Fantasy Dungeons & dragons movie discussion

[TheVileOne]

Big shame that projects like this don't seem to light up the box office but they did a great job with a property that could easily have gone wrong. I really loved it.

It is a shame because they did a good job and clearly put a lot of care into it. A surprising amount of great practical costumes, sets, and effects as well. It was nice to see a fantasy film like this with good actors and production values.

 

[Iceman]

Had no idea that was a real effect. Very impressive.

 

[Iceman]

He is neither incompetent or evil, he is in fact the portrayed as highly intelligent and helpful and gets a couple of the best heroic moments in the film.

I was worried going in he would be like Drax from GOTG, kind of played dumb and unaware of the things being said in jest at his expense but in fact he is very intelligent and it is the rest that are incompetent compared to him. They just dont find him as fun as he comes across as near perfect and very straight compared to the rest who are sort of more flawed characters.

Its a shame he wasnt in the movie throughout as his dynamic with the rest of them really worked well and was an awful lot of fun in his stoicism, plus he had the best fight scenes and some of the best lines.

I certainly would want more Xenk next time out of there was one.

It was a shame he didn’t stay till the end. As you say he worked very well with the other characters and adds something unique. Plus awesome actor, take advantage! Hopefully he’s in a sequel and stays with the group next time.

 

[TheVileOne]

I do think the marketing of the movie sort of didn't know how to market the film. They over-hyped Rege Jean Page's role for example. He's not in the movie as much as the trailers suggest.

 

[Iceman]

I do think the marketing of the movie sort of didn't know how to market the film. They over-hyped Rege Jean Page's role for example. He's not in the movie as much as the trailers suggest.

Don’t really know why as he worked so well with the other cast. Great contrast lol.

 

[TheVileOne]

Don’t really know why as he worked so well with the other cast. Great contrast lol.

I think the other thing the movie failed to market well was how good the costumes and practical effects looked. It was a fun immersive hop around Faerun. But they focused more on the CG dragons and battles, and one battle was only happening via flashback and not part of the active narrative. The trailers makes it look otherwise. But trailers are typically misleading like this.

I also think Xenk Yendar is meant to contract having like a really advanced player who can basically carry a party through a dungeon without breaking a sweat and giving the group some temporary help but not making him a permanent addition. If they had Xenk during the climax, it would've been less of a struggle too I suppose.

 

[Iceman]

I think the other thing the movie failed to market well was how good the costumes and practical effects looked. It was a fun immersive hop around Faerun. But they focused more on the CG dragons and battles, and one battle was only happening via flashback and not part of the active narrative. The trailers makes it look otherwise. But trailers are typically misleading like this.

I also think Yenk is meant to contract having like a really advanced player who can basically carry a party through a dungeon without breaking a sweat and giving the group some temporary help but not making him a permanent addition. If they had Yenk during the climax, it would've been less of a struggle too I suppose.

I guess Gandalf was a bit like that with the Fellowship but yeah, makes sense. I think he's such a good addition that they should weaken him through injury or something for future films and have him as a permanent member of the party. Will be quite a loss if he's not back. The actor is also quite a draw, outside of what he contributes to the film.

Agreed on costumes and practical effects.

 

[Silvermoth]

I saw it today and really loved it! Adored the dragon. Can’t wait for a sequel. I reckon it’ll be easier to get more A list talent now that it’s a proven hit

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I saw it today and really loved it! Adored the dragon. Can’t wait for a sequel. I reckon it’ll be easier to get more A list talent now that it’s a proven hit

It cost $150 million to make and hasn't even reached 200 million WW yet buddy. I liked the movie a lot but a sequel isn't a sure thing.

 

[Asr]

Finally got around to seeing this, solid 7/10 for me.

Disclaimer that I've never played D&D and sorta unfamiliar with it, and yeah it did kinda feel like GOTG with a fantasy setting instead. But the core group dynamic and the fantasy setting really sucked me into it, and it was surprisingly well-done with a surprising amount of obvious practical effects too.

Chris Pine proved once again that he is the best Chris, and I was glad to see (hear?) him sing in this, even though it was brief.

Would absolutely see a sequel if they made one.

 

[Iceman]

Finally got around to seeing this, solid 7/10 for me.

Disclaimer that I've never played D&D and sorta unfamiliar with it, and yeah it did kinda feel like GOTG with a fantasy setting instead. But the core group dynamic and the fantasy setting really sucked me into it, and it was surprisingly well-done with a surprising amount of obvious practical effects too.

Chris Pine proved once again that he is the best Chris, and I was glad to see (hear?) him sing in this, even though it was brief.

Would absolutely see a sequel if they made one.

Glad to see many people enjoying it.

 

[Iceman]

It cost $150 million to make and hasn't even reached 200 million WW yet buddy. I liked the movie a lot but a sequel isn't a sure thing.

Oh right, damn. Seriously sucks if we don't get anymore.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I saw it today and enjoyed it quite a bit. But yeah, those are some low BO numbers. I would be shocked if this got more

 

[flickchick85]

On the bright side, the previous D&D movie only made $34mil worldwide on a $45mil budget and was panned across the board, so maybe the $180mil (so far) on a $150mil budget with good reviews/WOM would be seen by the studio as a substantial improvement with potential? Depending on home video/streaming numbers?

 

[Iceman]

On the bright side, the previous D&D movie only made $34mil worldwide on a $45mil budget and was panned across the board, so maybe the $180mil (so far) on a $150mil budget with good reviews/WOM would be seen by the studio as a substantial improvement with potential? Depending on home video/streaming numbers?

Also there must have been some good will towards the franchise to greenlight a $150m budget after the performance of the previous film.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I still have to see this. Shame it didn’t do that well financially.

It kinda makes me worried about fantasy adaptations going forward. What does it take to make a fantasy series a hit (on TV or a movie)? I guess it’s not just name recognition and big name actors, because D&D had both. Maybe the comedic tone turned people off?

 

[Drizzle]

I still have to see this. Shame it didn’t do that well financially.

It kinda makes me worried about fantasy adaptations going forward. What does it take to make a fantasy series a hit (on TV or a movie)? I guess it’s not just name recognition and big name actors, because D&D had both. Maybe the comedic tone turned people off?

It might have stood more of a chance had Mario not come knocking a week later. As it is, I'm excited to check this out once it hits Paramount+ in a couple weeks, so I'm part of the problem.

 

[KillerMcQueen]

I still have to see this. Shame it didn’t do that well financially.

It kinda makes me worried about fantasy adaptations going forward. What does it take to make a fantasy series a hit (on TV or a movie)? I guess it’s not just name recognition and big name actors, because D&D had both. Maybe the comedic tone turned people off?

Poor marketing and a bad release date were definitely factors imo, people weren't expecting it to be good, and it faced quite a bit of competition. And while it was good, it wasn't so good that it could pull a Puss in Boots and save itself off of word of mouth alone.

 

[samsnee]

This movie would have done better in a less competitive month. It was never going to be huge but opening the same month as Super Mario Bros killed any momentum it had.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

On the bright side, the previous D&D movie only made $34mil worldwide on a $45mil budget and was panned across the board, so maybe the $180mil (so far) on a $150mil budget with good reviews/WOM would be seen by the studio as a substantial improvement with potential? Depending on home video/streaming numbers?

We can hope but it's looking very unlikely.

 

[Iceman]

I still have to see this. Shame it didn’t do that well financially.

It kinda makes me worried about fantasy adaptations going forward. What does it take to make a fantasy series a hit (on TV or a movie)? I guess it’s not just name recognition and big name actors, because D&D had both. Maybe the comedic tone turned people off?

Big shame for me as fantasy is otherwise my favourite genre when it comes to books and games.

 

[Iceman]

Poor marketing and a bad release date were definitely factors imo, people weren't expecting it to be good, and it faced quite a bit of competition. And while it was good, it wasn't so good that it could pull a Puss in Boots and save itself off of word of mouth alone.

By poor marketing do you mean weak trailers or other stuff?

 

[Drizzle]

This movie would have done better in a less competitive month. It was never going to be huge but opening the same month as Super Mario Bros killed any momentum it had.

If they had held it back until August or September it might have fared better.

 

[Silvermoth]

I hate to say it but some people are put off but the dungeons and dragons brand. Like they might be interested but the idea of asking for a ticket to see a dnd movie makes them think of Uber geeks eating nachos around a table.

it’ll probably come together on streaming. Maybe they might even do a television spin off

 

[Iceman]

I hate to say it but some people are put off but the dungeons and dragons brand. Like they might be interested but the idea of asking for a ticket to see a dnd movie makes them think of Uber geeks eating nachos around a table.

it’ll probably come together on streaming. Maybe they might even do a television spin off

Hopefully it takes off on streaming with WOM yeah.