Attending my first press screening ever, I had the pleasure of seeing Dungeons & Dragons last Monday. Tagging along was my little sister Lucie aka The Scarlet Witch. I'd like to thank Alliance/Atlantis Vivafilm for allowing me on their Press list. My review of the film is published below along with my sister's opinion of it and Q-Brick's take on Vertical Limit.
My Review of Dungeon & Dragons
I'm not usually a fan of fantasy films. I have never read any of The Lord of The Rings books or played the Dungeons & Dragons game. I can't name a fantasy film that I really enjoyed. After seeing Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon on Saturday and this film yesterday, I'm ready to give the genre a new chance.
In the mystical land of Izmer, young Empress Savina (Thora Birch) wants to reform the kingdom. Scaring the assembly of mages, evil Wizard Profion (Jeremy Irons) gains the political control of Izmer. A race against time begins to save Savina's throne. She needs the Rod of the red dragon, that controls, you guess it, the powerful red dragons. A crew of misfits are dispatched to retrieve the Rod. They include thieves Ridley (Justin Whalin) and Snails (Marlon Wayans), young hottie Mage Marina (Zoe McLellan), Elwood (Lee Arenberg) the dwarf and Elven tracker Norda (Kristen Wilson). Moving around different locations in Izmer, the group are on the run from Profion's evil henchman Damodar (Bruce Payne). Will they find the Rod in time to save Savina? Who will gain control of the red dragons?
The film is quickly paced which help the story greatly. We move from one challenge to another one. It never slows down, which in my opinion could have killed the film completely. Other then that, the visual effects are pretty amazing for a $35 million budget. The script lacks depth or humor. Jeremy Irons sounds like he's spitting out lost dialogs from His Lion King character Scar. Marlon Wayans is a dumbass through most of the film, thank god he gets killed off. Zoe McLellan is hot, but lacks acting skills. The only decent performance is Bruce Payne who scared the crap out of me with his villainous performance. The acting is horrible, the story is okay and the direction is allright. A decent little film, but my advice is wait for it on video.
Review #2
"If you liked Star Wars: Episode One, then this film will seem like deja-vu. The same formula is recycled: a young courageous queen, who's ready to die for her kingdom, against a villain who's part of the royal council. Actions scenes are interesting but a little too predictable, with the rest of the story which seems to be taken from an afternoon soap opera. The film does have incredible visual effects which make up for some of the too easy-to-follow plot. The acting isn't too bad. Jeremy Irons as the evil Profion, vaguely ressembles his Lion King role of Scar. Bruce Payne, Profion's evil henchman Damodar, is convincing as the controlled against his will villain. Even with all the action, there's only one interesting element to the film, Marlon Wayans, who doesnt leave us bored with his performance. I'd gladly go see it again for his role."
(Review provided by 'The Scarlet Witch'.)
Vertical Limit Review
"The plot of Vertical Limit is Screenwriting 101. The story line follows all the rules of high concept story telling. The author must be fresh from a session with Syd Field or Robert McKee. Basically, you grab the audience in the first ten minutes of screen time, establish the characters, set them in motion towards a goal....then place obstacles in their way. It's what some of us hacks refer to as a 'paint by numbers' plot. But you know what...it works like a really well-oiled action machine thanks to director, Martin Campbell.
From the breathtaking opening sequence, when Peter Garrett (Chris O'Donnell) loses a loved one in a high desert climbing accident, we know he will be called on to face his fears and a potential loss again. Those challenges come when he must rescue his sister Annie (Robin Tunney) and other climbers. They are stranded on the icy, jagged slopes of the second highest mountain in the world: The treacherous K2 in Pakistan. They must race against time because the stranded climbers have reached the 'vertical limit' and will soon succumb to the lack of oxygen.
It's not enough to survive a killer mountain, the survivors have to deal with the Bad Guy. The fly in the ointment is Elliot Vaughn, a billionaire entrepreneur, played by Bill Paxton who literally believes in winning, at any cost. This is a part that allows Paxton (one of my favorite people) to stretch his bad-guy acting chops for a change. The rescue team that joins O'Donnell's on the slopes is augmented with a couple of boozing Aussie' brothers Cyril and Malcolm Bench (Steve Le Marquand, Ben Mendelsohn). They manage, despite their thick Down-Under verbiage, to deliver some of the funniest lines in the picture. Also in the cast, is Nicholas Lea who portrays the stranded team's guide Tom McLaren. Lea is already a very familiar face to those who recognize him as Krycheck from THE X-FILES.
I've compared Vertical Limit to a well-oiled machine. Again, that's not a complaint. This flick is crafted to perform by hitting the plot points with precision and visceral impact. And it works. That's why full-tilt, white knuckled action movies like Vertical Limit are called 'rides'."
(Review sent in by 'Q-Brick'.)
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DeadPool
