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30:39 Oddly it wasn't written in. It was a creative choice to play Zenk so straight-laced that he was portrayed to walk with purpose and true. Rege-Jean expected them to cut the scene earlier, but the directors were curious to see what he would do once he reached the boulder and kept recording. Rene-Jean was a bit nervous when "Cut!" wasn't yelled, so decided that Zenk would **Absolutely** walk over the boulder.
The hither-thither staff scene is a great nod to all those dnd moments when DM wants to proceed with the quest but the team sucks so he has to make up some spontaneous gimmick to help them out. Love it
I was thinking of when you're the GM and plan out some elaborate puzzle, and then they use an item you gave them like 20 adventures ago in a surprising way, and you're like "fuck I forgot I gave them that".
It got a little over 200 million at the end. So it made a small return. But I think Digital success is what could help this movie be even more successful. Hope a sequel happens 🙏
@@granddaddyotaku636 kind of like John Wick. I really wanted to go see it again in theaters. If they hadn't rushed it to home release, I think it would have done better.
This movie has no right being as good as it is. I've never actually played D&D but I've seen plenty of livestreams and it's a lot of fun. This movie really captures how chaotic, dramatic, and at times, hilarious the nature of it can get.
I don't consider myself a hardcore D&D nerd but between decades of being involved in it and playing a lot of Neverwinter Online (same setting as the movie), wow, loads of 'oh HEY' moments. I was really curious how well my wife would enjoy the movie; the nostalgia was so strong for me I couldn't really divorce it from 'how enjoyable is this movie.' But she didn't get any references and still had a great time.
@@Bill23231 I originally replied that it wasn't a flop, but you're right when adding in marketing budget. I don't think it was just the digital release that did it either. Wizards of the Coast kind of shot themselves in the foot with a lot of bad publicity before this movie came out.
I love all of those, but my absolute favorite was the scene where they put the portal painting in the carriage. I immediately wanted to watch it over and over again!
The funny thing is, the obese dragon is a well-established character in D&D lore, too. He gets the lovely job of sitting in the forges of Gracklestug, a duergar (evil dwarves) city in the Underdark, and breathing fire into the forge all day, and eats whatever he wants. Thus, Tubby Dragon
You can tell this is how most players visualize their campaigns. I can feel the DMs disappointment and rage at Simon for wrecking his carefully crafted bridge puzzle, as well as the forced arcana check to get them a new way across.
DM to themself: "Shit, they ruined it! I'm not going to rewrite the entire story on the fly so they can progress..." DM out loud: "Say... didn't you say you had a... stick?"
No joke, in one of the campaigns I've played one of my friends made a character who was EXACTLY like Xenk. So much so that it felt like they copied the character from our campaign.
@@TheHysteriaMan To be fair, that's... a lot of paladins 😂 I say this as someone currently playing a paladin. It's hard to be a force for justice and also have fun... luckily, my DM killed my character's father, so now he's a vengeance paladin, so I get to be more like Batman. He's still not much fun to be around, but he gets to be way darker 😂
You can honestly tell the creators of this movie played DND very frequently. There were so many references to the core DND game, from using unique creatures to referencing things that weren't presented at face value like the bardic inspiration or even the lawful good nature of the Paladin. It was just a brilliant film from toe to head.
Honestly the best part is all that is there and you can break down character rankings and how it follows the rules, but you don't need to understand any of it to enjoy it, but it's absolutely there for the hardcore fans. My favourite part was the inclusion of the characters from the 80s cartoon.
The chonky dragon, Themberchaud, is actually a character in the game in the Forgotten Realms, the campaign world the movie is set in. He's featured in the adventure Out of the Abyss.
The perfect balance between accessible for newbies and perfect for die-hards. It really worked on every level. I love that they did that amazing two minute long "one-shot" escape scene with just a dry: "So she DID turn into a deer..." Best line reading Michelle Rodriguez has ever given, and I say that as a fan. 😁
Man I absolutely LOVED this movie and it was sooo sad to see almost no one went to watch it in theaters, by far one of the funniest movies i've seen this year and definetly the most surprising one! This deserves more love!
not enough people went to see it in the theater, probably not getting a sequel. I did but the rest of the population was slipping and we all suffer now.
"How can she detect [Doric in her wild shape forms]?" In D&D terms, she probably knows the spell True Seeing, which lets you see through all illusions and, notably, "perceive the original form of a shapechanger or creature transformed by magic". They did get really lucky with the "Hither-Thither Staff" (not a real thing in D&D, but the Dimension Door spell does the same thing, so a magic item that can cast Dimension Door isn't implausible). But also, they just fucked up the bridge puzzle so badly there was no practical way for them to progress, so I can 100% imagine the DM going, "....um... well... surprise! You've had a magic item that can help the whole time!" just to prevent having to rebuild the story 😂
I HOPE THEY MAKE A SECOND ONE!!! I ADORED THIS MOVIE!! The world building they did, the scenery, most of the vfx, the style, the cinematography, the characters, etc.
It's really easy to imagine the dice rolls during this movie. Simon approaching the bridge is a definite 1. Holga throwing the potato at Forge was a natural 20.
Even Ed taking so long to get ungrappled. Rolling several ones in a row. Have seen that a lot in actual games! The dragon would have had to roll to get his fire breath back and the DM rolled low. Perfectly true to the game mechanics! Loved it!
This movie is the best embodiment of what a actual game can feel like. Lots of heartfelt character interactions and occasionally bouts of sheer silliness. You can almost imagine hearing the DM curse when he rolls poorly in some of these fights.
you also can see the characters rolls, like in doric escape sequence or when the wizard was casting the illusion spell, even in the fight scenes you can see the turns going, it's amazing how they captured exactly what playing d&d feels like
If I remember correctly they actually didn't write in the bit of him walking straight over the rock, he just thought it would be really funny and appropriate for the character and improvised it. LMAO The cast did a phenomenal job with all their characters.
@@karkajouautomaton4882 That's absolutely believable. 😂 NPCs be like "Good day!" after you finish talking to them and just walk into the wall for three minutes, stop, turn around, and walk straight off into Narnia.
I love that Xenk, the Paladin, was just a quest giving NPC that went along with the party and then left afterwards, explains him just walking in a straight line and not going around things after. This movie was amazing, the characters, the world building, the acting, the magic, it was just all phenomenal.
Xenk was basically the DMPC trope of the overpowered dm character who drops all the lore, solves most of the problems then just walks away. I loved him and wished he was in the movie longer.
@@Serrassi if we get a second movie I hope he comes back with more lore dumping and then just leaves again. I love the idea of a reoccurring character that only sticks around long enough to give you a quest and then vanishes. I adored him.
I was watching the movie at home, and it wasn't until Xenk helped the Tabaxi and moved on to help the Dragonborn that it suddenly clicked as to what Xenk was. In astonishment I couldn't help but blurt out, "Oh my god, he's lawful stupid!" I was so happy to see it.
Sounds like a gag quest. “Please adventure go into the Forest of the Damned and ask the one question.” Imagine their disappointment that it’s gust a dead guy wants to go back to being dead. So they only ask the question under the condition that the dead guy will reveal the location of some treasure.
The scene on the beach where Chris pine is just monologuing while the guy is just walking in a straight line is actually improv. They yelled cut but he didn't hear it so Chris pine just kept talking
As a long time player of D&D I absolutely LOVED this movie. I could just hear the table chat in my head for everything that happened on screen. Also loved all the monsters they put on screen, especially the party killer number one.......the displacer beast!
I absolutely ADORED this movie. I really hope it finds a new life with its home release. It didn't quite make a profit at the box office and I desperately want more of these
I really enjoyed the Underdark scene, particularly the intelligence sniffing brains walking right past the gang and Xenk going from intensely explaining the way across the bridge to just looking at Simon like 'Bruh, really?'😂😂
Best way I've explained this movie is it is the most casual fantastic movie I've ever seen. It's so easy to watch. From the "troubled backstory" to the hilarious speak with dead sequence, to all the cool combat and humor... it truly felt like I was watching a Dungeons and Dragons movie.
Honestly, i laughed a lot harder than i should have at the part Chris Pines face was melting during the illusion spell failing with the guards in the theater.
I saw this movie with my father and brother; we are all pretty avid DND players, and we absolutely loved how well they handled Chris Pine’s character. The Bard class is often treated as a joke in the DND community due to a lack of any real combat abilities, but they are also the heart and soul of the team thanks to their unique synergistic and support skills and the film absolutely nailed these aspects!
The fact that they filmed a whole battle scene with a dragon JUST so they can feed that ridiculous graveyard gag is amazing. Film's an absolute delight.
Did you guys catch the easter egg in the arena? There is another group battling it out, consisting of the characters from the 80's DnD cartoon TV show. I am happy you loved it. I loved it, too. It was surprisingly awesome, in every way. And I am so happy for every DnD player out there that this movie exists now.
For me, that was the best part of the movie! Have you ever seen the Brazilian car commercials with the 80’s cartoon characters brought to life? Really well done, and what I was actually hoping for in this movie.
Plus, in the list of spells that Wizards etc can choose from as they advance in levels, a *lot* of them are named "Mordenkainen's ." (Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion, Mordenkainen's Arcane Seal, Mordenkainen's Electric Arc, etc.)
@@effyontheedge5133 Just saying the movie's not been out that long and that's a _lot_ for a short span of time -- over the years would definitely make sense as I've watched a couple of films that many times, but over the span of 30 years (not 30 days). All things in moderation, Effy. Even too much of a good thing is a bad thing, as a parent that should be a lesson you already know.
It's so hard to pull off a film like this that manages to be both for fans of the game and for movie fans generally but they absolutely nailed it. It works, 120% on its own as a fantasy adventure. But if you are a fan of the game, you see so many ties to how campaigns are played. Not just Easter eggs (of which there are a million), but down to things like the cadence of action and the ideas and plans of the characters it just works on every level. I can't think of another movie that finds the balance as well as this one.
Saw this movie with my partner and my son. It was such a great movie! Me and my partner are dnd nerds, him probably more than me, and my son is only kind of into it but we were all able to enjoy it thoroughly. Those nods for players yet still able to be enjoyed by the general public was *chefs kiss* so much love put into it. The creators cared and I loved that!
The entire Wild Shape chase scene in the castle, was done in one shot. Yeah sure, there are CGI cuts, but they blended so well it seems like one shot. It's all from her perspective, it's just an awesome chase scene.
This movie is fantastic! Another movie y’all would probably enjoy that is in the same vein and criminally underrated is ‘Stardust.’ Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, the cast is stacked and the movie is great! Give it a watch!
There's is a small Easter egg you might have missed..during the maze scene there are six characters that are ripped right out of the 80s DnD cartoon..they are a Ranger, Cavalier, Magician, Acrobat, Thief, and Barbarian, they are the ones that found the Axe and reached the cage
This movie is wonderful! Truly captures the feeling of playing DnD. A lot of practical effects were used, that I wish studios would allow and budget for more. I also wasn’t expecting to cry when I first saw this movie, but was pleasantly surprised 💕
Rege-Jean Page improvised the part where he walked over the rock. The directors did not say cut and just kept filming to see what he would do, and he just walked right over it, and they kept it in the movie.
The reason the dragon is so fat is because its was force fed by the deep dwarves of the underdark and was used to keep their city warm and light their forges. By keeping him fat and slow they were better able to control him. His name i believe is Thumberchaud.
And he was not force fed, he powered the forges of the gray dwarves of Gracklstugh. Themberchaud got all food and gold he wanted without the need to hunt or fight, so he got fat. But when he found out that he was only one in a long line of red dragons the Duergar used and that they planed to kill him before he got to big and powerful, he broke free.
The characters from the animated series Dungeons & Dragons (1983) can be seen in the maze sequence, consisting of Hank the Ranger, Diana the Acrobat, Eric the Cavalier, Sheila the Thief, Presto the Magician and Bobby the Barbarian.
I love this film. Just pure fun, great acting, amazing world building and heart. Fun Fact: the people they see in the cage are actually dressed like the Dungeons & Dragons characters from the animated show.
This movie makes you GET IT. The magic of dnd. My parents watched it with me, and afterwards they both told me “I understand why you play this game, now.” Getting to hear that was so special.
My dad played when he was in high-school and my mom, while she never played, was a huge nerd and painted the cover of one of the old d&d magazines. I still have it in my apartment lol, I can't wait to show them this movie
Blown away at how much I enjoyed this film. I’ve never played or anything and I didn’t feel lost in this, like you had to know the nuances to keep up with what’s going on. This is my second favorite movie of the year so far.
as a Dm the hither thither staff is so relatable. Players screw it up and you have to pull a way to save the adventure out of your ass on the spot.....
As a lifelong D&D player, it's awesome to see how 'intelligent' D&D style play seems when translated to cinema. Scenes like the treasure pouring from the balloons, or the heist plans, are just the kind of things average D&D players think of. Because the emphasis is on puzzle solving and using your tools etc. It's beautiful to see how novel it seems on film.
The entire time watching I could just SEE where someone rolled a nat 20, or rolled a 2, it was so perfectly made as a story on its own, but also as a story in DND as well. Amazing work.
This movie was surprisingly adherent to the game, minus a few liberties taken. There were actually dozens of Easter eggs, but they were just part of the story. The movie captured the best part of D&D, which is that you can use the rules and established lore as a guide to create your own world. Just focus on the adventure, and you'll have a great time.
@@GrimViridian It's weird that WoTC changed the rules and allowed Druids to change into Owlbears now. Of all the things to double down on. I chalked it up to the pedants being pedants, and we could hand-wave it away as homebrew/rule of cool. 🤷♂
@@thatHARVguy I didn't know they did that, im glad they did its way cooler that way, besides created or not they've been in the ecosystem long enough in lore that I feel they should be considered beasts anyway
@@GrimViridian I played D&D during high school ages ago and wasn't deep into it, so I didn't care about the Owlbear thing. From what I heard, the pedants were annoyed but not threatening to boycott or anything. WoTC caved in for no reason IMO. But that's WoTC being WoTC.
@@thatHARVguy I mean honestly either way druid needed more interesting and better wildshapes anyway, it's been a complaint for a while so it makes sense they'd do it to me
This was such a fun movie that has exceeded my expectation. Chris Pine is a charming bastard and a nice cameo from a Mini Cooper. Graveyard scene was hilarious🤣
I really loved this movie and reaction. My favorite part is the little Easter egg during the games. The one team that is in the cage, are the characters from the 80s saturday morning d&d cartoon.
This movie exceeded all my expectations and I love it for that! I really enjoyed seeing how they brought spells to life, and how it went beyond lights shooting out of people’s hands, and you could easily imagine the kind of rolls the players are making. I watched it not knowing who directed it, but things started clicking for me after seeing John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein’s names in the credits because they also directed Game Night, another funny and well-made comedy that I also loved!
There were a ton of easter eggs, but this movie did a much better job of incorporating them into the story in a natural way, so that they don't feel out of place if you don't recognize them, than most movies.
This movie was so good and also got that D&D popcorn holder which looks nice. The gameplay scenes are pretty good and the action sequences are amazing.
This movie is so good and I’m so happy you guys enjoyed it! A spectacular surprise and I hope they make more. The writing, cast chemistry, and practical effects are awesome 🤩
I just saw this movie and I absolutely loved it! There’s so many ways this movie could have turned out terrible, but they actually pulled it off. Even the emotional stuff worked for me, especially the stuff with Chris Pine and his daughter.
I had so much fun with this movie! I'm not really a DnD person so I wasn't sure what to expect but I thought the cast was awesome and funny together, and the emotional moments surprisingly got me lol
I went into the theatre thinking this probably won’t be kind of film because the game couldn’t be further from what interested me but turned out to be so far one of my favourite films this year, a genius blend of comedy and fantasy cinema 👏🏼👏🏼
I will always be amazed at how good this movie was. After seeing the trailer, I had lowered expectations - thought “Oh, Chris Pine playing Chris Pine” 😂🤣 When I saw it in the theater, I so enjoyed it a lot - not striving to be the next Oscar winner, just good old-fashioned fun and entertainment. Thought the entire cast had great chemistry throughout as well!
I’ve been watching you guys for years, all the way back since 2014, and this is the first movie I ever worked on! It was such a blast to work on, honestly. So SO happy to watch you watch this!!
Something that's so impressive about this movie is that it's pretty predictable. You guys called multiple plot points, and yet it doesn't suffer at ALL for that. This movie knows exactly what it wants to be and what it is, and it gives us the absolute best version of that.
I think my favorite thing about this movie is that even though it's got a great sense of humor, it takes itself seriously. It never jokes about the premise/universe, like nudging the audience and saying "hey this whole premise is silly and stupid." That's something that's missing from a lot of stuff these days, IMO
I don't understand why people didn't like the movie. It's a great family movie with adventure. The plot is from 2000. Haven't seen like that in a long time.
The "fat" dragon its called Themberchaud and he appears for the first time in D&D in Drizz't Do'Urden's Guide to the Underdark in 1999 which was a 2nd Edition supplement for the Forgotten Realms setting, but in 2015 an adventure called "Out of the Abyss" came out and it was where he got well knowned in D&D in general. And he was basically raised as a living furnace, sitting in place using his breath to heat up metal while being given endless food. That's why he's a lazy chonker! It was really cool seeing him on screen. And a fun fact that Themberchaud was first conceptualized when Gary Gygax (Co-creator of D&D) was running a game and a cat jumped onto the table during the session and started knocking things over, he improvised and used the cat as a fat dragon, who later had their lore expanded to become Themberchaud. God i grew up playing D&D and i love this movie hope it gets a sequel.
One thing I love about this movie is it has f'in brilliant pacing. The movie moves at a nice pace, without languishing or rushing. It's able to communicate a lot with just a few scenes. Like when Holga dies and comes back? It was kinda predictable, but in maybe 2 minutes it SELLS it, makes it matter, draws on the entire movie. Traveling through the landscape... long enough to make you go 'ooo, look at that' without draaaaaaaaaaagging. (looking at you, Lord of the Rings)
Loved this movie, watched it again 2 days ago and yup, still loved it. So inventive, so funny, and somehow manages to capture the experience of playing a DND campaign. (someone pointed out for example the Hither Tither staff as that point when someone in the party messes up and ruins the DM's plans so the DM throws a solution to the party so they won't get stuck)
There's an easter egg from the animated series I used to love as a kid. I screamed out Bobby! in the cinema. That was the sweet center and the cherry on top for me. Loved this movie
