Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God (2005)

Director:

Gerry Lively

Writers:

Robert Kimmel (writer)
Gerry Lively (writer)

Release Date:

September 2005 (Thailand)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

Tagline:

From the ultimate evil comes the ultimate quest.

Plot:

Based on the phenomenally successful role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons 2 takes you deeper into the dark and fantastical world of this fantasy epic...

Plot Keywords:

Dungeons And Dragons | Cult Favorite | Box Office Flop | Magic | Sword And Sorcery

Cast

Bruce Payne	...	Damodar
Mark Dymond	...	Berek
Clemency Burton-Hill	...	Melora
Ellie Chidzey	...	Lux (as Ellie Chidzley)
Tim Stern	...	Nim
Steven Elder	...	Dorian
Lucy Gaskell	...	Ormaline
Roy Marsden	...	Oberon
Geoffrey T. Bersey	...	Galtar (as Geoffrey Bersey)
Leonas Ciunis	...	Old Mage
Liubomiras Lauciavicius	...	Mage #1 (as Liubomiras Laucevicius)
Ervinas Peteraitis	...	Mage #2
Vytautas Rumsas	...	Valerious
David Merheb	...	Tibio
Aurimas Meliesius	...	Klaxx (as Aurimas Miliesius)

Also Known As:

Dungeons & Dragons 2: The Elemental Might (Philippines: English title) (USA) (working title)
Dungeons & Dragons - Die Macht der Elemente (Germany) (DVD title)
Dungeons & Dragons: The Elemental Might (Australia) (TV title)
Dungeons & Dragons: The Sequel (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

USA:105 min | Philippines:105 min

Country:

Germany | Lithuania | UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Philippines:PG-13 | France:U | Singapore:PG | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:G (Quebec) | USA:Not Rated | Germany:12 | Australia:M | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Trakai Castle, Lithuania

Company:

Skyline Films

Trivia:

Magic runes seen in the film come from two sources. The first source is the set of zodiac symbols from astrology. The second source is The Chaosium's role-playing game "Runequest", which was a competitor of the original D&D and AD&D games in the '70s and '80s.

Goofs:

Continuity: Berek's sword changes scene to scene. One such example is during the dungeon scene: when fighting the darkmantles, his sword has a simple blade-guard and straight-edged blade. In the scene directly afterward, his sword has an ornate blade-guard with jewels and the sword edge has protruding sections to it.

Quotes:

Damodar: The forces of evil hear the call of the orb... they wait to pick the rotting dead carcass of Izmer.
Wicked Doctor: Good times.

Movie Connections:

Follows Dungeons & Dragons (2000)

Surprisingly good.

I was someone that had mixed feelings on the original D&D movie. I thought the script was clunky, the acting was awful as far as good guys were concerned, it contained wildly inappropriate dialog for the setting, and the tone made light of what could have been dramatic events. On the other hand, the movie looked good, had a couple decent fight scenes and the huge Dragon war at the climax was dynamic and exciting. Still, with it's less than impressive reception, I figured this would be a series of one.

Imagine my surprise when a sequel was announced, and even greater shock when I watched the films premier and found it to be everything I felt it's predecessor lacked. The acting, while not Oscar worthy, was perfectly reasonable work from a handful of unknowns. The plot is treated seriously this time around, with a minimum of cliché and jest (Although there are two laugh out loud moments) and actually features an intelligent foe with a genuinely epic plan for the forces of justice to combat. Speaking of which, the heroes are a nice diverse bunch, and the film manages to showcase each one's unique talents well.

As for the action and eye candy, there's plenty. The fights are staged better than 90% of the action flicks on the shelves, with realistic flow and quick pace. The special effects are among the best I've ever seen in a non-theatrical film and are leaps and bounds above any other Sci-Fi premier yet broadcast (Though not quite as good as a theatrical release). The final battle is not as kinetic as the first films finale, but manages to be a fitting climax to the quest.

If this is what this crew can produce with a terribly low budget, I say give them 70 million bucks and get Dungeons & Dragons III in theaters ASAP!