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Phylodox posted:As someone whose familiarity with Dungeons & Dragons is primarily through stuff like Critical Role and Dimension 20, I had him pegged as a one-off guest star like Wil Wheaton or Khary Payton. I'm still a little resistant to putting to much weight on the "this is someone's game" idea. It feels like someone's game, but I don't think that necessarily means that our takeaway should be that it is. That said, pegging the Paladin (is that like bashing the Bishop?) as a DM stand-in does map in a couple of places, but maybe most powerfully when he talks about irony as a weapon that harms the one that wields it? This could just be me, but my biggest hurdle when first playing D&D was casting off a protective layer of irony and just rolling with it, so that did feel a little metatextual to me.
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Apr 3, 2023 15:19
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I honestly don't think a movie needs to be anything other than fun and enjoyable, and it was both of those things. Been playing D&D and TTRPGs for years and it definitely captured the feeling of what makes those games so great: fun characters coming together to solve complex problems with interesting solutions. Maybe if I were my younger, more cynical self I would have had a problem with some of the more convenient plot devices, but I can excuse them because they were very relatable and also, honestly, not that big of a deal. For example, there's an item the characters need to get that ultimately turns out to be a McGuffin, but it did lead to a character learning something about themself in a way that was fun and satisfying. It was also a very earnest movie. I appreciated that it didn't really wink at the audience, or undermine itself by acknowledging how silly certain situations were. It treated itself seriously. It's ultimately a story about a dad who messes up and fails to acknowledge his mistakes. The path from the start of that plot point to the end of it isn't particularly deep, but it's handled nonetheless and the conclusion is satisfying.
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Apr 3, 2023 18:00
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Disco Pope posted:I'm still a little resistant to putting to much weight on the "this is someone's game" idea. It feels like someone's game, but I don't think that necessarily means that our takeaway should be that it is. There is definitely some meta-commentary within the movie itself. "This is the real world, magic can't solve every problem" was essentially their reasoning for Chris Pine's character not knowing how to use magic, even though Bards are one of the more versatility as powerful spell casters in the game itself. And Doric knowing mostly only how to wildshape. That being said I don't think it's a perfect film, or a perfect capture of D&D but it's strong enough at both that you forgive the missteps. For instance, in the last act Xenk has significantly more compelling reasons to involved than Doric for example. Nelson Mandingo fucked around with this message at 18:30 on Apr 3, 2023 |
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Apr 3, 2023 18:27
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Nelson Mandingo posted:
Well Doric hates both Sofina and Forge, cause they kept ruining things for her forest.
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Apr 3, 2023 19:43
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GigaPeon posted:If we're metagaming it, he felt like the DM PC. Massively overpowered cool dude who shows up to to save the party and then robotically walks away. Is he going to go left? Right? Nope. Right over the rock. My take was a player who came in late into the campaign and took it bit too seriously than everyone else, and they couldn't make it to next week's session so "I have to leave now" I loved that you can still see him walking in a straight line in the background when the Wizard and Durid were talking
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Apr 3, 2023 19:56
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i think the movie becomes substantially worse if you try to interpret it through the lens of "this is someone's roleplaying game" it's just a light-hearted action adventure movie with some fantasty elements. characters can stand on their own without them being someone's PC.
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Apr 3, 2023 22:14
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This might be one of the silliest movie toy. It's more expensive than the toys of the main characters.
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Apr 4, 2023 05:28
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they should have made it one of those ooze toys from the 90s so you can put your action figure in. Or like those aquarium dioramas
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Apr 4, 2023 10:52
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I know it was never going to be particularly violent, but it surprised me just how Saturday morning cartoon the fights were. I would've at least expected the barbarian to chop the head off a skeleton or something with that axe, but she almost entirely uses improvised weapons and knocks people over. the owlbear tosses people around and the bard hits a guy with his lute once, I think the sorcerer casts some spells at the end boss that don't work. I would've expected it to be on par with Guardians of the Galaxy, but it felt a lot tamer than that. Also absolutely no clerics on screen or religion mentioned at all, still haunted by the specter of the Satanic Panic I see. That said it was still a fantastic movie, a lot of fun to watch and I did geek out on all the Forgotten Realms stuff from the bad novels I read as a kid. I just thought it was kind of weird.
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Apr 4, 2023 16:13
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QuoProQuid posted:i think the movie becomes substantially worse if you try to interpret it through the lens of "this is someone's roleplaying game" I agree, and I actually think making D&D look like this in movies works in a different, better meta-textual way. I'm not big into the franchise but from what i've been exposed to, Forgotten Realms as a setting is pretty straight laced; closer to Xenk than the rest of the party, to use the contrast that other people brought up. It usually plays a little more lighthearted because the people playing it are having more fun with it than the strict text might indicate. The movie lets that particular sort of fun influence the interpretation of the source material. And really, that collaborative mode of story telling is at the heart of not just D&D, but all RPGs. EDIT: Also Xenk's exit was maybe the funniest gag I've ever seen in the genre of lampshading a thing that's happening. Boxman fucked around with this message at 16:38 on Apr 4, 2023 |
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Apr 4, 2023 16:35
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Alan Smithee posted:they should have made it one of those ooze toys from the 90s so you can put your action figure in. Or like those aquarium dioramas You can, it opens and a figure can go in.
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Apr 4, 2023 17:10
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Cool Dad posted:I know it was never going to be particularly violent, but it surprised me just how Saturday morning cartoon the fights were. I would've at least expected the barbarian to chop the head off a skeleton or something with that axe, but she almost entirely uses improvised weapons and knocks people over. the owlbear tosses people around and the bard hits a guy with his lute once, I think the sorcerer casts some spells at the end boss that don't work. I would've expected it to be on par with Guardians of the Galaxy, but it felt a lot tamer than that. I think that speaks to its strengths. It's not horny at all either. Fun for the whole family. That scene in the bar be like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCDQhznvJLg This is gonna be a bunch of kids' favorite childhood movie. GigaPeon fucked around with this message at 19:31 on Apr 4, 2023 |
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Apr 4, 2023 19:28
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so I was looking up box office info and I do find them oddly optimistic since most people are saying it's a long game since opening was not huge (but they aren't calling it an uphill battle) one thing of note, it made $5 million in China so uh, definitely not getting help there
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Apr 4, 2023 21:16
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This movie went so hard for no reason. Loved it, it was a lot of fun
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Apr 4, 2023 21:21
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Alan Smithee posted:so I was looking up box office info and I do find them oddly optimistic since most people are saying it's a long game since opening was not huge (but they aren't calling it an uphill battle) my understanding is that it may be deemed successful at a lower revenue # than most comparable films because Hasbro picked up something like half the tab and can recoup more via alternate revenue streams + viewing some of it as long term brand development expense e: another neat practical effect https://twitter.com/JohnFDaley/status/1643349126929588224?s=20 LGD fucked around with this message at 00:14 on Apr 5, 2023 |
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Apr 4, 2023 21:49
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Alan Smithee posted:so I was looking up box office info and I do find them oddly optimistic since most people are saying it's a long game since opening was not huge (but they aren't calling it an uphill battle) Yeah, I've had people who have no interest in D&D mention they've heard it's good, and it's been getting pretty good reviews so hopefully it will stick in theaters for a bit. 34M$ US and 75M$ total worldwide opening isn't great for a movie with a reported budget of $150 million but if it stays in the theaters for a bit and gets some decent streaming rights deals and what not seems it could end up doing pretty okay. Hopefully enough for a sequel. Does seem like kinda movie that will get good streaming numbers.
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Apr 5, 2023 00:46
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Mordiceius posted:I'm excited that people are finally seeing and enjoying this film. I worked on the team that managed the international localization/subtitling for the film, so I got to see it back in January. Some Australian comedians? Bud, that's Aunty Donna, creators of hit youtube video, Christmas Pud. Also I just saw it today, it's really good. I'm not even a big D&D fan besides playing maybe one tabletop campaign and some Baldur's Gate and a bunch of ill-advised novels as a teenager. I hope it makes enough money for sequels or spin-offs or whatever. I also expected Xenk to be evil but I forgot that he's a D&D paladin.
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Apr 5, 2023 02:06
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Tagichatn posted:Also I just saw it today, it's really good. I'm not even a big D&D fan besides playing maybe one tabletop campaign and some Baldur's Gate and a bunch of ill-advised novels as a teenager. I hope it makes enough money for sequels or spin-offs or whatever. I also expected Xenk to be evil but I forgot that he's a D&D paladin. 5th Edition paladin is actually a favorite of edgy Punisher-lovers thanks to both the Oath of Vengeance and Oathbreaker subclasses.
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Apr 5, 2023 02:08
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Just saw this movie today, and it's so much fun. You can tell that everyone involved loved what they were doing, and all the dumb nods to things like rust monsters, displacer beasts, and Saturday Morning Cartoons were funny and well done. Everyone gets their moment to shine, Daisy Head is intense and incredible as Safina, and Hugh Grant gives Chris Pine a run for his money on chewing the scenery. It felt like I was watching a great tabletop campaign, and I loved every minute of it. Also, how can you not love a movie where the villain does this?  LGD posted:
Oh poo poo, that was real?!?
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Apr 5, 2023 02:38
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The MSJ posted:5th Edition paladin is actually a favorite of edgy Punisher-lovers thanks to both the Oath of Vengeance and Oathbreaker subclasses. Rege-Jean Page plays Xenk as an Oath of Devotion "You can't spell 'Paladin' without 'Pal'" paladin straight up, and it's awesome. His bit at the Gnomish bridge is also incredible, and it feels like he's channeling his past experiences playing D&D where someone did something incredibly dumb when he takes that beat after Simon triggers the trap.
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Apr 5, 2023 02:43
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Bogus Adventure posted:Just saw this movie today, and it's so much fun. You can tell that everyone involved loved what they were doing, and all the dumb nods to things like rust monsters, displacer beasts, and Saturday Morning Cartoons were funny and well done. Everyone gets their moment to shine, Daisy Head is intense and incredible as Safina, and Hugh Grant gives Chris Pine a run for his money on chewing the scenery. It felt like I was watching a great tabletop campaign, and I loved every minute of it. 
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Apr 5, 2023 02:43
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lmao
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Apr 5, 2023 02:44
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For fun some lore stuff about some things in the movie. Neverwinter  The City of Neverwinter is known as the Jewel of the North and the City of Skilled Hands for it's various skilled craftsmen and cosmopolitan nature. The city probably gets it's name from the river that runs through it, the river comes from the nearby volcano Mount Hotenow and the fire elementals that live underneath the volcano heat the river, and cause it to carry a supernatural warmth with it. As a result the river and harbor don't freeze in the winter and the area around it has a warm climate. The city was nearly destroyed by an eruption from Mount Hotenow roughly 45 years before the current year, which killed the rulers of Neverwinter and devastated the population. About 30 years ago the current ruler of Neverwinter, Lord Dagult Neverember, came to power seeing the restoration of the city as a way to expand his mercantile empire. Neverember was at the time the Open Lord of Waterdeep another great City to the south of Neverwinter (Though not long ago in universe he lost his position as Open Lord due to corruption charges). Under his rule Neverwinter has regained most of it's former prestige, and is again considered one of the North's greatest cities. Harpers  A organization of fairly secretive do-gooders who believe that any group having too much power is bad and will lead to tyranny. As a result they try to foil the activities of sinister groups, and keep dangerous magical artifacts out of people's hands. The Harpers don't want themselves falling into the too much power group either and so are decentralized, acting as individuals or small cells, and are not aware of the whole group and it's members. Because they constantly meddle in various places the Harpers have a large share of enemies. Red Wizards of Thay  The Red Wizards are the rulers of the Eastern Nation of Thay lead by the Lich Szass Tam. Thay was generally known as a oppressive nation of slavers and cruel wizards before Szass Tam took open rule. After taking over the nation also became directly ruled by the undead who saw the living as chattel to expand their influence. The Red Wizards are greatly feared throughout the world, even the renegade Red Wizards who fled Thay and refused to bow to Tam still tend to be evil magic users. Culturally Thayans consider hair to be ugly and almost all of them shave their body hair.
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Apr 5, 2023 04:28
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Just another thought on this movie: Hugh Grant is such an inspired choice for Forge Fitzwilliam. He is constantly oozing smarm with a large cocksure grin while delivering arrogant and self-aggrandizing lines, like the whole (and I'm paraphrasing) father speech where he says, "I like having a child to mold in my image. It kind of makes me feel like a 'god.' Humph. A lord AND a god... I've done pretty well for myself, haven't I?" It's just perfect because it sounds like he's just playing himself in real life. Also, if you haven't seen the D&D cast take the alignment quiz, then please do. It's great: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaSE84pEN8Q
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Apr 5, 2023 06:30
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It felt really good to see things I loved as a kid (because I read tonnes of forgotten realms stuff) being on the screen and being taken seriously Even though it's a silly film it clearly LIKES what it's doing - it's a bit like Star Trek Lower Decks I guess. So much better than I expected it to be. BEYOND just "oh poo poo it's neverwinter in a film!" I actually didn't realise it was set in forgotten realms so I was glad to see that it was!
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Apr 5, 2023 12:25
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I loved this movie so much, you could tell everyone involved was having a great time. All the jokes landed, all the characters were authentic and fun. It was refreshing to see a big budget action movie that doesn't feel like it was written by a committee after all the MCU slogs we've gotten the last few years. A couple things that I REALLY loved: - They didn't make Chris Pine an idiot, which would've been the lazier version of this script. Everyone on the team was capable and likeable. - A fight between wizards that uses interesting spells, not just colorful fireworks (looking at you, every Harry Potter movie) - That single-shot escape sequence with Doric changing into like 10 different animals had me grinning ear to ear, just perfectly done.
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Apr 5, 2023 14:23
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Genuinely a pretty good movie
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Apr 5, 2023 14:50
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I'm happy it didn't do what I was dreading and obsess or make jokes about rules but instead took itself taking place in an actual real world that just happened to originate from DnD. Too many adaptations hide behind irony or detach from standing on it's own merits. The only moment that gets close is Simon explaining the limit for the corpses talking which was just a setup for the whole humorous sequence of digging up a bunch of graves to find out where the helm is which was pretty great. ChaseSP fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Apr 5, 2023 |
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Apr 5, 2023 17:22
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 What a wild world we live in.
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Apr 5, 2023 18:35
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smoobles posted:A couple things that I REALLY loved: That sequence is one of the best in the movie, and I hope it encourages D&D to give druids a little more flexibility in wild shape because that is what you'd expect to be able to do.
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Apr 5, 2023 19:05
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At the very least it would be nice to get some new sub-classes for Druid and Bard that trade spellcasting for the poo poo that Edgin and Doric can do in this movie.
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Apr 5, 2023 19:16
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My favorite thing about the movie was the friendship that Ed and Holga have. Like how Ed was able to cheer Holga up with a song after getting closure with her ex. It really shows how well the characters understand and care for each other. Also, I agree about Xenk being a DM NPC, it feels like they are actually playing a game of D&D and the DM going "Oh crap, this encounter I'm planning isn't build for a party this level. Lets have my 12th level Paladin make a cameo for this dungeon and then leave."
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Apr 5, 2023 19:26
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I thought Edgin was a pretty great example of a classic bard, or maybe one from the College of Eloquence? He's the group face, and most of his actions involve persuading, inspiring, or deceiving people.
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Apr 5, 2023 19:31
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Another thing I appreciated about the film is how sincere Holga is played. She is direct and every answer she gives is 100% genuine, regardless of how silly it is. It's great.
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Apr 5, 2023 19:44
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https://twitter.com/JohnFDaley/status/1642561067472629761 I think one of my favorite things about the film is how they leaned on practical effects as much as possible. I feel that's one of the aspects that makes the film feel like more of a classic action adventure film vs an MCU film. If this was an MCU film, Jarnathan would have been full CG.
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Apr 5, 2023 19:47
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I want Jarnathan to be brought back, if only cause that suit is cool enough that it would be waste to only have it for five minutes of screen time.
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Apr 5, 2023 20:36
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The baby lion was on screen for two seconds. Bring that puppet back, that owned.
Open Source Idiom fucked around with this message at 04:53 on Apr 6, 2023 |
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Apr 5, 2023 21:44
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Bring back the giant fish
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Apr 5, 2023 22:43
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"Owlbear"
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Apr 6, 2023 01:43
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It would be cool to see some more Dragonborn. Also Kobolds, but mainly because I have a soft spot for Kobolds thanks to Deekin Scalesinger and the Master Jumper shenanigans in Shadows of Undrentide.
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Apr 6, 2023 01:52
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