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Justin Whalin, Marlon Wayans, Zoe McLellan, Thora Birch, Bruce Payne ... see more see more... , Jeremy Irons , Kristen Wilson , Richard O'Brien , Tom Baker , Lee Arenberg , Edward Jewesbury , Robert Miano , Tomas Havrlik , Zoe Mc Lellan

The imaginary world of the world's most popular fantasy role-playing game comes to life in this special-effects laden adventure. In the Empire of Izmer, magic is the key to power in both the supernatu... read more read more...ral and political realms. The Mages are a sect who know the secrets of magic and use it to hold sway over the masses. The youthful Empress Savina (Thora Birch) wants to use her powers to bring justice and prosperity to all, but Profion (Jeremy Irons) is an evil Mage who wants to use his knowledge of magic to overthrow Savina and establish his own despotic rule. Through deceitful means, Profion wins away the special scepter that allows him to control the nation's Golden Dragons; Savina's only hope to recover the scepter and the rule of Izmer is to obtain the Rod of Savrille, a talisman that will give her powers over the Red Dragons, even more powerful than their golden counterparts. As Savina sets out to gain control of the Red Dragons, she gains a number of unlikely allies, including a pair of thieves, Snails (Marlon Wayans) and Ridely (Justin Whalin); a powerful dwarf, Elwood (Lee Arenberg); and Norda (Kristen Wilson), an elf with a gift for finding lost objects. Dungeons & Dragons also features Zoe McLellan, Bruce Payne, and Richard O'Brien, the latter of whom is best known as the writer and co-star of the perennial cult item The Rocky Horror Picture Show. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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29% liked it

46,664 ratings

Critics

10% liked it

89 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 47 min.

Directed by: Courtney Solomon

Release Date: December 8, 2000

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DVD Release Date: May 22, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (1,919)

  • phubbs1
    February 4, 2012
    phubbs1
    Hmmmm what to think of this little gem hehe I saw this at the cinema on release (yes) and at the time I kinda liked it for some reason, now upon a rewatch I can't see why I thought that.

    I guess at the time the effects were a little more impressive than today's standards of cour... read morese plus there weren't the huge amount of fantasy films there are these days so this was quite a special little event. Looking back now it really is a terrible film haha the acting from everyone is just abysmal and full O' cheese, Irons goes beyond taking the piss really with his rather queer hissing, cackling and facial expressions whilst his second in command played by Bruce Payne is just the campest guy I've seen for ages...oh and he has blue lipstick on too.

    The film revolves around the cliched to max partnership of Wayans, doing his best Eddie Murphy impression, and Whalin trying to be heroic and cool. The pair are just awful together and completely not amusing in any sense, there is of course allot of attempted humour throughout but it all falls flat on its face hard.

    There really is nothing to recommend here other than to laugh at, the effects are the worse cgi you will have seen for a major release (even though its an old film yes I know), tonnes of obvious bluescreen and even the costumes, makeup jobs and props all look cheap and tacky.

    I still can't understand why Irons would agree to this, ditto Richard O' Brien of 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' and quite the cult name here in the UK. I suppose its because his scenes were a homage to the classic 'Crystal Maze' he once hosted, almost a homage to him really, the guy is legend but this brings him down.

    The film was indeed mauled upon release but at the time (twas much younger back then) I gave it some leeway, it kinda reminded me of the 'Mortal Kombat' film and how, even though it was weak, it still had a glimmer of quality. But now I simply cannot allow that leeway anymore, the film may be enjoyed by younger kids but basically its crap.
  • riverdale237
    November 4, 2011
    riverdale237
    I admit it. I actually really like this movie. There was a lot of bad in it, but a lot of good too. But before you see this movie, you need to be reminded that there is a LOT of bad.

    Let's start with Jeremy Irons portrayal of Profion, an evil sorcerer trying to overthrow the k... read moreingdom's government. This might be some of the worst acting you've ever seen. In the last scene, you can barely understand what he's saying! And then there's the infamous "Hatatatatata!!" moment. The supporting villain is pretty bad too. His talk speed makes Eor from Winnie the Pooh look like Chris Tucker. Doesn't help that he has blue lips. There are also a few scenes that might have been seen as Indiana Jones ripoffs.

    Now let's go on to the good. Besides Jeremy Irons and Bruce Payne, the acting was actually pretty good. Marlon Wayans and Justin Whalin did a pretty good job in particular. By the time Snail is killed, we (Well, I at least) really feel for his death. Zoe McLellan did a pretty good job too, and I'm NOT just saying that because she's hot.

    The plot is pretty good too, even if it is a star wars ripoff. It shows a few historical traits to make it smarter than it's 10% rating might convey.

    It also has a fair amount of heart. It's no Gone with the Wind, but compared to most fantasy films, it was pretty emotional. Lot's of scenes with great emotion.

    I also think that it has a great message. Though it may be lost under Irons overacting, the film has a great message about how many different people can come together to achieve a common goal.

    Bottom line, this was a good movie. Not spectacular, and I can understand the negative reviews, but good. I won't reccomend it, however, to anyone other than my friends.
  • ythelastman89
    May 3, 2010
    ythelastman89
    Not technically a 90s movie, but it certainly falls into the same weird vibe that the decade created. Now i've never played the game, but i'm sure it's nowhere close to this very crazy mythical world that really takes more from Dune and the Lord of the Rings cartoon from what I c... read moreould see. The over-acting is hilarious and some of the lines are just utterly amazing in terms of originality. Mainly because no one would do or say anything that was done or said in this movie.
  • arashxak
    January 8, 2009
    arashxak
    Why Jeremy? Why?
  • YosemiteSamFan
    July 21, 2008
    YosemiteSamFan
    I've been playing D&D since 1979, and this movie did not have enough of a D&D feel. Of course I stopped playing with the 1st Edition rules, I hoped that more monsters, character classes, armor-types, traps and spells from the D&D world would've been shown in this movie. Where wer... read moree all the wonderful monsters that D&D players know fondly from the game? I would've loved to see the onscreen representations of some of the famous monsters from the game. The filmmakers should've crammed the movie with tons of references to the actual game, so the D&D fans could pick them all out. The "dungeons" in the movie were extremely short. A vital part of the game is about a party working together, but in this movie - the hero Ridley went solo through most of the dungeons, while his companions waited outside -- what was the purpose of that? The ending made little sense, except to make way for a sequel. I would've prefered an ending that reverted to our world, showing a group of gameplayers sitting around a table, finishing up the story we had just seen. The scale of the movie seemed a bit cramped and staged. No attempts were made to combine the sweeping CGI vistas with the live actors. I think they should've left the scenes inside the scroll and the Ridley's dream of the baby dragon intact. On the DVD, you can see these scenes and others under the Deleted Scenes section. I think they ran out of time with this movie, and wanted it released in time for Christmas. If they had done more post production, it may have been a much better movie.
  • ceWEBrity
    November 21, 2007
    ceWEBrity
    If I can tell that a movie is bad at the age of 10, then I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that it's a pretty fucking bad movie.

    also gtfo Thora Birch, where is your career
  • thmtsang
    July 21, 2007
    thmtsang
    I loved the cartoon. Good adaptation.
  • garyX
    February 25, 2007
    garyX
    Jeremy Irons hams it up in a typically laughable wizard/dragon fest. Feeble.
  • jorgeroman1
    November 14, 2011
    jorgeroman1
    I remember catching this movie a few months back, & didn't look it up here because I actually though this movie was made for tv seeing the cheap look it had & the sci-fi channel original movie elements it showed. Well, it wasn't.

    I will admit I didn't really like it, but I als... read moreo didn't really hate it. It was just really cheap-looking, with some weird acting performances (& some bad ones too), & overall a very geeky movie.

    This is based on the board game of the same name, but I haven't played it, nor do I plan on playing. It's just way too nerdy; just as nerdy as Star Wars.

    The plot was pretty straight forward, but the story seems too cliche, & a typical "save the kingdom from disaster & evil with a special weapon found in a mysterious place" bullshit. And it also felt like a horrible Legend of Zelda gameplay rip-off. And don't even get me started on how this movie has dungeon scenes that ripped-off "Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom"

    The acting was not only bad, but also over-dramatically bad. Some of the actors would either look lifeless & bored, to plain out underacted &/or over dramatic act. The direction was nothing too special, & it looked very cheap, & I'm not just talking about the cheap camera quality either. The actors are pretty decent choices, since they're all talented actors for that matter, but they're all miscast choices, & they do not look anything like what they're playing...actually, scratch that, the actors do not make believable characters for what they play. Justin Whalin on the other hand, is the only actor in this movie who fits his character & role right, & that's only because he looks like a character found in any medieval fantasy movie or TV show, & he also looks like an Eragon reject. The villain in this movie is so laughably bad that I almost choked on my own saliva. The villain is bald, not that it's a bad thing to be bald, who wears coral blue number 2 semi-gloss lipstick (lol Spongebob reference), & says his dialogue in the slowest way possible. No really, every time he would say something, it would take him about 5 minutes to finish it all, I swear I could take a 15-minute shower as he begins his talking, & when I exit, dry, put on my clothes & some deodorant, & walk back to continue watching it he'd either just be finishing the last couple of words or still talking.

    Jeromy Irons played his character in such a badly acted way. He was the actor who was the most over-dramatic in this movie, hell in the entire fight scene between the dragons, he became a human vibrator at one point. And then there's Thora Birch's character who was the most under-dramatic character & actor of the movie. Her performance gave no emotions & had no impact upon the character.

    The special effects were nothing special, but they do give you the world of medieval dragons & castles any movie of the theme should. But if you want to see some CGI that was good & better than this for it's own time, watch Tim Burton's "Sleepy Hollow". And the score was beautiful too, probably the thing I really liked in this movie. The costumes on the other hand, are pretty cheap, & they look like nothing more than some things worn by geeks at a costume party or reunion of the Dungeons & dragons fan base. As for the sword fight coordination, wow, just, wow, it's so simple & plain that you ask yourself if the coordinator of the sword fighting was a 10 year old. What you get from the sword fighting is nothing more that up, down, up, down, up, down, down, up, down, up, up, up, down, down, up, & so on! It's like a bad video game sword fight!

    And I can tell you right now that Courtney Solomon is a horrible director at best, no worse than most other ones, but still horrible. She also gave us "An American Haunting", one of the worst horror movies I have ever seen, & definitely one of the worst movies ever made. Courtney cannot direct a good movie even if her life depended on it.

    So, the best I can describe this movie is like the best thing the Sci-Fi channel can give you, only it actually went into theaters & wasn't on that channel. Hell it even ends the credits with a screen shot of the movie, like all bad straight to DVD or Scy Fy channel movies do!
  • scracasim
    January 23, 2012
    scracasim
    This is a movie that is so bad, that it's fun to watch. I mean, the film is butchered with cliques, annoying characters, terrible acting, subliminally obvious rip-offs, poor visuals, and basically everything else that makes a truly terrible film. There is no emotion in anything. ... read moreAlthough, let me say right off the bat, Jeremy Irons is just joyfully hammy. Also, the only reason he did this role was because he had recently purchased a castle, and needed the money to pay for it. So, of course, he picked the first film that came to him. Every other actor is pretty terrible, and the secondary villain who talks slowly and has toothpaste all over his lips is just stupid. The FOUR Indiana Jones rip-offs in the maze are just so obvious, it's hilarious. The dragons look like a training program for a visual effects artist's first day on the job. Plus, you can tell that Thora Birch isn't even trying. She's is probably the worst actor in this movie. At least Irons was somewhat fun to watch, and he was doing it on purpose. But Birch, that egghead doesn't even make an effort. If this movie couldn't get any worse, they add an eccentric, racist sidekick played by Marlon Wayans. Oh, and the dwarf is racist to. Don't watch it. The End.

    EPILOGUE:
    WTF!!!! There's a sequel to this film?

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Critic Reviews

Scott Foundas
December 8, 2000
Scott Foundas, Variety

The average episode of Xena or Hercules offers a more compelling and imaginative photoplay. Full Review

Michael Rechtshaffen
December 8, 2000
Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter

The special effects ... are nothing special, which is as close as this painfully derivative clunker is ever going to get to a ringing endorsement.

Geoff Pevere
December 8, 2000
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

The movie has the cheap software look of something found on the Space channel at 4 a.m. Full Review

Susan Stark
December 8, 2000
Susan Stark, Detroit News

This movie may be the clumsiest, most inept cinematic exploitation of an item with kid appeal that we have yet seen. Full Review

Roger Moore
December 8, 2000
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Without Irons' hamming, there wouldn't be much to chew on in this exasperatingly plotted mess.

Bruce Westbrook
December 8, 2000
Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle

Sinks in a sea of cheesy effects, cheap clichés, dispiriting narrative and the one thing an action fantasy can't afford: boredom. Full Review

John Monaghan
December 8, 2000
John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press

It's not so much like stepping into the pages of The Hobbit as being thrust into the random action of a video game.

Steven Rea
December 8, 2000
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Alas, much of the dialogue is the silliest sort of fantasy mush, and a good deal of the picture appears to have been shot while the lighting guys were out to lunch.

Mick LaSalle
December 8, 2000
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

The Wayans role is a total cringe -- a cowardly and stupid nonstop talker who is easily manipulated by and wholly devoted to his mentally superior buddy. Full Review

Paul Tatara
December 8, 2000
Paul Tatara, CNN.com

If you don't like the movie, it's solely because you're not a fan of this type of escapism. It couldn't possibly be because the movie stinks. Well, this one does. Full Review

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    • Snails: I thought you said this was gonna be easy!
    • Ridley Freeborn: No, I said it wasn't impossible
    • Snails: That's the same thing you said when we robbed that little halfling's house. And who'd he catch? Me. And who'd he beat from the waist down? Me.
    • Snails: I got a new name for 'dumb': 'Ridley'! This is the Ridleyest thing I've ever heard!
    • Damodar: Just like you thieves, always taking things that don't belong to you.
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Dungeons & Dragons Trivia

  • In what movie do Justin Whalin, Marlon Wayans, Thora Birch, Bruce Payne, and Jeremy Irons all appear in together?   Answer »
  • In the very beginning of "E.T." - what game is Elliot's older brother playing with some friends?  Answer »
  • Which of these tough guy actors admitted in a magazine that he was an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fanatic in high school?  Answer »
  • In which movie were Jeremy Irons and Marlon Wayans in together?   Answer »
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