Did you see what I did there, with the title? Hee hee! That probably sums this little flick.
I'm a fan of D&D/fantasy RPG stuff and the fantasy genre generally. I've enjoyed all sorts, from Lord of the Rings, to The Beastmaster. I even watched *both* D&D movies! This last one - D&D The Movie - That's my benchmark against which I measure DA:Redemption...
Both are like watching a filmed LARP session, both have the same quality of actor, acting, costume, script, choreography, pacing, predictability, cinematography etc.
The differences are that Redemption has a much smaller budget and does not pretend to be anything bigger than it actually is.
Gary Gygax, creator of D&D, god of all things Fantasy RPG and possibly the biggest name to be in anything associated with D&D, yet the best they can come up with to honour the man in THE movie about his own creation is a miniscule cameo in the far background, which actually has to be pointed out during the Special Features. The only redeeming features about D&D The Movie are the lovely Zoe McLellan for eye candy, Bruce Payne's appropriate overacting and the fact that it has the name 'Jeremy Irons' on the cover.
With so little to live up to, Redemption is quite an appropriate title for a film based on Fantasy gaming, and a computer game at that. It achieves with a few thousand what the $45 million D&D Movie could not and restores my faith in such adaptations and associations between live action production and game.
Now, obviously this is no Lord Of The Rings here. It's done by gamers for gamers, specifically fans of the Dragon Age games. It contains all the relevant references you require, without drawing too much attention to this aspect in an attempt to justify or validate itself. It has enough dark and adult moments to create the same atmosphere as the game. It has the same unrealistic and slightly over-dramatic moves in the fight choreography.
The only down-side is the lack of especially engaging dialogue, with certain moments seeming a bit contrived (IMHO). But then some players feel the same way about the game as well. The actors are almost certainly fans of the game, yet still on a par with the professionals cast in the D&D movie.
Felicia Day is the main name in this, being lead actor, a writer, producer, stunt performer and pretty much the driving force behind the production. I don't know much about her, aside from what I read in a quick Google, but she's certainly done well with what she had for this.
For the money, budget, resources and everything else, I am impressed by the production's achievements. If they can secure a full budget, I'd happily watch further productions!
I'm a fan of D&D/fantasy RPG stuff and the fantasy genre generally. I've enjoyed all sorts, from Lord of the Rings, to The Beastmaster. I even watched *both* D&D movies! This last one - D&D The Movie - That's my benchmark against which I measure DA:Redemption...
Both are like watching a filmed LARP session, both have the same quality of actor, acting, costume, script, choreography, pacing, predictability, cinematography etc.
The differences are that Redemption has a much smaller budget and does not pretend to be anything bigger than it actually is.
Gary Gygax, creator of D&D, god of all things Fantasy RPG and possibly the biggest name to be in anything associated with D&D, yet the best they can come up with to honour the man in THE movie about his own creation is a miniscule cameo in the far background, which actually has to be pointed out during the Special Features. The only redeeming features about D&D The Movie are the lovely Zoe McLellan for eye candy, Bruce Payne's appropriate overacting and the fact that it has the name 'Jeremy Irons' on the cover.
With so little to live up to, Redemption is quite an appropriate title for a film based on Fantasy gaming, and a computer game at that. It achieves with a few thousand what the $45 million D&D Movie could not and restores my faith in such adaptations and associations between live action production and game.
Now, obviously this is no Lord Of The Rings here. It's done by gamers for gamers, specifically fans of the Dragon Age games. It contains all the relevant references you require, without drawing too much attention to this aspect in an attempt to justify or validate itself. It has enough dark and adult moments to create the same atmosphere as the game. It has the same unrealistic and slightly over-dramatic moves in the fight choreography.
The only down-side is the lack of especially engaging dialogue, with certain moments seeming a bit contrived (IMHO). But then some players feel the same way about the game as well. The actors are almost certainly fans of the game, yet still on a par with the professionals cast in the D&D movie.
Felicia Day is the main name in this, being lead actor, a writer, producer, stunt performer and pretty much the driving force behind the production. I don't know much about her, aside from what I read in a quick Google, but she's certainly done well with what she had for this.
For the money, budget, resources and everything else, I am impressed by the production's achievements. If they can secure a full budget, I'd happily watch further productions!