Dungeons & Dragons

Well, it wasn't awful. I say that a lot. It's a statement that essentially means that there were things to like about the movie but it wasn't a winner. More times than I can count I've walked out of a theater, shrugged my shoulders and made that statement almost apologetically to whatever poor soul I've dragged to the theater.

I indicated there were things to like about the movie so let's get to them first. The movie has a high paced energy that carries it through a lot. It has some great performances from minor characters. Zoe McLellan is a lovely young woman. Umm... well, I'm grabbing at straws at this point.

If you spent as much time as I did playing the role playing game Dungeons & Dragons during my youth then you shouldn't have much trouble following the plot. It's exactly the kind of story that players of that game cook up all the time. If you don't have that experience, it may strike you as a bit loony. Let me try and sort it out for you. In the city of Sumdall, the young Empress Savina wants to change the basic political structure of the land. In its current state the power rests with her and the mages. Savina wants to make all people equal, raising the peasants to the level of the mages.

The evil wizard Profion (Jeremy Irons) wants no part of this and seeks to dethrone Savina by capturing a magical rod that can control red dragons. He sends his henchman Damodar (Bruce Payne) to grab a scroll with directions to the rod. Meanwhile two young thieves Ridley and Snails (Justin Whalin and Marlon Wayans) have broken into the school of magic where they are captured by the apprentice Marina (Zoe McLellan) who then breaks up Damodar's attempt to steal the scroll. The three escape to the thieves' guild in a different city to grab a ruby called the "Eye of the Dragon" which they need get the magical rod. Got all that? Good because there's more. Damodar catches up with them and grabs the scroll and Marina. Ridley and Snails then have to save Marina and the scroll so they can find the rod. Yada, yada, yada... Anyway, long story short (too late) they get back to the city and there's a huge battle of dragons over the city.

The whole thing is rather silly but it moves forward at such a rapid clip that you don't have much time to think about it. It doesn't however move fast enough to keep you from noticing a few scenes bearing a suspicious similarity to scenes from the Star Wars films.

Acting performances are wildly uneven. Jeremy Irons spends most of the movie practically quivering with rage. Bruce Payne proves he's one of Hollywood's more reliable villains but bizarre blue lipstick makes him a bit hard to take seriously. Justin Whalin looks like a caricature of a movie star. Marlon Wayans screeches like a little girl incessantly. Zoe McLellan is lovely but shows little as an actress. Thora Birch makes me wonder if this is the same person from American Beauty. Richard O'Brien, Tom Baker and Lee Aragorn all make the most of their limited screen time and deserve better. Kristen Wilson gets so little of interest to do as an elven tracker I can't even think of a comment.

The special effects are mediocre. This is a movie with ambitious visuals but shackled to a $35 million budget it simply couldn't afford to bring them seamlessly to fruition. The most effective visuals are the use of real locations in Prague. Unfortunately they set a level of detail and richness that the rest of the movie can't maintain.

Looking back I find I'm amazed that I enjoyed the movie as much as I did. It has a certain energy that carries it through the numerous rough patches. First time director Corey Solomon has led a long crusade to make the movie and that passion is evident in the movie. He clearly was able to infect his cast with that passion. It shows up on screen and is largely to thank for making the movie watchable.

This isn't a great movie and frankly isn't even a good one. It is a light adventure that somehow manages to entertain in spite of itself. That's a sincere compliment no matter how backhanded it might sound.

- John Shea