and to be fair some of the creature effects are pretty decent. Set design and wardrobe also pretty top notch too. But regardless, this movie is just a huge steaming pile of dog crap. A real shame as you can see that the production crew were trying.
Overall:
A real, real shame. From the set pieces to the effects team it could have been great. But such a putrid script and piss poor acting from the cast, it can not be saved. I can not even say that its so bad that its good. No, its not. Its just bad. Period!
Sorry guys, I really didn't like this movie. I do think not only is it the worst fantasy movie I have ever seen, honestly Legend and Princess Bride were much better, but one of the worst movies ever made.
The dialogue was inane and vomit inducing. In one part of the movie Snails says something along the lines of "That is the riddlyiest thing I have ever heard". Not only was that unfunny, but entirely out of place. The direction was off too, and the scenery was okay, but the camera-work was so flat and unfocused, it was barely a redeeming quality. And the plot was poor too, likewise with the special effects and you could drive a big tube train in some of the holes in the action.
And the acting was atrocious. Jeremy Irons is a great actor, participating in fantastic films like Lion King and Reversal of Fortune. But as the villain in possibly the worst performance of his career, not helped by the terrible dialogue he was given, he chews the scenery to pieces, honestly the dreadful overacting puts someone like Tim Curry to shame. Marlon Wayans was cringe worthy, his humour was lame and in some cases unnecessary, and Justin Whalin; bland beyond bland. Unbearably wooden at times, and as the hero? Tom Cruise did better in Legend and he was the main flaw of that movie. Just for the record, I do think Legend has its flaws, but it is gorgeous to look at, and Tim Curry's Darkness was phenomenal, and should've got an award. Thora Birch acquits herself better, but her dialogue was poor, and I was thinking, is she a little too young for the part?
Overall, terrible. You may like it, and I have no problem if you do, but as a die hard fantasy fan, I hated it. Watch Legend, Princess Bride or NeverEnding Story instead. 1/10 Bethany Cox