How to describe this film? This is D&D - it's not Lord of the Rings, it's not Star Wars; it's more like Raiders of the Lost Ark. A fun, pulpy ride, mostly way over the top, with lots of great little moments and a wonderful sense of fun.
We have all the classic elements of a rollicking game session--a pair of thieves who, in reaching a little above themselves, get caught up in an evil wizard's mad scheme to seize control of the empire. The Empress has custody of a powerful sceptre that allows her to summon and control dragons; the bad guys tried to make one of their own but blew it, so they go looking for a replacement--and our intrepid adventurers have the map to where it is. To defeat him, our hero and his assembled chums must obtain an item from a deadly maze, and use it to gain access to the hidden location of the Rod of Serillion, a match for the Empress' sceptre.
The good news: good traps, decent effects, great cameos. It pretty honestly captures the fun of the fantasy adventure. Justin's cute, Thora's hot. The fight scenes aren't bad. It's obvious that the folks who made this enjoyed it immensely. The bad news: the direction is spotty at best, resulting in new heights of overacting (thanks, Mr. Irons) or lack of it (ladies and gents, the mildly raised eyebrows and vague squirming of Ms. Birch). You'll have to listen to fanboys over-analyze it and hear the phrase "where are the clerics?" way too often. Bottom line: go to have FUN. Laugh at the way-over-the-top Jeremy Irons, enjoy Riff-Raff and Dr. Who in their cameos, have fun playing "guess what spell they used". Enjoy the audacity of a film that treats 200 dragons in aerial combat as a backdrop; go with it, for cryin' out loud. This ain't Hamlet! :)
We have all the classic elements of a rollicking game session--a pair of thieves who, in reaching a little above themselves, get caught up in an evil wizard's mad scheme to seize control of the empire. The Empress has custody of a powerful sceptre that allows her to summon and control dragons; the bad guys tried to make one of their own but blew it, so they go looking for a replacement--and our intrepid adventurers have the map to where it is. To defeat him, our hero and his assembled chums must obtain an item from a deadly maze, and use it to gain access to the hidden location of the Rod of Serillion, a match for the Empress' sceptre.
The good news: good traps, decent effects, great cameos. It pretty honestly captures the fun of the fantasy adventure. Justin's cute, Thora's hot. The fight scenes aren't bad. It's obvious that the folks who made this enjoyed it immensely. The bad news: the direction is spotty at best, resulting in new heights of overacting (thanks, Mr. Irons) or lack of it (ladies and gents, the mildly raised eyebrows and vague squirming of Ms. Birch). You'll have to listen to fanboys over-analyze it and hear the phrase "where are the clerics?" way too often. Bottom line: go to have FUN. Laugh at the way-over-the-top Jeremy Irons, enjoy Riff-Raff and Dr. Who in their cameos, have fun playing "guess what spell they used". Enjoy the audacity of a film that treats 200 dragons in aerial combat as a backdrop; go with it, for cryin' out loud. This ain't Hamlet! :)