All in all it was a pretty well done fantasy movie. It sure as hell beats any official D&D movie I've ever seen. Maybe its not the great epic that LOTR is but I think Prince Caspian was aimed at a different fantasy audience (to think there's so many different level of nerdism now is making me twitch a little).
Anyway if you haven't seen it and ever wondered what a centaur and minotaur look like in combat then look no further.
*Throws Asbestos on Thread*
Now if only someone would make an actual D&D movie with a similar level of writing and acting...
I don't disagree. The visuals were very good, and the climactic battle sequence(s) was/were as tactically developed as just about any fantasy film - a hair above the "make a mob and run at each other" that is de rigeur.
Now if only someone would make an actual D&D movie with a similar level of writing and acting...
I wonder, though...how well would it be accepted?
I have a bad feeling that no matter how well-done the effects were, it would still not set well with "die hard" D&D fans.
"Magic Missiles don't look like that!"
"An Elder Green Dragon is waaayyy bigger than that...and where's the nose-horn?"
"That beholder shot it's powers from the wrong eye-stalks!"
I mean, after watching the second D&D movie Wrath of the Dragon God with several people who did/do not play D&D, they enjoyed it. They just labelled it a "good fantasy movie with dragons". It's the die-hard D&Ders that tore it to pieces. I thought it was okay. The first movie, though...God...I've had outpatient surgeries that weren't that painful.
Give it an interesting title and some comedic one-liners, reference WotC in the opening credits, and it'd be awesome.
It sure as hell beats any official D&D movie I've ever seen.
EVERYTHING beats any official D&D movie you've ever seen. Even "Krull" the Dull and "Hawk the [Attention] Slayer." :P
(Though I do want to see the new Narnia movie.)
You can relax. It will never, ever happen.
If they want to make money off of it, they should just make an interesting DnD movie based off of 4E, and then in no way reference DnD in the title. They should use the Classes, PPs, Equipment, Feats, Skills, etc, etc, but in no way actually refer to those Mechanical aspects in the movie, as the entire affair should be done In-Character.
Give it an interesting title and some comedic one-liners, reference WotC in the opening credits, and it'd be awesome.
Oh I think it'd be safe enough to mention a few classes by name. After all, it's not like D&D is the only place you hear of wizards, barbarians, etc.
But otherwise, yeah, I'll agree.
I just saw the Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian and I got to say that was almost spot on with my vision of the D&D world. The fantastic creatures, ancient ruins, medieval-ish warriors, awesome sword fighting, flying griffons bearing dwarf snipers in their claws and more!
All in all it was a pretty well done fantasy movie. It sure as hell beats any official D&D movie I've ever seen. Maybe its not the great epic that LOTR is but I think Prince Caspian was aimed at a different fantasy audience (to think there's so many different level of nerdism now is making me twitch a little).
Anyway if you haven't seen it and ever wondered what a centaur and minotaur look like in combat then look no further.
Mr. Pibb + Red Vines = Crazy Delicious.
It's the chronic (what) cles of Narnia!
;)
On a more serious note, I'd love for them to do a new D&D cartoon. But take a more serious tone with it. Like they did with Batman the Animated Series. Not too adult, just serious enough to be all kinds of fun. I think that would really hit the right chord with die hard and new fans alike. And might be much easier to pull off than a live action big budget fantasy summer blockbuster hollywood movie.
"We could take cover behind the pile of dead bards!"
Army of Dorkness. Best D&D movie ever.
"We could take cover behind the pile of dead bards!"
I assume you meant Dorkness Rising, unless there's another movie that uses the "dead-bard-pile" line.
I just saw the Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian and I got to say that was almost spot on with my vision of the D&D world. The fantastic creatures, ancient ruins, medieval-ish warriors, awesome sword fighting, flying griffons bearing dwarf snipers in their claws and more!
HAH, I remember that part. Immediately before I was like "man, these guys need some air-support" and then, BAM, griffons.
I was like "YES!" and all the thais looked at me funny (I was in Thailand when I saw it).
Anyway if you haven't seen it and ever wondered what a centaur and minotaur look like in combat then look no further.
I've always thought of minotaurs as honourable warriors. I've tried playing them like this in D&D and got flamed for it. When Narnia came out everyone saw my point of view. Can't wait for PHB3.
The story/plot/script? Only if we remove
Narnia lost me after Santa showed up.
Dude, that was in the book, not to mention not happening in Prince Caspien.
I might like them if I was 6 years old...
I just saw the Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian and I got to say that was almost spot on with my vision of the D&D world. The fantastic creatures, ancient ruins, medieval-ish warriors, awesome sword fighting, flying griffons bearing dwarf snipers in their claws and more!
All in all it was a pretty well done fantasy movie. It sure as hell beats any official D&D movie I've ever seen. Maybe its not the great epic that LOTR is but I think Prince Caspian was aimed at a different fantasy audience (to think there's so many different level of nerdism now is making me twitch a little).
Anyway if you haven't seen it and ever wondered what a centaur and minotaur look like in combat then look no further.
Actually I prefer this kind of Fantasy to D&D, (though there are alot of things in Narnia that I can't stand like Kids Matter Syndrome)
I like my magic Overt. I don't want my magic, "hidden away and subtle" (something that in my opinion is usually done because the Author lacks the imagination to envision what a Magical World would actually be like)
The world of Narnia? Love it for a D&D setting.
The story/plot/script? Only if we removeElminsterAslan. The lion saving everything is not my idea of letting the heroes be the heroes.
Aslan isn't Elminster. He's Jesus. Literally - check Lewis's writings around the Chronicles.
IMHO of course!
Lewis was a Tolkien wannabe with delusions of grandeur and lesser ability.
IMHO of course!
Tolkien isn't a great writer. His writing style is PAINFUL to read. He's a tremendous world builder though.
IMHO...Tolkien isn't a great writer. His writing style is PAINFUL to read. He's a tremendous world builder though.
Fixed that for ya!
Fixed that for ya!
Fair enough.
Why would this get flamed? Is the OP concerned that somebody might show up and actually defend the DnD movie?
You can relax. It will never, ever happen.
I'm sorry to say this, but I have seen it happen. Not that this person was sane (IIRC said D&D movie defender also believed Mialee was "hawt". :yuck
but it did happen. Fixed that for ya!
Why? It didn't need any fixin' cuz it was 100% true. :P :D
(Obligatory IMO. No, not IMHO. Just IMO. **** humbleness.)
I assume you meant Dorkness Rising, unless there's another movie that uses the "dead-bard-pile" line.
Though Army of Darkness is the closest to what MY D&D world is like, minus the boomstick.
Aslan isn't Elminster. He's Jesus. Literally - check Lewis's writings around the Chronicles.
Shoot, one shouldn't even need to check out his writings. There is no way the metaphor could possibly have been any more heavy handed.
Shoot, one shouldn't even need to check out his writings. There is no way the metaphor could possibly have been any more heavy handed.
Heavy handed though it is, someone sufficiently unfamiliar with Christianity could still miss it.
t~
I'm sorry to say this, but I have seen it happen. Not that this person was sane (IIRC said D&D movie defender also believed Mialee was "hawt". :yuck
You know they say that one of the things about the internet is that no matter how bizaare or out there your interests are, you can find at least half a dozen people that share those interests? I.e. how if you collect photos of Albanian telephone poles, you can find a handful of others who do it too.
Well, The same logic applies in finding the one guy who likes somthing that is universally despised. On the internet you can find the handful of people who thought the Dungeons and Dragons movies were cinematic masterpieces, and/or who think that the bug-eyed elf in the 3.5 books was "hawt".
Why would this get flamed? Is the OP concerned that somebody might show up and actually defend the DnD movie?
You can relax. It will never, ever happen.
I'll gladly defend it... the D&D movie is so bad it's good. Name a movie with Richard O'Brian in it that isn't so bad it's hilarious or amazingly good. You can't do it. Yeah that's right even Spice World.... SUCK ON THAT! :D
As for fantasy books that are fun to read the first 4-5 books of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (RIP) are excellent. In my opinion the books start to get to big and steer away from the main characters in later books but still overall a really excellent series.
And the D&D movies were awful. The only one that was even remotely good was the computer animated one where you could pick what the characters were going to do. That was awesome...even though i was killed by a mob of were rats and turned to stone by a beholder and killed by a razor sharp force field and watched the movie twenty times to unlock all the endings.
What are the rules for throwing arrows. No really. How the hell did she do that?
Other than the Christian metaphors in the Narnia series (and Santa), it should bear some resemblance to D&D.
Hell it even happened in LOTR The Return of the King when Aragon swooped in and saved them at the end with the help of the undead (which in the book weren't they just savage, barbarian like people? Can't remember)
No they were ghosts in the book as well.
I have to say that when I was much younger, I loved both the Chronicals of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. Both offer rich fantasy worlds despite the quality of writing. C.S. Lewis was an excellent writer even if he was a bit heavy handed (a quality that works quite well for his apolagetic, nonfiction works but does grate a little on my adult sensibilities in his fiction).
Speaking of Prince Caspian...
What are the rules for throwing arrows. No really. How the hell did she do that?
The same way that Legolas skated down the stairs on a shield while firing two arrows at moving targets.
Game Genie.
Otherwise, there's just so many different opinions as to what D&D and the fantasy world "should" be that it's going to be nearly impossible to please everyone. Additionaly, your are taking the approach of having the director/writers trying to fit D&D elements into a movie, rather then focusing on simply writing a good story.
I think if they picked Dragonlance they'd have three books worth of movies to do with an existing fanbase. Same as Lord of the Rings, you take an existing setting, characters, story, etc and create a movie off off it. You'd even have three follow up books in the Time of the Twins if you wanted to do that route.
The Dritz characters has a pretty solid following as well, so maybe the Icewind Dale trilogy with spin offs into Dritz stories? just tossing stuff out there.
Personally, I would just like to see more quality fantasy movies period. Doesn't have to have the D&D label on it anywhere. LOTR set the standard, and I think the Nania movies are fantasic for what they are (yes, the selfish side of me wishes the "kid-friendly" elements were removed to make a more "serious", and maybe even darker, fantasy movie, but the fantasy world itself is fantastic...and my kids love it). And I do so love to see the minotaurs brought to life!!
I'd LOVE to see Glenn Cooks Black Company series brought to movie life. I think the Bellgariad or Wheel of Time would also make for some great movies and could care less if it hand anything to do with a D&D label. Just give us some good fantasy movies period.
Aslan isn't Elminster. He's Jesus. Literally - check Lewis's writings around the Chronicles.
Aslan may have been a literary metaphor for Jesus (literarily, not literally),
but Jesus doesn't come in and kill all your enemies by summoning a river elemental.
Aslan may have been a literary metaphor for Jesus (literarily, not literally),
but Jesus doesn't come in and kill all your enemies by summoning a river elemental.
The Jesus from South Park might.
Or maybe the Jesus from that Zombie Killer movie.
I give you the first Street Fighter as a Prime Example. (Not that you could ever make a good movie out of that material
).I don't disagree. The visuals were very good, and the climactic battle sequence(s) was/were as tactically developed as just about any fantasy film - a hair above the "make a mob and run at each other" that is de rigeur.
Now if only someone would make an actual D&D movie with a similar level of writing and acting...
That was a D&D movie.
Just reflavoured....
If they want to make money off of it, they should just make an interesting DnD movie based off of 4E, and then in no way reference DnD in the title. They should use the Classes, PPs, Equipment, Feats, Skills, etc, etc, but in no way actually refer to those Mechanical aspects in the movie, as the entire affair should be done In-Character.
Give it an interesting title and some comedic one-liners, reference WotC in the opening credits, and it'd be awesome.
I think someone could follow this type of formula with "Homeland" and be successful. Like you said, keep the mechanics in the background, refer only to the societal structure instead of referencing classes, and focus on the story.
The story itself is good enough as long as it doesn't get bogged down in the mechanics and too much background. Let the people who really enjoy the movie go out and buy the book to better understand the nuances and little quirks that can't be conveyed in a two hour movie.
Anyway, this is my vote. I think the story of Drizzt Do'Urdan would make a good movie if it is done correctly. I also think that Samuel L. Jackson would make an amazing Zaknafein.
Aslan may have been a literary metaphor for Jesus (literarily, not literally),
but Jesus doesn't come in and kill all your enemies by summoning a river elemental.
Jesus just brings out the whip and tells them to GTFO in a loud booming voice and they GTFO. end of story. his house, his rules.
or grumpily tell the weather to stop being an A-hole so the apostles will stop waking him up and crying on his boat ride nap, which by itself is enough to scare anyone sh*tless.
i'm pretty sure if he wanted to, he could have summoned one, but the J-man didn't need an elemental, seeing as how he was an extension of God who's weakness happened to be "I have a mortal body and can be spear'd". Jesus might have been a nice guy, but he was pretty bad ass if caught in an off mood from the passages i've read.
as for the D&D movies... i would actually like for them to be like a zelda game.
seemingly normal fantasy stuff but twisted if you think about it. i mean, link is this normal elf kid, his parents are usually gone and he's raised by some family member, is given the green hat of destiny, and his whole world is twisted & turned upside down (doesn't even get the chance to be the prince, fresh or otherwise). while the games treat it with a pretty light-hearted tone some of the scenarios that the poor kid is thrown into is pretty harsh and downright lovecraftian...
like the water temple eye-boss in "Link to the Past" (all the eye-bosses in that game are pretty horrific actually) where you need to use your grappling hook to drag the crawling eyes that cover the main body away from it so you can attack it, slowly revealing the large disembodied eye, or how the entirety of the "dark world" is a twisted mockery of the "real world" as seen by Ganon's heart, which can corrupt and destroy those who don't have the proper protection (poor tree-guy).
or the entirety of "Link's Awakening" where the whole darn game happens to be the dream of some trans-dimensional leviathan-esque entity, the Wind Fish, and the end result forces Link to come the realization that his world is entirely fabricated and he needs to choose between waking the Wind Fish (and thus destroying the dream world and all the friends he's made in it) or be stuck in this realm until the end of time as the Wind Fish has decided to nap for all eternity.
I also think that Samuel L. Jackson would make an amazing Zaknafein.
I can see it now:
"I'm sick of all these mutha****in' spiders in this mutha****in cave!" ;)
You have a gaming group that gets together week after week to play, make them college students, each episode opens up with the group sitting down where are the cheetoing, and stuff. Once the game begins you have a transition into the game world, where you'd have full blown special effects and stuff. Who ever is DM would act as a narrator for the story that is about to unfold. The actors that are playing the players would also play the players characters. The DM would play one or for comedy sake 3 npcs, but NEVER the main bad guy.
It'll have a neverending story feel to it, but I think it would work.
DnD related Elaine Cunninghams Wind Walker trilogy is by far my favorite set of dnd novels to date.
I've never read the books(Narnia Trilogy)
It's not a trilogy if it has seven parts.
1st Tolkien and Lewis were friends and bounced ideas off each other. Tolkien was appalled by Santa's appearance as well.
2nd Army of the Dead were not at Pelanor Fields, it was reinforcements from Southern Gondor, which were raised once Aragorn lead the Army from the Paths of the Dead to defeat the Corsairs of Umbar. And yes they appeared in black sailed ships they had captured from the Corsairs.
3rd I always thought Icewind Dale and the Baldur's Gate Saga from the old Computer Game would be great for movie settings.
4th The Black Company would be awesome, but man would it be dark and dreary if done right.
Couple of things from this thread.
1st Tolkien and Lewis were friends and bounced ideas off each other. Tolkien was appalled by Santa's appearance as well.
2nd Army of the Dead were not at Pelanor Fields, it was reinforcements from Southern Gondor, which were raised once Aragorn lead the Army from the Paths of the Dead to defeat the Corsairs of Umbar. And yes they appeared in black sailed ships they had captured from the Corsairs.
3rd I always thought Icewind Dale and the Baldur's Gate Saga from the old Computer Game would be great for movie settings.
4th The Black Company would be awesome, but man would it be dark and dreary if done right.
Black company would be awsome if a bit grimmer. Ive only read through the books of the south and havent finished the series yet but they are really good.
This is also my "Ugh, Narnia" statement, which never has graced these boards, but we'll leave it that way.
To be honest, though, I complain about the Harry Potter films more then any other film in existance, so I have no room to talk, really. (Danm it, Hermione should be getting more freaking spotlight time. It's not fair!)
(Danm it, Hermione should be getting more freaking spotlight time. It's not fair!)
Snape's been getting snubbed a lot too in the past couple of flicks. Rickman's an amazing talent. I hope he has more to do in the new one.
... of course, ever since the mishandling of the Matrix, I should have less respect for WB anyway...
I assume you meant Dorkness Rising, unless there's another movie that uses the "dead-bard-pile" line.
That's what I said- Dorkness Rising! :D
. Frankly what Id like to see are movies based around the Tamora Pierce books. Those are awsome. .
I totally agree. I think all writers and filmmakers of children fantasy should emulate her work. her books are light enough for children but isn't missing any of the maturity adults would appreciate
I wonder, though...how well would it be accepted?
I have a bad feeling that no matter how well-done the effects were, it would still not set well with "die hard" D&D fans.
"Magic Missiles don't look like that!"
"An Elder Green Dragon is waaayyy bigger than that...and where's the nose-horn?"
"That beholder shot it's powers from the wrong eye-stalks!"
I mean, after watching the second D&D movie Wrath of the Dragon God with several people who did/do not play D&D, they enjoyed it. They just labelled it a "good fantasy movie with dragons". It's the die-hard D&Ders that tore it to pieces. I thought it was okay. The first movie, though...God...I've had outpatient surgeries that weren't that painful.
Actually, hardcore D&D fans I've talked to loved the second movie, and only complained about it's CG budget (it's obvious that it's only on par with the rest of the Sci-Fi Channel films out there, and doesn't have nearly the budget the first one
You know what I really have a hard time watching with D&D fans? Films completely unrelated to D&D in any way. I remember watching an anime where trolls turned to stone in sunlight, and one guy muttered "trolls aren't weak to sun, just fire!" I had to pretend he was only joking.
Heavy handed though it is, someone sufficiently unfamiliar with Christianity could still miss it.
t~
Up until he's
Hell, if that's not strong enough, Santa's there to finish hammering the idea into your head.
The Problems I have found with most movies based off a game setting (wether it be a video game or Role playing game setting) Is instead of trying to make a cohesive story line, they try to show off all aspects of the game. putting elements in that don't really add to the story or morphing elements horribly to make them fit.
I give you the first Street Fighter as a Prime Example. (Not that you could ever make a good movie out of that material
Watch the anime movies (there are four of them, if memory serves). They are INFINITELY better than that Jean Claude debacle was (even if they took liberties with the plot of the games).
Aslan may have been a literary metaphor for Jesus (literarily, not literally),
but Jesus doesn't come in and kill all your enemies by summoning a river elemental.
Nope, he transfers your enemies souls into a herd of pigs and mind-controls those pigs into drowning themselves in the local river. :D
:D
This is my obligatory "I Like the D&D Movie" statement.
This is also my "Ugh, Narnia" statement, which never has graced these boards, but we'll leave it that way.
I... I used to to trust you!
/Runs off into corner, trailing tears behind.
I totally agree. I think all writers and filmmakers of children fantasy should emulate her work. her books are light enough for children but isn't missing any of the maturity adults would appreciate
Yup though the Artemis Fowl books are great as well. I was actually rolling on the ground laughing at parts of them sometimes.
I thought it was actually pretty funny and the elfish girl in that show was pretty hot. Overall the show was dumb but I could laugh at it.
On a more serious note, I'd love for them to do a new D&D cartoon. But take a more serious tone with it. Like they did with Batman the Animated Series. Not too adult, just serious enough to be all kinds of fun. I think that would really hit the right chord with die hard and new fans alike. And might be much easier to pull off than a live action big budget fantasy summer blockbuster hollywood movie.
I'd like to see them do it as a sequel to the original set 26 years later, with the once wide-eyed naive kids now battle-hardened middle-aged veterans who long ago gave up trying to go home to Earth and acclimatized to the harsh realities of life in the D&D world. All the characters are grown up and much darker and more serious. Even the annoying Uni is now a massive charger and mount for the Barbarian who throws himself headlong into battle and smashing skulls - not floors - into a fine red paste with his warhammer.
The key conceit would be that the characters have grown up and gone their separate ways, each generally using their Earth-born knowledge in concert with their skills to rise to positions of power in their professions and classes (Hank leads the king's rangers, Sheila heads the king's secret police and is having a torrid affair with hank, Presto runs a magical college and consorts with demons, etc.). They are forced to come together once more to face a grave threat to the D&D world, a threat which turns out to come from Earth itself and lead by Eric who abandoned his supposed friends and returned to Earth leaving them stranded.
It'll never happen, but a fella can dream.
I'd like to see them do it as a sequel to the original set 26 years later, with the once wide-eyed naive kids now battle-hardened middle-aged veterans who long ago gave up trying to go home to Earth and acclimatized to the harsh realities of life in the D&D world. All the characters are grown up and much darker and more serious. Even the annoying Uni is now a massive charger and mount for the Barbarian who throws himself headlong into battle and smashing skulls - not floors - into a fine red paste with his warhammer.
The key conceit would be that the characters have grown up and gone their separate ways, each generally using their Earth-born knowledge in concert with their skills to rise to positions of power in their professions and classes (Hank leads the king's rangers, Sheila heads the king's secret police and is having a torrid affair with hank, Presto runs a magical college and consorts with demons, etc.). They are forced to come together once more to face a grave threat to the D&D world, a threat which turns out to come from Earth itself and lead by Eric who abandoned his supposed friends and returned to Earth leaving them stranded.
It'll never happen, but a fella can dream.
That would be made of epic amounts of WIN.
What do you guys think of that fantasy comedy series that aired recently on the Comedy Network (Channel?) Krod Mondoon & The Flaming Sword of Fire?
I thought it was actually pretty funny and the elfish girl in that show was pretty hot. Overall the show was dumb but I could laugh at it.
I watched the first couple of episodes. Overall, it elicted a couple of chuckles, but it wasn't so funny that I ever had the urge to watch it again.
Though I have to admit, there are moments where I said "Hey! My group's like that."
I watched the first couple of episodes. Overall, it elicted a couple of chuckles, but it wasn't so funny that I ever had the urge to watch it again.
Though I have to admit, there are moments where I said "Hey! My group's like that."
Same here it was okay just nothing spectacular.
I want an Elric of Melnibone' movie.
Yes, YES, omfg YES! I would totally love an Elric movie. I love the whole Eternal Champion series. The only thing I have ever seen done for Elric is the abortion of a video clip on Youtube. Elric and the whole setting have so much potential. Of course there is equally the possibility of it being an abortion like that video. Unless they had strict overseeing by Moorcock himself...