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Leading the way is the clever and affable rogue Ridley (Justin
Whalin) who, together with his pickpocketing buddy Snails
(Marlon Wayans) sets out to stop Profion getting hold of the
Royal Sceptre - which will give him power over the powerful
gold dragons.
Joining the group is Marina (Zoe McLellan), a bright young
mage who is determined to succeed in memory of her late master
who was killed by Profion's henchmen, led by a blue-lipped
killer Damidar (Bruce Payne).
As is the way of these tales nothing goes easily and along
the way the questers have to battle thieves, work out puzzles
and navigate elaborate mazes. And, it must be said, Dungeons
and Dragons really does capture the flavour of the board,
card and computer games of the same name.
The storyline is good, the acting good-ish, and the special
effects are pretty damn good indeed!
Whalin is handsomely roguish, although his sidekick Wayans
over-acts to blazes and his efforts tend to push the boundaries
of ridiculousness. Irons is reasonably restrained as the evil
Profion and walks a tight line close to putting his character
into caricature. It is a measure of his skill that he reins
himself in.
Payne is nastily thuggish as the No.2 badguy, although whoever
made him put on blue lipstick needs their bottom kicked. Birch,
as the serene Empress, is very ordinary.
McLellan, however, maintains an utterly believable character
throughout, as is Kristen Wilsen as the elf Norda, and keep
an eye out for the marvellous Richard O'Brien (of Rocky Horror
fame) who plays the head of a clan of thieves and an elderly
Tom Baker (Dr Who).
The transfer is near-perfect with fantastic colour saturation
and a superb blending of computer-generated and live sequences.
The night and low-light sequences are some of the best I have
seen and the sound is sensational.
All up, Dungeons and Dragons is fun - teens and all D&D
players will enjoy it. It's not brilliant, but as a light
bit of entertainment, I happily watched it through.
Conclusion: Movie 80%, Extras 85%
Continued:
DVD details at a glance >
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