Escape to the Movies: Dungeons & Dragons

[Whytewulf]

Um I think you forgot about Eragon. I know one of the clerics domains is travel, and Eragon's character is based off the dragon rider class listed here.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/lists/prc

And the author is an confessed to writing the books based off of his own dnd games.

Yikes... Books were good (or to many people they were), movie was a horrible adaptation, way too short.

I've come to look at a lot of movies over the first 30 years and I seem to think that Magic is the toughest thing to convey. Have you a good movie with good magic battles? Several movies have magic in them, but not to the point of a good DnD game or book. Even LoTR tried with the Gandalf battle, but it was a short piece, that rest was arrows and blades. Some movies, such as the first DnD have some magic, but if you think of any good RPG, there are Mages, Wizards, Warlocks, Necromancers, DeathKnights, etc, that are true spell castsers. I think most movie going audiences, aren't truly into it. Heck even the Potter movies are lacking true casting spells.

I'd like to see an IceWind Dale movie series, if done right. If successful, the characters would become popular and a prequel about Drzzzzzzzzt, could be made, but I think his first three books, would be a hard sell.

Or how about another try at DnD with a twist on it, similar to R.A. Salvatore's Woods out Bank series or the cartoon, with someone from today transported into the game. He has to build a party, and do what he needs to do. I thought BArds Tale would have made a good movie.

Ok I have digressed, but I agree Bob, there is a lacking...

 

[Popcicle42]

From the video: Are you telling me we're gonna see a freak'n World of Warcraft movie before a proper Dungeons and Dragons movie? 'Cause that's just wrong."

The problem lies within the fact that D&D, on it's own, has no main characters... other than the players themselves. If you were going to have a true, "generically-based" D&D movie, you'd have to do it like the animated series; kids get sucked into game, become characters, save world, go home.

World of Warcraft, on the other hand, already has tons of characters already with rich, full backstories. Go back to Warcraft 3, and create a movie based on Arthas's fall from grace, and build your whole series of movies from there. It's already got a story, and as you eluded to, many of those in power would like to just take someone else's story and adapt it.

Now, if you wanted to do a "D&D" movie, you could tap into the myriad of books. Yes, I know, Drizzit is played out a bit, but he's an immediately recognizable character, with a backstory and reams of books ready and ripe for the pickin's.

 

[vanthebaron]

what a WoW movie? don't they have to hit warcraft 1, 2, and 3 first?

A WoW movie wouldn't really work. It's too open-ended. Directors and writers hate open-ended stories. It goes against the traditional 3 Act setup most movies and TV shows are made up of.

but warcraft 1 to 3 have the makings of a good 3 movie series.

 

[Zolem]

The second D&D movie for SyFy...well I actually enjoyed it. A lot. It had the whole party of heroes with varied abilities feel, somthing that was missing from the first movie entirly. Magic wasn't a freaking thrown powder anymore; it was a carefuly researched 'science' or a gift of the Gods. ('Remove your shoes in the temple.' is still one of my favorite bits.) The thief was actually a thief, there was no useless comic-relief cahrecter, and the quest was more epic than 'keep badguys from getting staff, if they get the staff use own staff to counter.' No this was 'suceed in foiling the villain's plan already in motion or the world will end.' A nice classic plot. It even included telportation error, a hoard of enemies they DIDN'T fight and overwhelm as that just wouldn't work against such numbers (it's nice to see an action movie acknowledge that), and a reference to the sadly neglected and frankly underutilized Demon Lord Jublix.

Look, if a lack of setting is the big thing stopping you, pick one! Blackmore may not be 4e (yet, for all we know it will be) but it would be a fun setting. So would Eberon and it's intrigue, Arathis and it's blasted wasteland survival, or you could use Greyhawk or Ferun if you want somthing classic. Heck, you could even make a Dritz movie, that would draw in the fanboys like flies. I know I'd pay out my nose to see his origin movie, especially if it was a daulity or even trillogy so taht they could cover the needed material.

 

[Eldan]

Honestly, I see no redeeming feature in a D&D movie. The entire point of the setting was to be as generically fantasy as possible. D&D makes a good framework for telling a story between multiple people, but once you have the story down there is really no point to keeping that framework. Just strip it out and sell the story itself, a la Record of the Lodoss War.

DnD by itself has no setting, it's a set of rules. But a lot of the settings written for it are far from generic. Planescape, Dark Sun, Ravenloft, Spelljammer, Eberron, Ghostwalk are all very, very far from generic. You could make pretty nice movies in all of them too, if you wrote a story that did them justice.

 

[Sir Moomin]

I was thinking today they should do The Belgariad by david eddings to a five part film series its got great cast and follows a nice quest and has very nice charecter devlopments
was just sat in the car thinking who they would cast. Or some terry pratchett movies with a good budget behind them instead of sky!

 

[matsugawa]

Wait, that one directors name was Cholera? Did I hear that wrong?

Technically, yes, there is a director named Sandy Collora, but he didn't direct the D&D movie, a guy named Courtney Solomon did. Sandy Collora directed the short film Batman: Dead End, and has been trying to get distribution for his feature-length film Hunter Prey.

I let out a big, "ouch" when Bob slipped up there. I can see why he might get the names confused, but still, "Ouch."

 

[Snooder]

First up, the scifi Dungeons and Dragons movie was AMAZING. I mean seriously, it was good stuff, and unlike the first movie actually used themes and tropes from the game.

Second, how can review D&D movie and neglect the recent animated Dragonlance movie?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0825245/ It's terrible, but if you're gonna talk about the tv show, you might as well include this.

 

[Jorias]

One can argue all day about the reasoning behind the fact that Blizzard's IP will hit the big screen and either be a flop or a blockbuster. Just because it's coming out before another D&D movie wouldn't really suprise anyone, seeing as D&D has had it's chance on the big screen. However, i have never seen any Blizzard IP's hit the big screen.....in any case video games adapted to movies is not as easy as it looks apparently(i always thought it would be easy when i was a kid).

 

[Jorias]

First up, the scifi Dungeons and Dragons movie was AMAZING. I mean seriously, it was good stuff, and unlike the first movie actually used themes and tropes from the game.

Second, how can review D&D movie and neglect the recent animated Dragonlance movie?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0825245/ It's terrible, but if you're gonna talk about the tv show, you might as well include this.

I heard it was, i feel kinda bad that i havent seen it, seeing as i am a huge PnP RPG fan (Rifts mostly lol) i hope i can catch it on again some time...

 

[EvilDude62]

No reviews of the Uwe Boll butcherings?

 

[Sulgoth]

Jebus, you're 25? fuuuuuck, I have my work cut out for me to equal your overkill knowledge about games and movies and the amazing ability to correlate that knowledge into real life.

 

[Liquid Paradox]

I must be the only person in history to have enjoyed the first DND movie. Sure it was silly and over the top... but so is dnd! I also enjoyed the constant game references, and one of my favorite lines in the movie was the one about dwarven women; "What you need is a nice round woman, with a beard you can hold on to, eh?" well.. something to that effect. as a matter of fact, now I want to go watch it again...

 

[Draconalis]

I have only read the AD&D material, but not played it. I assume the reason comes from things like +X weapons, armour and other such items: is a +2 bonus to AC a good thing or not? +2 to AC, without "bonus" mentioned? What if it just says +2 to Thac0? The terminology got a little confusing sometimes, especially when it was not always consistent.

The bonuses are actually suppose to be factored after the attack roll, the process is suppose to go like this.

I have a 19 thaco, to hit an ac 3 I need a 16. I roll, I get a 14. But I have a sword of +2, which adds a 2 to my 14, making it a 16. I hit.

People will quickly realize that a +2 weapon really means that you're reducing your thac0 by 2, thus a +2 bonus can be seen as a -2 to thac0. you can eliminate an entire step of figuring it out by simply stating that your "adjusted Thac0 is 17". However is easier for you to understand is how you should look at it. Same applies to AC bonus of +2.

Someone has an thac0 of 17 and they are trying to hit my AC of 5, they need a 12. They roll a 13, I add +2 to their need to hit a 12, and it makes it a 14 to hit. They miss.

The way we see it, is that a +2 to AC, mean that your 5, is now a 3. They would need a 14 to hit you.

 

[Muco5681]

wait wait wait a battle ship movie?...you got! to be joking me please tell me that's just sarcasme i diddent get

 

[Knight Templar]

I honestly loved the D&D movie with Jeremy Irons. Not because I'm a fan of b-grade movies, that helped, but because it's got Jeremy Irons.

I hope a good D&D movie shows up. Idealy one set in Forgottem Realms.

 

[The Great JT]

What can I say, Hollywood's trying to roll a natural 20 with a 4-sided dice.

 

[Fortesque]

On Tabletop Gaming, I was happy to see that Warhammer 40k: Ultramarines movie.... until I saw the teaser trailer and wanted to pull my eyes out at the terrible animation and voice acting.

 

[SandroTheMaster]

I hear ya, pal.

Admittedly, originally the D&D cartoon was supposed to have all its cast be more like Eric, but the network felt it was amoral to have kids... behave like kids in a dangerous situation. Go figure... It was actually difficult to just keep Eric as is, in fact. And that made him the best character in the series. When Hank does something heroic you just went: "Oh, hey, Hank is being heroic again. Who'd have thought." But when Eric was about to do something heroic you went: "Yeah! Go Eric, I know you can do it! Believe in yourself! <Insert more cliché inspirational cheer here>!"

Still, it saddens me that D&D was so far done by people that not only didn't even try, but seemed to outright despise not only D&D but fantasy as a genre. Is it so hard to make a movie in Forgotten Realms? Or Greyhawk? Or Dark Sun, or Ravenloft... Anything is better than whatever it was that one they used.