Jeremy Irons, Bruce Payne, Justin Whalin

There is trouble in Izmer. With the emperor dead from an assassin's poison, the 16-year-old princess Savina (Thora Birch) inherits not just the throne but also the royal scepter, which has the power...( read more  read more... ) to command gold dragons. With a youthful idealism, she decides all people should be equal, from lowly commoners to the ruling-class, magic-wielding mages. This doesn't sit well with the mages, so Archmage Profion (Jeremy Irons) leads a revolt in the Council against Savina's rule, forcing her to relinquish the royal scepter. In order to maintain her power, she decides she needs the rod of Savrille, which can control red dragons. To retrieve it, she hires two bumbling thieves, Ridley (Justin Whalin) and Snails (Marlon Wayans), and an apprentice mage (Zoe McLellan). The true trouble in Izmer is the fact that it's a poorly imagined world that cribs more from Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark than it does from the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game that shares its title. Director Courtney Solomon optioned the rights to the game in 1991, when he was 21, and should have spent the years since then drafting a coherent script. Mediocre special effects take precedence over story, and the actors try to make up for that by hamming it up. Irons, in particular, covers his embarrassment by chewing the scenery and spitting it out. Often unintentionally funny, Dungeons & Dragons is that fun kind of bad movie, whose cult status would be all but guaranteed if it weren't for a slow second act mired in the boring bumbling of the awkward thieves. Still, there are plenty of laughs to be had. --Andy Spletzer

Flixster Users

32% liked it

14,836 ratings

Critics

10% liked it

86 critics

PG-13

Directed by: Courtney Solomon

Release Date: December 8, 2000

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DVD Release Date: May 22, 2001

Stats: 1,760 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,760)


  • July 21, 2008
    I've been playing D&D since 1979, and this movie did not have enough of a D&D feel. Of course I stopped playing with the 1st Edition rules, I hoped that more monsters, character classes, armor-types, traps and spells from the D&D world would've been shown in this movie. Where wer...( read more)e all the wonderful monsters that D&D players know fondly from the game? I would've loved to see the onscreen representations of some of the famous monsters from the game. The filmmakers should've crammed the movie with tons of references to the actual game, so the D&D fans could pick them all out. The "dungeons" in the movie were extremely short. A vital part of the game is about a party working together, but in this movie - the hero Ridley went solo through most of the dungeons, while his companions waited outside -- what was the purpose of that? The ending made little sense, except to make way for a sequel. I would've prefered an ending that reverted to our world, showing a group of gameplayers sitting around a table, finishing up the story we had just seen. The scale of the movie seemed a bit cramped and staged. No attempts were made to combine the sweeping CGI vistas with the live actors. I think they should've left the scenes inside the scroll and the Ridley's dream of the baby dragon intact. On the DVD, you can see these scenes and others under the Deleted Scenes section. I think they ran out of time with this movie, and wanted it released in time for Christmas. If they had done more post production, it may have been a much better movie.
  • November 21, 2007
    If I can tell that a movie is bad at the age of 10, then I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that it's a pretty fucking bad movie.

    also gtfo Thora Birch, where is your career
  • July 21, 2007
    I loved the cartoon. Good adaptation.
  • July 1, 2007
    I REALLY wanted the Wayans' character to die, and I got my wish. The only good part of the movie.
  • June 25, 2007
    Its silly in places, but at least its mostly fun. Dodgy effects in places too.
  • September 15, 2009
    OMG they like killed D&D! How can a D&D movie with Jeremy Irons in it be so so bad. Oh wait, theres a Wayans bro in there too!
    Wrath of the Dragon God is a good D&D film--this is *not*.
  • August 4, 2009
    I never was exposed to the game, but I can't begin to imagine that it's anywhere near as awful as the film is. Not even worthy of competition against some of the Sci-Fi network's original movie clunkers. "Snails!!!!!"
  • July 18, 2009
    A weak movie adaptation in terms of story, acting and awesomeness, this one is mainly for all the gamers out there to see it in the flesh. A great game with lots of movie potential in it, but no one to use it...
  • July 14, 2009
    It was much better than I expected. The dialogue definitely got corny at times, but I have seen much worse. It was entertaining to watch.
  • July 5, 2009
    Lots of silly CGI and goofiness. It's never boring though, and I did laugh at a couple parts. Overall, not good by any means but still not too too bad.

Critic Reviews


December 8, 2000
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Alas, much of the dialogue is the silliest sort of fantasy mush, and a good deal of the picture appears to have been shot while the lighting guys were out to lunch.

December 8, 2000
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

The Wayans role is a total cringe -- a cowardly and stupid nonstop talker who is easily manipulated by and wholly devoted to his mentally superior buddy. full review

December 8, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The disconnects are so strange that with a little more effort, they could have become a style. full review

December 8, 2000
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Consists of a barrage of poorly staged fight scenes and dialogue that not even Arnold Schwarzeneggar in Conan the Barbarian could bring himself to utter. full review

View more Dungeons & Dragons reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • matheuscpn
    September 28, 2007
    Oh, god, why oh why they wasted D&D franchise in such a movie? My dream is to see an adaptation from the D&D's 80s cartoon (the kids that are on the roller coaster and then go to D&D world). Imagine how it would be! Somebody call Peter Jackson and demand the cartoon adaptation. It would be a guaranteed hit.
  • XxXsesshysangelXxX
    September 12, 2007
    i thought it was alright... but maybe thats why they never finihed it....
  • ThrghAGlassDarkly
    June 29, 2007
    I haven't watched this since last time I watched it. I hardly remember the whole movie but from what I recall it wasn't that good. The only thing I know about D&D that there was an animated series on tv many years ago and I watched it, though I was still young to understand..it. To D&D fans I think this movie was a total disspointment it could of been a LOT better and again I'm not even a total D&D nerd. I wouldn't watch this again if I saw it on the shelves and I was bored, I'd pick something else...
  • Joseph1987
    March 3, 2007
    is there actually ANYBODY who liked that movie?
  • doxhaelend
    December 3, 2006
    LOL, not just the ending (it was worst), but I didn't get the entire movie...
  • Clemontine
    November 14, 2006
    I totally didnt get the ending.

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Dungeons & Dragons Trivia


  • In what movie do Justin Whalin, Marlon Wayans, Thora Birch, Bruce Payne, and Jeremy Irons all appear in together?   Answer »
  • In the very beginning of "E.T." - what game is Elliot's older brother playing with some friends?  Answer »
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