Quote from: cavalier973 on April 27, 2023, 03:27:38 PM
And it didn't have to.

Absent the OGL debacle and the nonsense spouted by WoTC staff and by the movie directors (or promoters or whatever they were), and, perhaps, the unfortunate nearness of Mario's movie release date and that of the John Wick movie, and the marketing that made it seem like another Marvel-style movie that I suspect people are growing tired of, it would have done well. A greater percentage of people might have gone a second time, bringing their friends.

  All this, and the marketing seemed designed to remind those of us with long memories of the 2000 movie. I realize there are certain tropes attached to D&D, but "rogues in an urban fantasy setting going on a treasure hunt" hits a bit too close to the last attempt...

   

Quote from: Armchair Gamer on April 27, 2023, 04:52:51 PM

Quote from: cavalier973 on April 27, 2023, 03:27:38 PM
And it didn't have to.

Absent the OGL debacle and the nonsense spouted by WoTC staff and by the movie directors (or promoters or whatever they were), and, perhaps, the unfortunate nearness of Mario's movie release date and that of the John Wick movie, and the marketing that made it seem like another Marvel-style movie that I suspect people are growing tired of, it would have done well. A greater percentage of people might have gone a second time, bringing their friends.

  All this, and the marketing seemed designed to remind those of us with long memories of the 2000 movie. I realize there are certain tropes attached to D&D, but "rogues in an urban fantasy setting going on a treasure hunt" hits a bit too close to the last attempt...

I think we can all agree it was a self inflicted wound yes?

Things I learned from this thread:

Tiny middle aged women are totally convincing as barbarian warriors that throw large men around like ragdolls, especially when viewed by gaslight.

People are so starved for quality entertainment, that you can serve them dogfood, and they'll treat it like, well, if not steak, at least a tasty burger.

Some people will happily drink wine with actual shit in it, as long as they can't taste it.

The film probably would have done better in maybe August.

Quote from: Grognard GM on April 28, 2023, 12:42:59 AM
Things I learned from this thread:

Tiny middle aged women are totally convincing as barbarian warriors that throw large men around like ragdolls, especially when viewed by gaslight.

People are so starved for quality entertainment, that you can serve them dogfood, and they'll treat it like, well, if not steak, at least a tasty burger.

Some people will happily drink wine with actual shit in it, as long as they can't taste it.

I also liked "The Hudsucker Proxy" more than I liked "The Big Lebowski".

There's no accounting for taste, I guess.

I didn't see the big-budget D&D movie that came out in 2000. I did, however, see the sequel, "Wrath of the Dragon God". I didn't hate it. I didn't like it as much as this most recent offering.


Tainted wine? This movie is based on 5e. If one wanted a muscle-y 80's action hero movie, then it should have been made in the 4e era.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 27, 2023, 05:22:40 PM

I think we can all agree it was a self inflicted wound yes?

Complete agreement here. WotC and Hasbro seem to delight in shooting themselves, over and over.

Maybe it was designed to fail in the theatres and it's just promotional material for the next ten years as it streams on a variety of platforms.

Quote from: Manticore on April 28, 2023, 12:34:19 PM
Maybe it was designed to fail in the theatres and it's just promotional material for the next ten years as it streams on a variety of platforms.

Which would be weird and incredibly stupid since Hasbro is trying to sell the studio that made it. Doesn't mean Hasbro and/or GWotKKK are incapable of being that stupid.

Quote from: Ghostmaker on April 28, 2023, 10:00:55 AMComplete agreement here. WotC and Hasbro seem to delight in shooting themselves, over and over.

How much influence did Hasbro have over the movie? If you look at the writers and directors, they are all established Hollywood types. There's no sign that any of WotC's writers had anything to do with how the movie was scripted.

Quote from: hedgehobbit on April 28, 2023, 02:16:26 PM

Quote from: Ghostmaker on April 28, 2023, 10:00:55 AMComplete agreement here. WotC and Hasbro seem to delight in shooting themselves, over and over.

How much influence did Hasbro have over the movie? If you look at the writers and directors, they are all established Hollywood types. There's no sign that any of WotC's writers had anything to do with how the movie was scripted.

They own the studio and foot the bills, they should have delineated a marketing strategy and a general tone for the movie.

Hasbro deleted the signature of Jeff Easley from the movie poster prints... Can they go ONE fucking week without doing something evil?

Quote from: cavalier973 on April 28, 2023, 07:57:13 AM

I also liked "The Hudsucker Proxy" more than I liked "The Big Lebowski".

You're a man of taste and refinement.

Oh man, Hasbro/WotC shows no mercy, once one is over (OGL, MtG 30 year ... ) comes the next. Great how they stand by Jeff, could have been a mistake by Paramount.

Oh, I wanted to write something about the film. I went to the cinema with friends and none of us really liked the film. We've all been playing D&D for 20 years and the film had less content than half an hour played at our table.
Yes, there are allusions, but everything seemed so forced and potatoes won't get you very far. Presumably the writers of the film have never played D&D and are not familiar with the story. For the same reason, the Amazon Lord of the Rings series can be cancelled. False emphasis with jokes that are not funny and do not fit at all with tragic moments. I don't recommend it, if it's on in passing, you can switch it on, but that's about it. The imdb is full of praise, but most of the 8-9-10/10 ratings are incomprehensible to me and it doesn't seem to be a blockbuster with huge profits. It's a pity about the missed chance to create something epic, we probably should have gone to the Nintendo movie, people were queuing up there.

Quote from: cavalier973 on April 28, 2023, 07:57:13 AM

There's no accounting for taste, I guess.

Have you checked how Marvel "Phase Four" did?

My guilty pleasure were the Resident Evil movies with Milla Jovovich. Then nu-Resident Evil came out - twice - and people said "You know? Ass-kicking Supermodels vs. Zombies [ * ] were actually fun!

[ * ] This definition comes from Milla Jovovich herself. No one was hiding anything