I watched Dungeons & Dragons (2000) so you don't have to

[@dan2124]

Okay but can we appreciate the fact Jeremy Irons has the absolute time of his life overacting as much as possible 😂😂

[@WritingJenS]

Yeah, I definitely think he was having a blast. I mean, he's a great actor, but the man knows how to camp it up when it's called for (Scar?!). I think he was really fun to watch in this movie -- one of the few things that is fun to watch here!

[@garynevills5562]

The absolute best and only good thing about this movie was Jeremy Irons hamming it up like this. I'm pretty sure he knew it was going to suck, and decided to give the audience something to enjoy.

[@rochellerodriguez6431]

I agree! I would much rather see actors do too much than be boring. He and Bruce were channeling the same energy as Alan Rickman did in Robinhood King of Theives and I'm here for it! 😂

[@Randomvideos3200]

The movie was actually supposed to be longer, but they didn't have a set anymore because Jeremy Irons completely chewed the entire scenery

[@ericfleming5522]

I'd watch any movie about any premise if it was just Jeremy Irons, Keanu Reeves, and Nicholas Cage competing to see who could chew the most scenery. That's the D&D movie I want to see. 😂

[@4thofEleven]

Between this and Eragon, I'm convinced you can get Jeremy Irons to appear in any movie as long as you tell him it has a dragon in it.

[@joncarroll2040]

If I had to guess I'd say he turned down a part in Dragon Slayer (which is phenomenal), regretted it, and has been chasing it ever since.

[@bobuxman3321]

I think he likes dragons 😂😂😂

[@TheAdam1995]

The difference being at least DnD was fun crap. Eragon is just total crap.

[@DarrylCross]

Jeremy Irons was also in the movie adaptation to The Colour of Magic & The Light Fantastic (based on the first 2 Discworld novels) playing as Havelock Vetinari, the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork. While he wasn't in the same scenes with them, there were also dragons in that film.

[@ak318]

I believe the lines forwhy he took up this movie was he had to pay for his new castle somehow

[@cleosan8150]

Somehow the image of Ginny sitting there, explaining her thoughts while petting a white cat gives me major Bond villain vibes and I'm here for it.

[@ericwarner7254]

Soooo Mr. Bond...

[@VictoriaStarratt]

And it’s a white cat too!

[@RoderickBall]

I saw this in the theatre its opening week. There was a really excited guy yelling out all the references. My friends thought he ruined the movie. I assured them he most certainly did not ruin the movie. That man got me through the movie.

[@markdunn5059]

The movie ruined the movie.

[@Stratelier]

Yeah, he didn't ruin the movie. There was nothing worthwhile to ruin.

[@joshuatempleton9556]

i watched it opening day and read the book before it came out and high hopes but it was nothing like the book.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

I saw the movie back then too, but apparently I blanked it out, because I barely remember anything Ginny showed except the ballet-dance of a showdown in the final fight. - Having had my memories refreshed, the SECOND D&D movie was actually a lot better. As in it was poorly acted (in part because it was poorly written and directed) but at least it was a party win.

[@lukamurphy2021]

That $2.99 is a business tax deduction and you deserve EVERY PENNY FOR IT.

[@davidbales8393]

At $2.99 to rent, if you and 29 friends split the cost among you, you'd each get your money's worth. Just the same as the live action Fist of the North Star.

[@theyetirulrs]

I wanted my money back… AT THE THEATER!

[@michaelsinnreich6626]

She may get that 2.99 back but that hour and a half of her life was irretrievably given in the service of this video.

[@3nertia]

Probably more than offset by what WoTC/Hasbro paid for her to drum up excitement for the new D&D movie :) I hope so at least ...

[@theyetirulrs]

@@3nertia it is possible to enjoy a movie/series/game without letting the issues surrounding it define the experience. Or at least it is for some of us…

[@jeremyhamilton4501]

I saw this in the theatre with my best friend. He had been complaining about Marlon Wayans being in it and threatened to throw his drink and walk out if he said "That's a big dragon!". Fifteen minutes into the movie, he of course says this, my friend grabbed his drink but I grabbed his arm immediately until he calmed down. It was the funniest thing about the whole experience.

[@jaredragland4707]

I'm conflicted about who is the better friend here, you for keeping him from splashing the theater with soda, or him for trying to start a walkout.

[@PungiFungi]

I ran out covering my face because I was so embarrassed being seen leaving the theater that was playing this.

[@fred_derf]

@@PungiFungi That's why you go to a multi-plex, and then hide in the bathroom after the movie ends for a while and leave with the crowd from another movie.

[@MrPogyM]

"If I were a dragon, I'd be so pissed at this movie." Says Ginny in her 9th minute of being pissed at this movie.👀

[@GinnyDi]

Okay, you found me out… I am a dragon

[@GrayPennell]

@@GinnyDi So is that a green dragon with acid shrill abilities 😜

[@Dalenthas]

​@@GinnyDi I knew it!

[@Spark_Chaser]

@@GinnyDi About time you finally admitted it.

[@Alche_mist]

@@GinnyDi We knew for a long time. Good to see it confirmed. Although, with the amount of chromatic colors you openly wear (and do that really amazingly, dare I say), I'm very unsure of how much can we trust you at anything. :-D

[@ProCrastiVisionJRD]

Despite the title of this video, I just want you to know that you have 100% influenced my decision to inflict this movie on my players in the near future 👍

[@Raven.flight]

That sounds very Lovecraftian lol

[@KBTibbs]

"Alright, please roll a group constitution check."

[@MystraRavenwind]

My kids at 3 and 6 said this movie was weird looking. That was 4 years ago. It definitely didn't age well.

[@WouldbeSage]

Please, please don't. Some movies deserve to be forgotten, and this one has been in my top 5 Worst Films since, well. Since I saw it in theaters.

[@ChrisLawton66]

@@LordZeebee so, if one hasn't forgotten seeing any movies, then there is no worst one? I don't follow your logic.

[@lancourt]

Not only did fellowship come out a year later than this... They were both New Line Cinema movies. Heck, Dragonheart came out two years before this and that dragon looks pretty good

[@TheOnlyToblin]

"LET THEIR BLOOD....RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIINNNNNN FROM THE SKIIIIIIIEEEES!" Jeremy Irons 100% knew what kind of movie he was in and he gave it 150% and had more fun than ever. It's a joy to see him just devour the scenery.

[@phyllissmith9426]

A proud graduate of the William Shatner school of overacting!

[@TonyCrenshawsLatte]

If I remember correctly, I believe that was exactly what the late Roger Ebert said about Jeremy Irons's performance when he reviewed the movie back then. 😂😂😂

[@shadejakva9367]

The dragon that ate him at the end probably wondered if it was Christmas with the sheer amount of ham it had just consumed.

[@WinningSidekick]

The guy who played Damodar also seemed to be giving it 150%! The villains are the only tolerable part of this movie lmao

[@paulgibbon5991]

No wonder there wasn't enough money to do the VFX properly, after so much of the budget went into replacing the scenery that Irons ate.

[@Its419games]

Honestly, Jeremy Irons' acting, to me, is one of the good things about this movie. It's like he thought, "The script is crap, but their paying me, so... Let's just go all in on the ham!" 😂

[@Sirgeshko]

Like Raul Julia in the Street Fighter movie, they realized it was crap and just owned it and had fun!

[@B.-T.]

@@Sirgeshko Except the Street Fighter movie was good, actually. It was just a better GI Joe movie than it was a Street Fighter movie.

[@milamberarial]

@@B.-T. You know, I have never thought about it like that, but your right. It does feel more like G. I. Joe.

[@MegaKnight2012]

He was determined to serve a full course meal of ham and cheese

[@isaacthomas1198]

I’ve heard he’s also one of the only good parts of the Eragon movie, so he seems to be a good actor who is for some reason always cast in bad fantasy productions

[@speculativemusings3593]

About the mage not having a cantrip? Yeah, that wasn’t really a thing back then. Her barely casting anything was actually the most believable thing to me.

[@danpitzer765]

Yep. Cantrip was a 1st level spell that was super-weak but ultra-flexible for regular tasks.

[@GoDamnWeird]

Cantrip has been around at least since the first printing of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in 1977. There are many variants of the spell, listed in Unearthed Arcana (1985). The Flame Finger Cantrip is based on the way Gandalf lights his pipe. Cantrip was totally a thing in 2000.

[@danpitzer765]

@@GoDamnWeird Cantrip was *not* an At-Will ability with unlimited uses. That's the point being made.

[@speculativemusings3593]

@@GoDamnWeird Cantrip as a low Level 0 spell? Sure, but you still had Level 0 Spell Slots that you had to manage. Cantrips didn’t become spammable until 5e, when they gave casting a major overhaul. TLDR: Cantrips didn’t exist then as they do today.

[@aliumbritt]

I extremely appreciate the hard cut from "I think people will enjoy watching it, especially if you watch it with your party" to "LET THEIR BLOOD RAAAAAIIIIINNNNNN FROM THE SKYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

[@teresaellis7062]

That was a great way to end the video 🤣🤣

[@RogueAgentJ]

I encouraged my gaming group to go see this in theaters back in the day. Some of them even brought their non-gaming friends along. I had so many apologies to make when we walked out of that theater.

[@guilhermedasilva1795]

The same thing happened to me with the Watchmen movie haha

[@snackums996]

@@guilhermedasilva1795 I'm still pissed at how they ended that movie. Setting up Doc Manhattan as an elf on the shelf on mars.

[@cvtuttle]

My frustration with the movie when it came out was that people around me (friends and family) who were aware I was into D&D at the time, left with the impression that THIS is what I was playing the entire time. It wasn't until a year later when LOTR came out that I pointed to the screen and said "THIS! THIS is what we are excited about when playing D&D!"

[@fabianlaibin6956]

Saved by the Balrog

[@matthewbreytenbach4483]

@@fabianlaibin6956 I believe you mean saved by the type VII demon Balor.

[@cameronpearce5943]

Man that line about pain could be so good. Like, Picture Vecna (specifically how he was depicted in the Vecna Dossier with his new terrifying art) saying calmly to the heroes/players "I'm going to show you a future. One full of pain, and new senses to feel it with" before using True Polymorph to turn one of the party members into some kind of horrific aberration or something

[@alexinfinite7142]

I was just thinking that. With a different tone, it takes on a menacing "I have no mouth and must scream" feel to it. Could have been great

[@themantyf1116]

Yeah, honestly that could have been a sincerely good exchange with a few tweaks. As you said, make the villain be chillingly calm about it (though excited works too) and the answer said as a declaration and not thinking it's a clever retort, and it works on both sides.

[@Magmakojote]

sounds like something out of Hellraiser :D

[@ellowthere]

Or polymorph him into a dolphin

[@markmontag162]

Jeremy Irons is on record in interviews saying that there are movies where he does his best and other movies where he collects paychecks. At least he's honest about it. Thank you for suffering through that for us.

[@TabletopTiger]

Yeah. Glad he went all out for this one and collected a paycheck on Reversal of Fortune.

[@hotspurre]

I've heard that a number of English actors have that an attitude of "Well, will it give me a good paycheck? Meh, who cares if the script sucks, I'm in." When Sir Anthony Hopkins was asked how he could be in such a bad movie as "FreeJack," he apparently replied "Well, one, they paid me money, and two, I always wanted to meet Mick Jagger."

[@TabletopTiger]

@Dan Marsh in all seriousness, I can imagine. Talents like Anthony Hopkins do a lot outside of film for them to really put their all behind and they can probably finance their lives doing film. Probably a healthier approach overall.

[@eacaraxe]

@@TabletopTiger One of the greatest full ham performances of that era, but still nothing compared to Raul Julia's M. Bison.

[@hotspurre]

@@eacaraxe "For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. For me it was Tuesday."

[@btgardener39]

My main recollection of the 2000 movie was seeing it in theaters, snarking relentlessly under my breath just to maintain my sanity, and my friend leaning over to whisper, "Stop that!" "Stop what?" "Stop being funnier than the movie!" 😅

[@EC10Classified]

Fun fact: this was one of the 1st movies I cried in the cinema watching. My dad thought I was upset that Snails had died. I was legitimately crying because it was such a bad movie.

[@nathanialisaacson1843]

Wow!

[@viktormon]

That's hilarious

[@LarisseMontrose]

The disappointment was that bad? 🤣

[@Eazy-ERyder]

Lol wow

[@ClockworkOuroborous]

@@LarisseMontrose have you not seen this thing?

[@vectorshaman338]

I vaguely remember Jeremy Irons answering a question about this movie. "I bought a damn castle, I said yes to every movie they put in front of me." 😂

[@emma-di5ly]

I remember seeing this with my friend about five or six years ago. Our favorite part is when the puddle of blood started appearing next to the dragon before you could see the wound bleeding.

[@cameronpearce5943]

"Just like a thief to take things that doesn't belong to them" great line, 10/10, no problems here

[@Sturmjaeger]

Right up there with "People die if they are killed."

[@jennabarnum1251]

And "Life needs things to live."

[@irrevenant3]

Weirdly that might be the most D&D thing about the film. In D&D you can be a lawful thief who only uses their thief skills for dungeon delving and the like, and never uses them in an illegal way. This dialogue sounds like stigma against the thief class rather than a tautological statement of fact. Which yup, fits D&D. Not that I think for a second that they did that on purpose. xD

[@marvdaniels5603]

"....oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no ... how do you think I amassed all this wealth?"

[@johnpotts8308]

If a lot of my experiences playing D&D are anything to go by, the "Aren't you part of a corrupt order?" "Maybe - but I'll make out with you" "OK then" exchange is perfectly believable! (Hopefully I've grown to be a little less shallow since then).

[@Dannydarko27]

Yeah even the Clean Up crew joke is something you'd hear at a table messing around

[@vernandsockey8611]

@@Dannydarko27 My players just tried to convince the Xanathar Guild (Including the guy they'd just shot) they were part of the kitchen staff. So that is actually the most realistic part of the movie.

[@thomasgarrison2100]

It's worth it just to watch Jermy Irons haveing a blast making a meal out of every line. He's giving it so much energy and he's loving it.

[@brak666]

One of the most surreal experiences I've ever had was watching the DVD commentary of this movie. They genuinely thought they had made a great film.

[@VosperCDN]

Seriously? Who would think that .. oh wait, that would be the same team that felt the 16th rework was the best, as Ginny mentioned.

[@NoNumbersAfterName]

The director's commentary is the one true way to enjoy the movie.

[@misery13666]

Best line in the whole movie comes from snails complaining to Ridley, as they climb the side of the magic school. "Whose idea was it to rob the halfling’s house? Yours. Who got caught? Me. Who got beat from the waist down? Me."

[@kylethomas9130]

That got a chuckle out of me.

[@NaivokWolves]

I always laugh when Snails says "We might as well rob God while we're up here"!

[@alexinfinite7142]

He had legit moments that felt like a dnd character.

[@johnevans5782]

@@alexinfinite7142 Snails was the best character in the film, in my opinion, and stole the show.

[@alexstoner4446]

that was a funny moment. along with this is the line ridley is the new word for stupid. this is the ridleyest thing to do. before finding out how big the jewel was

[@CmdrUD87]

Jeremy Irons chewing up the scenery is just the best part of the movie to me

[@JustBcozx84]

I remember seeing this in theaters in 2000, I remember being amazed at how bad the dragons looked considering that Dragonheart came out in 1996 and had way better looking dragons. I took a friend who I was trying to convince to play D&D to it, he decided to not join my campaign.

[@leonora7032]

Oh no, that's so sad. F

[@youngrootv]

Reign of Fire came out 2 years later and they have some of the best looking dragons still to this day which is also crazy to think about

[@corradosecchi6810]

Well, Dragonslayer came out in 1981, it had probably the best dragon ever in movie history and it did so on a lower budget, even adjusting for inflation.

[@seanfox4121]

Ouch.

[@JustBcozx84]

@@corradosecchi6810 that was a practical dragon though, always going to be better, I'm talking CGI, Dragonheart used CGI

[@tristartist]

This movie has a special place in my heart. I loved it when I first saw it as a kid because it was the first movie I ever saw that had elves and dragons and discernible classes. Great watch if you're 8 years old, actually.

[@tntori5079]

100%. I can’t help but love it =)

[@iananelson8256]

I think that's part of the problem, the writers were treating it like D&D is a game for children and gave it the same level of effort and respect that they have given movies like Battleship. 20 years ago unless you knew someone who played TTRPGs or played yourself, the common perception was that it was just for loser nerds. KZbin and Twitch have honestly exposed so many people to versions of D&D that are much more nuanced and entertaining than anything Hollywood has done. Stranger Things then made even more people curious enough to find all the live play stuff. Not to mention the creators like @Ginny Di who try to make it approachable for everyone.

[@Zuendfunken]

Same here. I loved Thora Birch as the Empress and watched the video cassette with the movie probably several dozen times.

[@Gib01]

Part of the problem for me is that I didn't recognize many classes that I wanted to see. Give me rangers and paladins and illusionists and clerics and magic-users that cast spells that I know from D&D.

[@LaMirah]

I don't think it would be hard to make the movie feel like a D&D session. You've described how to do it it just minutes earlier! An ensemble cast leaning on each other's unique skills and emotional support to beat the odds and underdog their way into fame and fortune does the trick. If they have trouble visualizing that, have them watch the old D&D cartoon; but since it's a movie and not a series they must make sure that all of the main cast get their own mini-arc and their own scenes to shine. Since there is so little D&D media they can lean on the stereotypes: one jocky warrior, one rogue with a heart of gold, one team-mom priest and one nerdy wizard, or go for something more progressive like an amazoness tank, a horny bard, a nature-loving druid and a sorcerer with trust issues, but they should make sure to cover the four roles.

[@MrGlenbw]

The real problem here is that NONE of the filmmakers who worked on that movie didn't even know how a D&D board game should work, let alone a simple plot from any episode of the 80s animated show.

[@picachufan2000]

My d&d group made a day of watching this movie and said the best way to make this more accurate is if Snail's actor comes back as a new party member

[@dawidscheffler7152]

Returns as a suspiciously similar character named "Slug"

[@picachufan2000]

@@dawidscheffler7152 Their twin brother that was never mentioned in the story but Ridley swears Snails had told him about so we have to trust him

[@MutantSentry]

“You seem trustworthy, would you like to join us on our noble quest” -The Gamers (by the Dead Gentlmen, 2002)

[@ztreedad3579]

Comes back as different, but identical looking character, which of course NOBODY acknowledges or even seems to notice...

[@dcbanacek2]

I recommend you check out the two "sequels" to the 2000 version: "Wrath of the Dragon God" and "The Book of Vile Darkness". Presumably made for less, they both at least have more of a "D&D" feel to them. TBoVD has the interesting scenario of a paladin having to infiltrate a party of evil adventurer's to save his father from being sacrificed to the BBEG.

[@jerryharris876]

For Wrath of the Dragon God the actors were given PHs so they could see what their classes do & when they asked why they should be afraid of the cardboard cutout of the white dragon they were shown that entry in the MM to see what a white dragon could do to their characters.

[@jang7675]

Wrath of the Dragon God is not a good movie, but I love to watch it.

[@RobertHReaper]

I knew of the first sequel but wasn't aware of the second.

[@RobertHReaper]

But it is a lot better than the first movie lol

[@bernadmanny]

I especially like the part in tBoVD where the mouthless character moves his jaw like he's speaking and still has no mouth. Not to forget the gratuitous sex scene, I love how bad the DnD films are.

[@VanNessy97]

Now I want a D&D movie that's all about the players derailing the DM's campaign and the DM being initially shocked, but just rerouting the story to whatever the players wanted to do

[@InitialDave]

The thieves guild maze exists solely for the gag of it being a crystal maze... with Richard O'Brien in charge of it. If you're British and over a certain age, this is quite possibly the funniest easter egg ever.

[@MGedson]

Also I'm convinced the Elwood's player is the DM's kid sibling and their Mom said, "You have to let them play with you and your friends or you can't play that game in the house!"

[@IamZiggyStardust]

I remember seeing this in theaters and LOVING it. It's what got me interested in D&D and RPGs in general. I know it's a bad movie, but I feel like if I rewatched it now the magic will be gone. Better to hold on to my bad taste as a child haha

[@learyth]

I tried so hard to forget this movie exists and you just had to dredge it up from whatever dark pit it was in. Had me rolling with the "magic danger cattle" though.

[@seandunne6714]

It's It's in my DVD collection.

[@americannerdinnz]

@@seandunne6714 WHAT! Oh my lord, why would you do that to yourself? What happens if your children accidentally watch it?!?

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@americannerdinnz It will be easier to manage them as they rock back and forth in a fetal position in the corner?

[@OscarGreenworth]

This movie is actually good. You just have no taste. This cinematic masterpiece should be seen by every human in earth. In all seriousness it’s a dumb fun movie that’s in the category of “so bad it’s good” just like the movie “The Room”.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@OscarGreenworth It is the kind of movie that should be given the MST3K treatment.

[@reaganduggins5279]

"Magic Danger Cattle" literally laughing out loud, so well said xD

[@HouseOfKannan]

I now want Magic Danger Cattle as a herd-type wandering mob in my random encounter tables.

[@danielterra4773]

Lawful Evil Ginny's rant is just as fun as Chaotic Good Ginny's tips and lessons. Can't wait for the new movie review

[@WhiteOwl1061]

In AD&D there were the Orbs of Dragonkind that could control dragons. The staves were probably a knock off of those.

[@bukharagunboat8466]

The Orbs of Dragonkind first appeared in Eldritch Wizardry, so older than AD&D 1E.

[@HouseOfKannan]

​@@bukharagunboat8466 really? I thought those were created for and introduced in Dragonlance. I had no idea they predated that setting.

[@bskec2177]

They were kind of big deals in the DragonLance books.

[@Daktangle]

They were there in 3rd edition too

[@digifreak90]

They're also in the DM's Guide for 5e, though they're called Dragon Orbs in that (though in the description they are also referred to as Orbs of Dragonkind)

[@rileywildman3224]

And yet, this was my introduction to DnD. Still remember my Dad showing me his old D&D books after the movie and me pouring over them excitedly.

[@blindbrad4719]

And then you've discovered this film is a perfect representation of a D&D game. LOL

[@TheBasketBaller00]

So thankful for you being true to yourself Ginny! Despite the flack sadly other might give. I’m glad there’s a bit less click bait hate, and more rational honest and neutral/softly positive things out there!

[@EMbrokehp]

In the first movie's favor, "LET THEIR BLOOD RAIN FROM THE SKY!!!" lives rent free in my head and comes out when I need a good laugh.

[@geoffreycannon2197]

For me, it's the entire "I'm going to create new types of pain, and new senses for you to feel it with" comment. Such a magnificent threat 😍❤️

[@NaivokWolves]

I legit love this movie. It's one of those "It's so bad, it's good" My wife and I watch it pretty often.

[@matts3549]

Same! I watched it for the first time this year and had an absolute blast.

[@benstormrider7173]

My guilty pleasure also! This came out just when I came into dnd

[@josephperez2004]

I saw this movie when it first came out. Best part of the experience, one of the trailers was actually for Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. I still remember the text that went with it. You walk alone... You run alone... You fight alone... But when you die... the whole world dies with you.

[@kmratliff]

Also, I remember hearing that there was originally a scene shot where that dissolve at the end of the movie actually ended up zooming out to a table with the main cast around it actually playing D&D and having a very meta moment with Jeremy Irons as the DM. I think, if that is true, it would have made the movie actually better because it would have become self-aware camp instead of a try hard epic fantasy. I don't have a source to cite on this, because it was something that I remember from watching the back when it came out in theaters that I think was mentioned in a commentary or interview.

[@naturejohn]

That would have made a huge difference. Wish they did that.

[@scatz4994]

i think it would just make ridley a bad DM. the other characters were just, as Ginny said, "shafted"

[@davidparkes7741]

Weirdly that's how I hope the new movie ends.

[@naturejohn]

@@scatz4994 they said Jeremy Irons was the DM in this scenario

[@tsifirakiehl4250]

I think that pull back would show the DM talking to Ridley’s player about how awesome and special his character is, while the rest of the party has gotten bored of their characters being neglected and gone home.

[@DerJagerlord]

I think I watched it with some friends who played D&D back in like, 2004? I don't remember it being good at all. However, that said, I totally have warned everybody that instead of session on April 1st, we will be going to the D&D movie. It's not a requirement, but if they've got nothing going on that night (and they probably won't) we're going to go see it. XD

[@wisdomwizard3620]

April fools !

[@kilara9223]

Haha my party is doing the same. 😂

[@PaulGuy]

Something will come up for one of them, two others will be late, someone will think it was the next weekend and have made other plans, and one won't have any money.

[@jaredsmith4507]

I saw this in the theater, and complained to all my friends over our entire dinner together about how bad it was. They were so amused by this they insisted we all go see it immediately, so I saw it TWICE in the theater. They had a good time on their viewing since I had prepared them for what they were going in to.

[@marypuppo8262]

I remember seeing this, and being SUPER excited because 3.0 had just come out...and it being just *awful*. And I was told that I didn't get it, or I was a kid or any other excuse. No, it was a bad movie. Thank you for suffering through this for us, and I'm genuinely glad to hear you enjoyed the new movie.

[@PaulLefebvre]

Oh... it was TERRIBLE. You're not alone in your assessment.

[@joelbarba3]

lol, wait, who tried to gaslight you? were you talking to the director? hahaha

[@marypuppo8262]

@@joelbarba3 My dad & older male relatives. It was not a good time lolol.

[@nalublackwater9729]

@@marypuppo8262 Your dad and older relatives have no idea. My older brothers (long time D&D players) hated it.

[@madbadbat]

I saw this in the theatre back in 2000. The hype and expectations leading up to it was exciting. I read articles about how it was 10 years in the making - the planning and the story was supposed to be so refined and was "made for the fans." And within minutes I had to start telling myself "it's gonna get better, it's gonna get better..." a few minutes later it was, "it can't get worse, it can't get worse..." and then it was "ohmigawd it's worse!" I think I spent the rest of the time in shock. Did I actually see a group of (presumably educated) magic-users act like an unruly street mob? Did I see two guys get roped together standing beside each other and not be able to turn sideways to get loose (I guess you could argue it was magic, so... meh)? BUT did I see the same footage of a camera pan toward a poorly rendered CGI castle tower used over and over? Did I see a bunch of extras walking around in the background literally just wearing hoodies as a costume? Did I see the most puffy elf I've ever seen in a fantasy movie? Did I see a dwarf eat a chicken leg so badly that pretty much all of the meat fell out of his mouth and landed in his beard? Did I see a beholder behaving like a guard dog??!! The answer is Yes, gawdammit, yes, I saw ALL of those atrocities and more... And Ginni, you make a great point about how the whole movie was about one hero in the party... it was one of the things I noticed 23 years ago. The dwarf spent all of his time being knocked to the ground and eating like a senile bear with half his teeth missing. The "trophy girl" spent all of her time being helpless. The ranger spent all of her time being aloof, yet doing nothing to earn aloofness. Snails spent all of his time squealing like a coward and then he dies. They literally could have not bothered to have a party at all and it would have been the same movie. Sorry for the rant.... but this movie set the bar VERY low for a D&D movie... ;)

[@braydenchadwick9836]

She mentioned the dwarf only once in the video too!

[@grindsaur]

Yeah, the bar is set so low that the fighter can't bend it without deforming the planet...

[@MonkeyJedi99]

OHMYGOSH! I forgot about the guard-dog beholder. I am very cross with you for making me remember that.

[@madbadbat]

@@MonkeyJedi99 My apologies... it is a wound that cuts deeply...

[@B.-T.]

"The most puffy elf"? Are you referring to revered British TV actor Tom Baker here?

[@didyouputyournameinthegobl8674]

As a 12 yo dm I would like to just say my work is far better than these writers will ever make. “ you are now equal” could be easily shown through a small gesture of kindness or even a big change like an area that was once closed to one group is now open.

[@QuadratusTiberium]

Dude you’re 12?

[@didyouputyournameinthegobl8674]

@@QuadratusTiberium 13 now. Why do you ask?

[@QuadratusTiberium]

@@didyouputyournameinthegobl8674 well you’re a DM at the age of 13 to me, as a 13 yo myself i really like D&D but I just never got to enjoy it that both A. Because I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed and B. I just don’t have time. I just think that you being a you DM is rad

[@didyouputyournameinthegobl8674]

@@QuadratusTiberium thanks man. I’ve always been smarter and more mature then kids my age so running dnd game isn’t as challenging to me as it is for others. I also have the added benefit of being friends with my teacher so she made a club for me and my party.

[@ivantek81]

In the original theatrical release, there's literally a line about Ridley; "Does he know he's the chosen one?" "No, but he will."

[@twil004]

The fact that The Fellowship of the Ring came out just a year after this is nuts.

[@Samara0-0Ray]

I deeply love this movie so much, as a kid who grew up with nerdy parents this was one of the first intros to the DND world before I got to play ttrpgs myself, yeah it's bad but it's so cheesy and tropey that it feels like a guilty pleasure and I can put it on and still get just a speck of that childlike feeling again.

[@Samara0-0Ray]

All the points made are completely correct and absolutely valid its a trainwreck of a movie but sometimes we want a cheeseburger instead of a gourmet meal.

[@ChrisLawton66]

04:30 Jeremy Irons new EXACTLY what to do with himself and he pulled no punches. He was brilliant and should be acknowledged as such.

[@GinnyDi]

Jeremy Irons had just bought a castle and wanted a paycheck. I'm not saying he was trying to do a good job and failed... but I think it's too generous to act like he thought his approach was a good one 😂 the man was just getting through it

[@hunrahel]

Jeremy irons is WHY to watch this

[@silasrobertshaw8122]

Irons knew it was a goofy, stupid movie and he just went with it.vvi don't anything against him. However, there was another famous actor who had a part in what he described as goofy and hokey sci fi movie, but he gave it a go, and Star Wars: A New Hope was better for it.

[@hotspurre]

@@silasrobertshaw8122 He apparently wasn't really happy with the role - I heard once he was supposed to have more lines in "Empire" but asked "Can't we have the little green puppet say that?"

[@silasrobertshaw8122]

@@hotspurre he really did think the whole thing was kind of rubbish. My little 8 year old mind thought it was the best shit ever.

[@angryfroggo6394]

The last couple of minutes of this was the kitty just intently listening to Ginny talk and honestly, that's the best thing

[@thememeslinger7506]

The single upside of this movie is Jeremy Irons delivering one of the most hamtastic performances in cinematic history

[@matthewbreytenbach4483]

Now I kind of want to see the ultimate battle of the ham sorcerers, Profion versus Darth Sidious.

[@stockvillain]

Watched this one with the kiddo a couple of weeks ago, and she had a blast with Profion chewing the scenery "hey, kiddo. That's the guy that voiced Scar!" "WHAAAT?!"

[@Scalesthelizardwizard]

Aww

[@TsushiRoll]

I have such good memories of rewatching this movie tons of times as a kid :( As a kid in Puerto Rico with next to no DnD exposure, it was the closest i could get to it.

[@TubeRadiosRule]

Not to mention there was pretty much ZERO resemblance between the movie, as a whole, and D&D game lore. It's basically a generic fantasy movie that shares the name, but not the source material. "Honor Among Thieves" is the only one that actually got it right!

[@SquarePegs]

Over the last couple of years, my son has really gotten into D&D. As an old school 2E player, this fills me with so much happiness. We're taking him to Honor Among Thieves next weekend, and he has zero idea. I can't wait. :D

[@Thanatos--]

That's so cool. Faith in Humanity +1

[@dennislogan6781]

I enjoyed all the early 2000's D&D films. They weren't great but it was all we had then and I watched them over 20 times each. A guilty pleasure.

[@fighting.words.ma.library]

I remember seeing this in theaters, and everything you say is true. That said, I *love* the baddies in this! They're so cartoonishly over the top! Bruce Payne is such a great baddie (he returns for the sequel- did you know there was a sequel?), including in "Highlander: Endgame". 2000 was a great year for him to be sinister in movies that I'll only watch once, I guess. But I really liked his presence.

[@Daelyah]

The blue lipstick on his blackguard made his aesthetic just *POP!* for me, as a kid. I still adore that look, to this day, even though there's not much else (beyond Jeremy Irons and the brief appearance of a beholder) I could say that still leaves positive nostalgia, from this film.

[@Vitaee13]

Thank you for making this sacrifice. You have taken a very painful bullet for so many people. Saw this with one of my D&D groups a few years ago. It's beyond description how bad it is. The icing on the cake for my group was that one of our players was actually named Marina. We definitely blamed her for quite a while. 😁 On a brighter note, got a chance, with mostly the same group, to see an early screening of Honor Among Thieves a few days ago. It is definitely worth seeing for any fan of the fantasy genre. Although, t here are a few things that will make more sense to players of 5e.

[@silvercrystal2009]

As a fellow Marina, I will definitely be doing everything in my power to hide this movie from my dnd group

[@Vitaee13]

@@silvercrystal2009 You'll need something to cover up the rotting stench coming from this movie, or the odor will give it away. I recommend using bleach.

[@ismolatham4393]

I feel like a DnD film done Bugsy Malone style with all kids playing the parts would be so good!

[@_fedmar_]

This gave me an idea: you know how in cartoons you sometimes find filler episodes about DnD? Imagine that, but 2 hours long and actually good.

[@crpgdungeonsdragonsnight]

My big beefs with the movie were that from the start there was a 'main character'. The Dwarf barely is around, and the elf never wants to do anything: "this task they must do alone." WHY?! I never understood the hate on Snails when he's the only one that acts like how a D&D player would play him, and once he died, I lost interest in the rest of the film. Ridley goes through the poorest excuses for dungeons alone the majority of the time while the rest of the party either voluntarily or by 'fate' sit things out. A maze is three consecutive rooms with an easy to solve puzzle (how people died from them I have no clue). A barrier only lets Ridley through for some unknown reason. And there's so many other crimes that if this was a campaign I was running, my players would lynch me. Well, at least it makes a good example on what not to do.

[@Ali_forward]

Great review! Our DND crew watched it, and the best part is after the film release, Jeremy Irons was asked why he did the movie, he replied "I'd just bought a castle, I had to pay for it somehow."

[@smallbluesphere]

Went to the cinema to see this when it first came out. It has a very special place in my heart. Jeremy Irons is the only person in it who knows how bad the movie is and is therefore acting accordingly. Poor Thora Birch doesn't seem to know what she's got herself into and doesn't know what to make of it. When we saw it, we laughed pretty much all the way through because it was so bad. I still enjoy watching it just because it is so bad. I 've always felt that if they ended it by cutting back to a group of kids playing in a basement, it probably would have helped ig out.

[@silverjohn6037]

Also saw it in the theater and thought it was a decent B movie. Of course that was before Lord of Rings came out so expectations for fantasy film quality wasn't very high;). I'd put it in the same class as the Conan knock offs from the early 80's.

[@teresaellis7062]

That ending would be perfect. Very much like the movie Gamers.

[@GhostBrigader]

I am a huge fan of bad movies and this one is honestly one of the best. I know you are looking at the movie as a "real" movie but if you look at this the same way one looks at like "the Room" or a B movie from the 80s this is a classic.

[@MaryDunford]

I love bad movies too. But there's one out there (from the 80s) *so bad* you might rethink it. It's called "The Zodiac Killer". I don't remember if I picked it, or my brother did. We were kids at the time. But it was so awful no one could watch it longer than a few minutes before fast forwarding it. The movie became the butt of many scathing jokes, and baseline comparison for all bad movies anyone in my family watched (for many years to come). If you think you can handle that much stupid and bad acting, I double dog dare you to give it a go. 😂

[@FiddleForge]

It's such an interesting story how this movie got made at all. The man who acquired the rights (back in the 80s or 90s) didn't want to make it himself but no one else would make it for him.

[@RumpusImperator]

Yup, Courtney Solomon shot a few proof of concepts shots, and then everybody decided he should just go ahead and direct. And what's even more bonkers was after this debacle, he got the funding to make ANOTHER one a few years later.

[@bsoldier5]

The sequel to this is actually pretty good, lower budget but better acting and more elements of the actual game in ways that made sense.

[@velveteenv76]

love that movie, specially with the commentary.

[@briannelson27]

@@velveteenv76 the second and third movies were way better. somehow the lowest budget for the third movie made it the best

[@alexanderwinn9407]

Are they actually good, or "so terrible it's great" good?

[@koboldcatgirl]

@@alexanderwinn9407 The second movie is pretty good! Like, it's earnest, it does a lot with a little, and there are genuinely, deliberately funny moments. I defy anyone to not laugh at the scene with the dove. The friendship between the rogue and barbarian is a huge highlight for me. It's one of those "watch for the great side characters" movies.

[@briannelson27]

@@alexanderwinn9407 good. not great. you can watch them and have a good time with the story and characters. you won't feel the need to mst3k them. they are not a waste of an hour and a half.

[@LeylandFoizey]

I won't hear a SINGLE negative syllable about this absolute treasure of a film. Jeremy Irons is at his peak!!

[@spikedbread]

thank you for being a genuine pillar in this community, and somebody always supporting positivity :) love your content !!!

[@lydiadarling1935]

This movie does make a fun hate-watch! I remember pretty much every time Marina was on screen were we yelling "Use your magic, you're a mage!!!"

[@Witchchylde]

Were spell slots not an issue in 2000? This would be somewhere between 3.5 and 4e.

[@chaospoet]

Dragonheart came out 4 years prior. The Dragon looked WAY better and was actually intelligent and could speak (and voiced by Sean Connery!). It sort of had an ensemble group with the warrior, a monk, and the Dragon so Dragonheart was way more of a D&D movie than this could have ever hopped to be.

[@amberstarr9267]

if you see it as a campaign then a movie, it feel like a homebrew campaign that's been planned badly and the players are like "um...i guess this is happening"

[@geoffreynuttall4383]

this

[@LiraeNoir]

Oh, I remember this one. I was at the European premiere for it, because at the time I worked at WotC. Even in the office, we had no idea. No idea at all. We weren't prepared for it. The PTSD was real ^^

[@feitocomfruta]

No joke, a Discord server I’m on for a TTRPGAP podcast just watched this in April, as part of our monthly “WHY IS THIS A MOVIE” night with the cast. This month, we’re watching the new one.

[@TeslaandDragons]

"Girl didn't you have a cantrip?" Nope, cantrips did not exist in 3/3.5. A low level wizard casting 1 spell and then being worthless was kind of accurate for that time.

[@fightingcorsair7297]

Wasn't there even a first level spell called "cantrip" that let the caster do a minor thing? Kind of like Thaumaturgy, Prestidigitation and Druidcraft are now. Now I need to dust off and crack open my 3.5 books.

[@dawaterrat4460]

I have a vauge memory of Cantrips being introduced in 1e Unearthed Arcana/2e but they were nowhere near as versitle as they are in 5e (and those books are either boxed up or long gone anyway.)

[@SplChkPlz]

Cantrips made their first appearance in 3E and were available to all spell casters except Paladins and Rangers. In 3.5E they were renamed to Orisons for Clerics and Druids. Although, 3E was released just 2ish months before that movie was released. So you are kinda correct, the edition it was based on (2E) didn't have cantrips.

[@westonepstein]

In 3rd edition can trips were basically level zero spells which you still had a limited number of. It definitely added a lot of staying power to casters.

[@westonepstein]

Clerics 0 level spells were called Orisons. Glad they simplified it.

[@Centurian128]

I actually enjoyed this film when I first saw it. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing both Jeremey Irons and Tom Baker in it and absolutely love the amount of scenery chewing overacting done by Irons. Some of his lines continue to be favorites of mine.

[@flyingalienqueen]

I saw this movie at the premiere with my two best D&D friends; the local game store was there to help promote it and we bought our character sheets (I forget why exactly lol). The movie, I pretty much forgot as soon as it was over, but the experience is one of my fondest memories! Glad to hear you liked the new one, can’t wait to watch!

[@ByDylanYoung]

@GinnyDi If you haven't already, you should track down the version with commentary tracks. It's strangley charming with those in the mix. The director frequently says "if I ever get to do a director's cut, I would ..." It's truly priceless.

[@BSGwolf]

I was there Ginny, in 2000 I was there for the horror and carnage.

[@WouldbeSage]

"...I was there the day the strength of Men failed." 😂

[@DevinParker]

D&D 3rd Edition had only just come out (or was in the process of doing so, I can't remember exactly), and this was after TSR had spent years in freefall under bad management by a CEO who despised its player base. There was a LOT of excitement in the air about D&D making a big comeback. I distinctly remember reading a preview of this movie in Dragon Magazine I'd bought from my local games store (it was a physical product back then, published by Paizo for Wizards of the Coast). They had interviews with the director, Corey Solomon, and cast members, spoke excitedly about how it was going to feature more dragons than any movie ever made, and even talked about how to use Izmir as a setting for a D&D campaign. They clearly expected it to be fun and true to the spirit of D&D. Then the movie actually came out, and it was never mentioned in Dragon Magazine again.

[@plushdragonteddy]

10:46 "girl, you literally don't even have a cantrip??" is so good, it sounds like what they'd say in dungeons and dragons meets mean girls lmaO

[@docc7545]

Funniest part of this to me is if I am remembering 1st and 2nd correctly she really didn’t have a cantrip. Although the might have added them for the revised 2nd.

[@Baalek1]

In fairness to the mage, earlier editions limited cantrips too. At 1st Level it wasn't unheard of to fire off two spells and be stuck whacking people with a torch for the rest of the day.

[@docc7545]

@@Baalek1 I can remember hitting a lot of things with my sling or quarter staff.

[@vampiricshaman]

I actually enjoyed it with the characters being how the players are without role playing

[@Venomm12]

I loved the D&D 2000s movie and still do. Is it good? God NO. Is it fun? Yes. Is it over the top? Yes. Plus it gave us the best Jeremy Irons line of all time "LET THEIR BLOOOD, RAAAAAIN FROM THE SKKKKKKYYYYY!!"

[@tsifirakiehl4250]

You know this movie had two sequels, right? You should review Wrath of the Dragon God and Book of Vile Darkness next!

[@rkcpek]

The sequels had better stories, but cheaper budgets.

[@NudistMatt]

I've never seen Book of Vile Darkness, but Wrath of the Dragon God was much better than this movie, IMO.

[@Ocker3]

Ooh?

[@dereknight861]

Also anyone else realize they don’t PROPERLY title this movie IN THE MOVIE ANYWHERE?? Not in the beginning not in the credits The only best we get is mentioned “based on dungeons and dragons by wizards of the coast”

[@NoalFarstrider]

I loved this movie as a kid.... Weirdly I didn't even know it was dungeons and dragons. I thought it was just a dragon movie for kids.

[@carolynwilliams5918]

Oh my party watched this one together. Four of us are DMs, and we were all roasting it as hard as we could. I was especially frustrated because you shouldn't have gold dragons fight red dragons - they're both immune to FIRE! That seems like such a bad idea. Incidentally we're all hyped for the new movie. It's gonna be great.

[@fauxpunker]

I will be showing this to my son because I suffered through it, and so shall he. This is the DnD legacy he is inheriting.

[@sarahgregory1896]

Remember watching this movie wen I was 12 felt like a fever dream 😂 saw an early screening of D&D honor amongst thieves and can say I enjoyed it and will watch it again👍✨✨

[@ten5h1]

I watched it with the commentary. “All this is going on, and we’re like ‘LOOK AT THE DRAGON!’”

[@Axiom_Link]

I’m glad you mentioned scope creep because this movie absolutely felt like scope creep to me. The movie strikes me as a series of one shot takes that keep changing because the Director and producers got new ideas as they were shooting the film. The new D&D movie honor amongst thieves feels like guardians of the galaxy volume 3. It really strikes me as though anytime you try to make a D&D movie you have to reconcile the main character syndrome vs is it real D&D rules vs would it be entertaining to play, or entertaining to watch? As always, great video, Ginny!

[@Crazyivan777]

I remember leaving this film (in the theater, opening weekend) and telling my friend I wanted to find someone involved in the making of the movie so I could punch them. It was truly awful, and it was all the more heartbreaking because it felt like Hollywood was finally going to take a chance on D&D, and that a movie that bad would make it so they never would take that chance again.

[@cassandramiller4477]

That mirrors my experience exactly.

[@HouseOfKannan]

And yet, they've made 3 more in the last 23 years. I know some MUCH better movies/franchises that haven't gotten that much love.

[@cassandramiller4477]

@@HouseOfKannan At least they were all made for TV/direct to video? And, I’m told, we’re better than the first one?

[@Marionette_Doll]

The biggest thing I remember about this movie is the binding spell that was just a rope that, when concentration on the binding spell was lost, they literally throw off the rope. That's all I remember about it after seeing it 20 years ago.

[@TheWestbrookchad]

I love to hear your thoughts on the sequel. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve watched it but I think it made the original look good.

[@hollismccray3297]

I was in college when this came out and the hype was insane. After seeing it, I wanted the two and a half hours of my life I spent on it back.

[@Thundarr100]

I’m pretty sure it’s only 90 minutes long. But I can understand how it would feel like it’s longer.

[@hollismccray3297]

@@Thundarr100 At the time the bus didn't run out to the only theater in town showing it. So I had a half hour bicycle ride each way

[@Thundarr100]

@@hollismccray3297 Ah, I see. Usually when people say that they want the time spent watching a movie back, they’re referring to the actual running time of the show. Hence my confusion. But I get what you’re saying. My D&D group and I got to see the movie for free because I was working at the movie theatre at the time. Afterwords I felt like we should have all been given the price of admission for sitting through the damn thing.

[@swampert564]

The absolute legend Jeremy Irons just needed to pay for the castle he bought and he's the most entertaining thing in the movie by a mile.

[@shadejakva9367]

Imagine, making money to restore a castle by basically RPing as an evil overlord with Invader Zim levels of ham for a while in front of a camera. That's a degree of "living the dream" I gotta respect. Jeremy Irons (and his costar Bruce Payne, who delivers his own "cold ham" performance as the henchman), were what make this movie absolutely worth seeing!

[@swampert564]

@@shadejakva9367 For sure, Bruce Payne was also super fun.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@swampert564 He was even more hammy in the next D&D movie!

[@swampert564]

@@MonkeyJedi99 I never saw that one but I did hear he was still in it and assumed as much.