Film Retrospective: Dungeons and Dragons: WotDG

The consensus from the internet seems to be that the second Dungeons and Dragons movie, entitled Wrath of the Dragon God (2005) (the initial title was The Elemental Might) was an improvement over the first, but still poor.

I think this perspective is a bit hasty. Those who didn't like the film compare it to LotR which is completely unfair. That's a basic apples and oranges comparison. If you consider this film against the fantasy movies created and broadcast on scifi/syfy, I think it compares very favourably. Indeed, it exceeds expectations in every way. This movie gets the most important thing right: the spirit of D&D adventure.

Although I've watched the movie many times, I've just recently acquired the DVD. The writers of the film, and one a keen D&D gamer, definitely drew on his passion for the game. He seemed responsible for making the movie a success.

Granted, the basic plot was, well, basic. But the movie had chrome in the right places by drawing on archtypes from the game, references to iconic adventures, as well as familiar magic items and monsters.

Given the rumours of a third D&D movie in the works (sorry folks but it looks like the link I read has been removed), I hope they bring some of the characters back for the next film. I'll be waiting and watching for information with interest.