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Review by Susan Granger
1 star out of 4
What's in your imagination is usually far better than what
filmmakers can project on the screen and never was that more true than
with this tedious sword & sorcery epic that lifts liberally from "Star
Wars," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Hercules," "Xena: Warrior Princess"
and the old "Sinbad" movies. Based on an elaborate role-playing game
which has intrigued young minds since 1974, the plot revolves around a
young thief (Justin Whalin), his buddy (Marlon Wayans), and a pretty
magician (Zoe McLellan) who become embroiled in a battle between the
idealistic Empress of Izmer (Thora Birch), who wants equality and
prosperity for all her people, and the evil sorcerer Profion (Jeremy
Irons), who wants to depose her. Since the Empress has a scepter to
summon Golden Dragons, Profion dispatches his henchman (Bruce Payne)
to find the Rod of Savrille that summons a stronger species, the Red
Dragons. Written by Topper Lilien & Carroll Cartwright and directed by
Courtney Solomon, it's quite confusing and complicated. The acting,
however, is abominable. Justin Whalin - dismissed by the villain as
"Pretty Boy" - smirks and struts like Han Solo, while Marlon Wayans
mugs outrageously in a JarJar Binks imitation and Thora Birch does her
Princess Leia routine. Jeremy Irons is ludicrous with his leers, and
Bruce Payne has a perpetual sneer on his metallic blue lips. So
where's the $36 million budget? Visual effects. I did like the elves
with their Vulcan ears, but movies based on games rarely satisfy their
core audience. Remember "The Super Mario Brothers" and "Clue"? On the
Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Dungeons & Dragons" is a cheap,
cheesy 3. At one point, Wayans wails, "This is dumb, dumb, dumb." I
agree. And Payne promises, "It was a mistake. It will not happen
again." One hopes.
Copyright © 2000 Susan Granger
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out of 4
