I love this Dungeons & Dragons Movie. Everything about it made the geek inside me happy. Comment below with your thoughts on the film and if you have ever tried D&D around the tabletop. 👕 The T-Shirt I'm wearing in the video is from my merch shop. It's NewfieStyles on Etsy. Click this link ➡ www.etsy.com/shop/NewfieStyles If you want to keep watching more of my videos check out my movie playlist here th-cam.com/play/PLnNWSHvmmGzgoHKZ05oBodCUzhXptPk7S.html
What got me is that he has this and Rocket Raccoon. Getting typecast as a CGI half pint is such an oddly specific and weird direction for a career to take.
Themberchaud, the fat dragon, is actually a lore character from Forgotten Realms. He was kept by the deep dwarves to keep their forges hot and they fed him copious amounts for his work. He ended up getting fat and lazy since he didn't have to do much and his fire breath required him to make a spark which at his size he couldn't do often. He instead breathes a combustible gas that the spark in his throat would ignite. They just used the candle trick to light the gas and blow their way out,
Another fun fact, Gary Gygax himself improvised Themberchaud during a 2e module, when a players cat jumped onto the board, and he thought "Yeah, this is the boss now."
The pudgy dragon was a masterstroke. What does every single party since the original edition yell when the host's fat housecat jumps onto the tabletop? "DRAGON!"
Themberchaud, the dragon, is actually in the lore of D&D and was conceived by Gary Gygax in 2e. He improvised Themberchaud when his cat jumped on the mat, so you're not wrong at all!
The intellect devourer bit was golden. If you stop to think about it... NONE of them has a class that requires INT as a core class stat. Charisma for Paladins, Bards and Sorcerors, Wisdom for the Druid and probably a lot of Strength, Dexterity and Constitution for whatever class Hulda is. :D
@averyofhousejade1176 it made 208 million, it cost to make 150 million, but that doesn't count things like advertising so the rule of thumb is you have to at least double the budget to find the break even so it lost 100 million.
26:53 - I think the science behind it was that the fat dragon had the ability to breathe out the gases, but is impaired in igniting it himself, as seen several times before by the sparks in the mouth not doing anything. The only time he did breathe actual fire was when there was a lava waterfall in the way. So in the enclosed space, he could only breathe out the combustible gases which built up, then prematurely ignited by the flame finger trick. The saltwater thing just gives Edgin the knowledge that they were below a sea that they may escape through by swimming. Hope this clears that scene up. Great reaction from a passionate player!
My whole D&D group went together to watch this in theatres. We were among only a handful present there, and we had an absolute blast. We could relate so much to what we were seeing. As someone who twice campaigned as a bard with this group, it was super validating to see one as the focal character, as well.
As someone who isn't that knowledgeable about D&D, I LOVED this movie. The casting were amazing, the chemistry between actors was on point and just an overall fun movie
As someone who has played for over 30 years I can say I only have one complaint about this movie....never...and I mean NEVER has a group gotten this much done in 2 1/2 hours!! LMAO....seriously though, they NAILED this movie. Enough storytelling in the right way to keep those who dont know engaged. And so so SOOOO much for us players. Fingers crossed for a sequel!!!
Fun fact: Themberchaud actually debuted in 2e lore, his previous den before the movie was a dwarven smithy. They would give him food and occasionally gold, and he would keep their furnaces lit. With food and treasure being so easy to come by, he got understandably fat. However, he was not the first, and when Themberchaud what happened to his predecessors he made his escape.
@@NewfieMovieReactions Thw whole story can be played through in Out of Abyss, It's pretty cool actually. Technically htye aren't dwarves that keep him captive, the Duergar are kind of like cousins of dwarves but with grey skin, a pretty nasty attitude and Gracklstugh, their capital is essentially one giant forge, the ash and smoke making it hard to breathe when not in a building. Themberchaud was getting too old and too smart to be kept at bay much longer so the Duergar procured another Red Dragon egg to hatch in order to replace Themberchaud. Themberchaud found out and wanted the players to steal the egg to bring it to him so he could eat it and keep being treated well by Duergar. This is Canonically what happens with the Themberchaud storyline, although the party can choose not to help Themberchaud and even actively work against him in their campaigns if they wish. Canonically Themberchaud stays in Gracklstugh for a while after killing the unhatched dragon but eventually gets tired of being a glorified furnace, as he is now too fat to fly or walk and he hasn't developed much mentally since being locked away, he inlisted others to help him escape deeper into the underdark.
I've been playing this game for around 40 years and this movie was fantastic! Love the way the writers and actors portrayed the characters - it really felt like a was watching a game in progress. You're so right about druids - one of my current players is always getting into trouble sneaking into places.
In my campaign I played as a Rogue (Tabaxi Swashbuckler), I always succeeded stealth roles when in combat. (It helps having +13 to stealth.) However, when I wanted to skulk around town after curfew to "see the sights" I always rolled a Nat 1. It became a running gag.
This movie is so great! It’s fun for people who know everything about D&D and also fun for people who know nothing about it. They made it a movie for everyone to enjoy! Doric is my favorite character.
Honestly I feel this movie should win an award for the costume and practical effects alone. It made Dragonborn, aarakocra and all the other non-human races seem legit and normal
The other team in the maze was actually dressed like the cartoon D&D group from the 80s animation. There is also a Volkswagon commercial, though I think it only aired internationally.
Holga is from the Elk tribe, the same tribe as Wulfgar, one of the Companions of the Hall. The wizard that Simon sees when he tries to atone with the helmet was supposed to be Elminster (but it's only a reflection of Simon himself). Themberchaud was allied with the Duergar, and worked on their forges, being paid regularly in treasure, protection of his lair, and disobedient slaves as a snack. The duergar tried to keep him happy and fat.
This movie was great. Other than the fact that I saw this 2 weeks after my wife had died and did not know that was a main plot point. But it was genuinely good. Having watched it a second time now with more time having passed i do appreciate him having to make the choice to move on.
I love how much of the lore they got right. Really the only lore-based criticisms I've heard were minor nitpicks, they put a lot of effort into making it a movie for fans but also just good and understandable for casual moviegoers. I think this might be my favorite fantasy movie... ever.
regarding the underwater explosion, the dragon likely breaths out methane and would ignite the methane with a sparke from its mouth. They utilized the dragon filling the chamber with gas as a means to destroy the wall between them and the ocean.
Not sure if anyone brought up the 80s animated dnd show party being in the games easter egg yet, but that was easily one of my favorite bits! And I LOVE pracitcal effects! To see some puppetry was AWESOME. And for something so intrinsically creative as DnD, the mix of many crafts just added to the films faithful spirit. I'm favored towards a mix of all mediums, and this film nailed that for me
This is the best G&D movie that's out there. I was 19 when I was first played D&D. The group that I was play with was just moving from the AD&D to the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition. It was 1989 when I first purchased the Player's handbook. Which I still have at the moment. I was working at McDonald's, it was the most stressful Of my time and playing D&D helped to get rid my mind off of somethings and some of the stress that I was faced with.
I think I've watched this movie like 3 times and also pretty much every reaction to it on TH-cam, lol. Been waiting for you to react to it! :D Awesome movie and a great reaction!
@@NewfieMovieReactions oh, also, it wasn't the salt water that was flammable, it was the dragon's breath :D It was shown earlier that he has trouble sparking up his breath into fully-fledged fire. So Ed's plan was to use Simon's finger-candle trick to light it up and to explode the cave they were in, because leaking salt water meant they were under sea, which meant they could escape :)
@@NewfieMovieReactions oh, and also, here's the obligatory "Rege-Jean didn't hear the director call 'cut' because of the waves, so he kept just going in a straight line, and they found it so hilarious, they kept it in the film" comment :D
What I love about this movie is that if you don't know anything about dnd, the movie is just a very fun fantasy movie BUT if you know a lot about dnd, you can see the matrix lol. You can see the rolls, you can tell the paladin is a DMPC, that the bard gives pep talks so much because he's using bardic inspiration, it genuinely feels like when they were writing this, they kept thinking about what the actual players were doing behind the scenes, and that's why it succeeds, it FEELS like a dnd campaign come to life
My good friend and I love this movie! One of the things we enjoy about this movie, is the fact that they went with practical effects and make-up for the non-human species characters instead of CGI.
The situation with the flame finger in the cave. It was shown earlier that the dragon was having trouble ignighting its breath it succeeds earlier when it spits into the lava but it's ignition doesn't seem to work on its own. So they were just ignighting the accumulated dragons breath.
As a D&D player, I recognized it for what it is: an Arcane Gate spell, literally on a stick. The range & duration were tweaked for plot reasons, but it's still a 6th level spell at its core.
Just gotta love the subtle nods to actions and abilities to keep the D&D community talk “Did Xenk use zone of truth, and that’s why Edgin had a hard time trying to speak, cause at the time it was likely a lie? A barely succeeded charisma save perhaps” “Was that Meteor Swarm Sofina first used outside the arena?”
considering today's C.G. I'd say we got very lucky with how this movie turned out. If they had used c.g. i can only assume it would have been so cheesy bad. The practical effects are awesome. and the fight sequences are so cool. Holga's stunt double kicks ass
As a long time DnD player, this film was a delight start to finish. Well cast, well filmed, beautiful, interesting sets, well LIT (I tell you what, being able to see everything on screen makes a nice change from other recent fantasy shows, they probably also had beautiful sets, but you couldn't SEE them) ALSO shoutout to the costume department for not dressing everyone in shades of "Ye Olde Mud". The choice to use a lot of practical effects was a great one, it means this film won't look ridiculous in a year, and practical effects are always better for immersion. Everything was interesting to look at, you got a great sense of the world without needing hours of infodumping, and it was just...fun :D It's been immediately added to my rotation of "movies to watch when I need to improve my day" which honestly is a short list. tl;dr: loved it, 8.5/10, loses points for Hugh Grant because I just can't stand the guy (don't at me, he's a fine actor, I just don't like most of his work), but it's great. Have you considered reacting to The Legend of Vox Machina animated series? (if you haven't watched it already, your recognition of the FCG reference makes me think you might have) based on Critical Role's first DnD campaign, and produced and voiced by the same cast that played those characters for years :) Do recommend if you want more DnD-based goodness.
You know, I LOVED Hugh Grant in this film because he plays just the sleazy git I love to hate him as. Normally we’re meant to like his characters so this was cathartic. 😂
Currently in a Dragonlance game. Been going for 9.5 months at this point. And that's literally the extent of my TTRPG experience so far. I'm loving it.
I'm sure this has been answered already, or you found it in the edit, but the combustible part when they were cornered by the dragon was the dragon breath. The dragon had been trying to blow fire the entire fight but couldn't manage to get it to spark.
Ohhh I didn't think it was that, I thought where he said. This is Salt water, I have a plan! I thought it was something to do with that. Haha okay thanks for explaining it.
@@NewfieMovieReactions The salt water was just that he knew they were close enough that if the rock blasted apart, they'd be able to swim to the surface of the ocean and escape.
You guessed at levels a few times. There are official statblocks for characters in the movie. The four party members are all CR 5. Forge is CR 8. Zenk is CR 10. Sofina is CR 15.
I started playing D&D in '79 and have loved RPGs ever since. I loved this movie. i have seen a few reactions to this movie, but all were those who did not know D&D or RPGs. This was great to see the perspective of someone who does understand it all. One thing I really liked is that even those who had no knowledge really enjoyed it as well.
I used to play D&D while in the military in the early 90's. I also read most of the books from both Dragonlance & Forgotten Realms and played a lot of RPGs on the computer & consoles.
I saw this movie with my DND group and we had a fantastic time. One thing I really liked about it is that, even though we never see the players behind these characters, you can almost hear them in your mind, making jokes about what’s happening as the story progresses.
I knew what a D20 was before I could count that high. I had the original little white box for D&D. And Traveler. I also used to write for Games Workshop. Ran the tournaments and stuff. Loved going to all the cons, watching people play games and drinking adult beverages for a living.
Playing D&D for over 25 years now and I loved this movie. The subtle easter eggs like the D&D cartoon series characters as well as the boogie man that is Thay (which I learned to know well in the AD&D 2E campaign I was in back in the days. I love how they managed to make everything easy to grasp for someone who does not know anything about D&D as well as warming the hearts of die hard fans. That is also why I think they did not make bard or druid spellcasting a thing, it would have confused the average movie goer (like "Wait... he/she is now a sorcerer too!?").
He realized that Holga WAS Kia's mom, he was indeed not raising Kia's mom, he was raising HIS WIFE. His daughter had never known her mother... she'd only ever known Holga. So he did what he said he was going to do: he made them a family again. He brought HOLGA back so his daughter could have both her mom and dad again.
The science behind their escape from themberchaud (apologies if I misspelled the name) is that they were beneath the sea and that igniting the gas that themberchaud was breathing would blow open the roof. Themberchaud can't light his own fires as shown earlier when he used lava to ignite flammable gas that he breathed out
Great review. I loved it too. You missed Simon's last name and there was another easter egg with the wizard (sage perhaps?) he saw while trying to attune. His last name is "Au Mar". I would assume the person he saw was Elminster.
Like JinxedPixie pointed out, he was seeing himself from the start. He himself was the only obstacle in the way of him getting better as a sorcerer, and he needed to stand up for himself to attune with the helmet.
we've been playin since the early 80s. this is the best D&D movie ive seen. my only real complaint was that we never saw any real powers from the bard and that the only thing the druid did was wild shape but overall, i enjoyed it.
I've been playing for over 15 years, my wife started playing about 4 years ago. What we loved about this movie is it's serious when it needs to be, but never takes itself seriously, just like a D&D campaign. The way the party finds overly complicated ways to overcome the problems is such a real at-the-table situation. Just such a good movie.
I loved this film, it made me laugh several times. I've been playing D&D for a few years now - I didn't get all the Easter Eggs, but noticed things like botched up saving throws and stuff ^^
the prison structure they escape from is called a Panopticon, and was a real project someone made, I believe in renaissance times, as a concept for a more secure prison, where the guards would be in the central body of the prison and the prisoners on the outer ring.. also able to see each other and be a bit more social... not sure if it was ever built though. doubt it.
There are so many subtle additions that may or may not have been on purpose regarding things like good or bad rolls. for example, delaying the story until Jarnathan arrived, getting trapped in the sand pit and unable to get out, when the guard was about to execute them in the alley holga was able to delay him giving her time to get the brick, the fact that Edgin kept trying but failing to cut the ropes tying his hands... just to name a few lol really well made movie and surprised me Also your comment on not being all that invested in his wife at the beginning when she died is on par with the theme of the ending, the audience was in the same position as his daughter.
I only now saw your reaction video! I have played tabletop role playing games for 37 years - and this movie was perfect. It was made with such love and care, so many of the chilchés set in there with care and appreciation. It is so funny and touching and sweet. I just hope we will see many more of these adventures.
@@NewfieMovieReactions I'm gearing up to a big apocalyptic story. I've been laying the groundwork for it for a few years now. When that's done, we are jumping 700 years into the future to see how the world has changed.
The fat dragon is so overweight he can't breathe fire. He spews out gas but it doesn't light unless there is a fire. Holga hit it to get it mad so it would fill the room with gas and the candle spell ignited it. Evard's Black Tentacles.
"I told you he'd get us out!" You: "Yeah, against his will though." Me: "Every great party knows that the best plans always contain an element of surprise."
I started D&D back in the old days of Basic and Advanced rules - I had all of the basic box sets. From there, I spread to all other RPGs - my favorites have been Shadowrun (I love the way they did the NPC comments in the sourcebooks) and the Palladium books (including the classic TMNT, which I own a first edition of with the Not-PC Insanity tables). Of those two, I own nearly all of the original books - took me forever to find some of them - like the Tir sourcebook for Shadowrun.
So this movie uses a lot of lore from the official D&D campaign setting the Forgotten Realms. For example, Thumberchad, the pudgy red dragon, is an actual dragon from the campaign Out of the Abyss.
I loved how the fat dragon is not only refreshing, but our laughter fades away as it becomes apparent that the fat dragon knows how to navigate through that space to capture and eat its prey. The expected comedy precedes the surprising badassery.
I loved this movie especially the Easter Eggs,.. the talk to dead shpele was so funny I had to pause the movie because it is so something my last Adventure group would do.. All the cock ups SO D&D. Effing great.
14:37 Well - depending on the edition she's either level 20 (in 5e - until level 20 druids only have 2 wild shapes per day, she shifted 7 times during this chase) or epic level (3.0 or 3.5 - 7th wildshape comes with level 21, and the ability to shape into magical beasts like an owlbear is an epic level feature as well). Regarding the fight with the dragon - don't forget that Paladins have Smite Evil. Not to mention that in Pathfinder (yeah I know, not exactly D&D) their first attack against their smite target deals double damage if it is an evil outsider, dragon or undead.
I still have my original box set of D&D. Haven't played it, or any other tabletop game in years, but I was there at the beginning. Loved this movie. Not great art but a great Saturday afternoon beer and chips flick.
The nearest I can figure is that salt water has a higher boiling point, or the salt indicated that above them was open water and not an underground lake or something.
This just popped up in my recommendations. I'm an Old School DnD guy myself. I'm excited to hear your take. Fwiw, I pretty much loved the whole thing. It had a lot of very recognizable things, but didn't force itself to "follow the rules". It just tasted like DnD. Oh, I've played for like, 38 years i think?
The dragon's breath was just gas, no fire, due to its overweight nature and age (at one point it breathed near lava and then it ignited) so Edgin realized if Simon used his fire cantrip then he could set it off and detonate the cavern
I love this Dungeons & Dragons Movie. Everything about it made the geek inside me happy. Comment below with your thoughts on the film and if you have ever tried D&D around the tabletop. 👕 The T-Shirt I'm wearing in the video is from my merch shop. It's NewfieStyles on Etsy. Click this link ➡ www.etsy.com/shop/NewfieStyles If you want to keep watching more of my videos check out my movie playlist here th-cam.com/play/PLnNWSHvmmGzgoHKZ05oBodCUzhXptPk7S.html
You know, the fact that Bradley Cooper is playing a Hafling - a small version of himself - technically makes him a Mini Cooper.
*Ba Dum Tissssss* LOL Good one.
Wonder if he was hired just for that reason😄
What got me is that he has this and Rocket Raccoon. Getting typecast as a CGI half pint is such an oddly specific and weird direction for a career to take.
Kinda like how Mike Rowe technically has a Mike Rowe penis.
I wish the dislike button was still working.
Themberchaud, the fat dragon, is actually a lore character from Forgotten Realms. He was kept by the deep dwarves to keep their forges hot and they fed him copious amounts for his work. He ended up getting fat and lazy since he didn't have to do much and his fire breath required him to make a spark which at his size he couldn't do often. He instead breathes a combustible gas that the spark in his throat would ignite. They just used the candle trick to light the gas and blow their way out,
I was so excited when I saw that Themberchaud was in this. I loved running him for my party in Out of the Abyss.
Another fun fact, Gary Gygax himself improvised Themberchaud during a 2e module, when a players cat jumped onto the board, and he thought "Yeah, this is the boss now."
@@goldexperiencerequiem776 I thought the story was that it was 1e and it was Gygax's cat.
The pudgy dragon was a masterstroke. What does every single party since the original edition yell when the host's fat housecat jumps onto the tabletop? "DRAGON!"
Themberchaud, the dragon, is actually in the lore of D&D and was conceived by Gary Gygax in 2e. He improvised Themberchaud when his cat jumped on the mat, so you're not wrong at all!
@@pfcblint3171 Gygax had nothing to do with 2e.
The intellect devourer bit was golden. If you stop to think about it... NONE of them has a class that requires INT as a core class stat. Charisma for Paladins, Bards and Sorcerors, Wisdom for the Druid and probably a lot of Strength, Dexterity and Constitution for whatever class Hulda is. :D
Hulda is a barbarian, so sounds right.
@@MasterrangerABR Holga, not Hulda
It is ashame the movie didn't do well in theaters. It deserved success.
Did it really not do that well?
@averyofhousejade1176 it made 208 million, it cost to make 150 million, but that doesn't count things like advertising so the rule of thumb is you have to at least double the budget to find the break even so it lost 100 million.
26:53 - I think the science behind it was that the fat dragon had the ability to breathe out the gases, but is impaired in igniting it himself, as seen several times before by the sparks in the mouth not doing anything. The only time he did breathe actual fire was when there was a lava waterfall in the way. So in the enclosed space, he could only breathe out the combustible gases which built up, then prematurely ignited by the flame finger trick. The saltwater thing just gives Edgin the knowledge that they were below a sea that they may escape through by swimming.
Hope this clears that scene up. Great reaction from a passionate player!
Thanks! Now it makes sense! Haha. :)
It really should have blown Simon's finger off.
Fat Dragon is actually a boss fight from Underdark campaigns involving the Duergar. His name is Themberchaud, Wyrmsmith of Gracklstugh.
@@rfresa He succeeded his DEX save. *wink*
@@Dakarn Ah, so that's his name. I misheard when I saw the movie. And he is now known as Thunder Chad.
My whole D&D group went together to watch this in theatres. We were among only a handful present there, and we had an absolute blast. We could relate so much to what we were seeing. As someone who twice campaigned as a bard with this group, it was super validating to see one as the focal character, as well.
Bard makes for a great main character for a movie IMO. :) That sounds like a lot of fun with you and your friends. :)
Let alone one that ISNT just your "hey i wanna seduce the entire realm" type.
As someone who isn't that knowledgeable about D&D, I LOVED this movie. The casting were amazing, the chemistry between actors was on point and just an overall fun movie
I'm glad! It's a great movie anyways. :)
As someone who has played for over 30 years I can say I only have one complaint about this movie....never...and I mean NEVER has a group gotten this much done in 2 1/2 hours!! LMAO....seriously though, they NAILED this movie. Enough storytelling in the right way to keep those who dont know engaged. And so so SOOOO much for us players. Fingers crossed for a sequel!!!
Fun fact: Themberchaud actually debuted in 2e lore, his previous den before the movie was a dwarven smithy. They would give him food and occasionally gold, and he would keep their furnaces lit. With food and treasure being so easy to come by, he got understandably fat.
However, he was not the first, and when Themberchaud what happened to his predecessors he made his escape.
Ohh wow. Coool stuff. Thanks for sharing that story. :)
@@NewfieMovieReactions Thw whole story can be played through in Out of Abyss, It's pretty cool actually. Technically htye aren't dwarves that keep him captive, the Duergar are kind of like cousins of dwarves but with grey skin, a pretty nasty attitude and Gracklstugh, their capital is essentially one giant forge, the ash and smoke making it hard to breathe when not in a building. Themberchaud was getting too old and too smart to be kept at bay much longer so the Duergar procured another Red Dragon egg to hatch in order to replace Themberchaud. Themberchaud found out and wanted the players to steal the egg to bring it to him so he could eat it and keep being treated well by Duergar. This is Canonically what happens with the Themberchaud storyline, although the party can choose not to help Themberchaud and even actively work against him in their campaigns if they wish. Canonically Themberchaud stays in Gracklstugh for a while after killing the unhatched dragon but eventually gets tired of being a glorified furnace, as he is now too fat to fly or walk and he hasn't developed much mentally since being locked away, he inlisted others to help him escape deeper into the underdark.
The hands: one's Bigby's hand, the other is Maximilian's earthen grasp
I've played D&D for 48 years now and I just love this movie.
48 years! I thought I was epic with 30. The crown is yours. :)
🙌
What i liked about Boss fight that Edgin mentioned that Simon countered her time-stop and not just Kira sliping her antimagic bracelet.
I love that they had approved the pardon but they broke out too quickly
Yeah. Haha That was great. :)
It's a very D&D thing to happen.
Players didn't like their rolls, panicked, and did something stupid. :p
GM was like "yeah... I have to pardon them - otherwise we can just all go home... But I'll let them sweat a litle.
I've been playing this game for around 40 years and this movie was fantastic! Love the way the writers and actors portrayed the characters - it really felt like a was watching a game in progress. You're so right about druids - one of my current players is always getting into trouble sneaking into places.
In my campaign I played as a Rogue (Tabaxi Swashbuckler), I always succeeded stealth roles when in combat. (It helps having +13 to stealth.) However, when I wanted to skulk around town after curfew to "see the sights" I always rolled a Nat 1. It became a running gag.
@@Dakarn lol, like my players' inability to safely climb down anything!
I went in with low expectations and left absolutely loving this movie. It's sooo good. I'm hoping for a good sequel.
I knew it would be great.
This movie is so great! It’s fun for people who know everything about D&D and also fun for people who know nothing about it. They made it a movie for everyone to enjoy!
Doric is my favorite character.
I agree. I like Doric as well!
I'm an old school gamer (elf was a class when I started), and I loved everything about this movie. It's the D&D movie I've been waiting for.
Honestly I feel this movie should win an award for the costume and practical effects alone. It made Dragonborn, aarakocra and all the other non-human races seem legit and normal
The other team in the maze was actually dressed like the cartoon D&D group from the 80s animation.
There is also a Volkswagon commercial, though I think it only aired internationally.
22-year veteran dungeon Master here. There are many many things I love about this movie.
Holga is from the Elk tribe, the same tribe as Wulfgar, one of the Companions of the Hall. The wizard that Simon sees when he tries to atone with the helmet was supposed to be Elminster (but it's only a reflection of Simon himself). Themberchaud was allied with the Duergar, and worked on their forges, being paid regularly in treasure, protection of his lair, and disobedient slaves as a snack. The duergar tried to keep him happy and fat.
It hurts so much that the Paladin was supposed to be Drizzt, but there was too much licensing issues or something
Really??! Wow!
That would've been so cool to see.
This movie was great. Other than the fact that I saw this 2 weeks after my wife had died and did not know that was a main plot point. But it was genuinely good. Having watched it a second time now with more time having passed i do appreciate him having to make the choice to move on.
Sorry to hear that, but I'm glad you found some enjoyment in the film. :)
I just realized that he's a chaos Sorcerer 🤔. That's why sometimes he casts and other spells happen.
He's not a chaos sorcerer, he's a wild magic sorcerer.
@@Alliebutt yea, ur right…
I love how much of the lore they got right. Really the only lore-based criticisms I've heard were minor nitpicks, they put a lot of effort into making it a movie for fans but also just good and understandable for casual moviegoers. I think this might be my favorite fantasy movie... ever.
I started playing D&D 43 years ago! I went through a lot of systems, but I really fell in love with GURPS. This movie is super-fun!
I still think that GURPS is the best RPG system ever made. It's complex, but the best IMO. :)
regarding the underwater explosion, the dragon likely breaths out methane and would ignite the methane with a sparke from its mouth. They utilized the dragon filling the chamber with gas as a means to destroy the wall between them and the ocean.
Not sure if anyone brought up the 80s animated dnd show party being in the games easter egg yet, but that was easily one of my favorite bits!
And I LOVE pracitcal effects! To see some puppetry was AWESOME. And for something so intrinsically creative as DnD, the mix of many crafts just added to the films faithful spirit. I'm favored towards a mix of all mediums, and this film nailed that for me
i saw this movie in theater with my D&D group we had an absolute blast and loved every minute of it.
I bet! Such a great movie for RPG geeks like myself. haha.
This is the best G&D movie that's out there. I was 19 when I was first played D&D. The group that I was play with was just moving from the AD&D to the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition. It was 1989 when I first purchased the Player's handbook. Which I still have at the moment. I was working at McDonald's, it was the most stressful Of my time and playing D&D helped to get rid my mind off of somethings and some of the stress that I was faced with.
I am with ya! The more practical effects the better!!
I think I've watched this movie like 3 times and also pretty much every reaction to it on TH-cam, lol. Been waiting for you to react to it! :D Awesome movie and a great reaction!
Thanks! Yeah I just had to check this one out. :)
@@NewfieMovieReactions oh, also, it wasn't the salt water that was flammable, it was the dragon's breath :D It was shown earlier that he has trouble sparking up his breath into fully-fledged fire. So Ed's plan was to use Simon's finger-candle trick to light it up and to explode the cave they were in, because leaking salt water meant they were under sea, which meant they could escape :)
@@NewfieMovieReactions oh, and also, here's the obligatory "Rege-Jean didn't hear the director call 'cut' because of the waves, so he kept just going in a straight line, and they found it so hilarious, they kept it in the film" comment :D
What I love about this movie is that if you don't know anything about dnd, the movie is just a very fun fantasy movie
BUT if you know a lot about dnd, you can see the matrix lol. You can see the rolls, you can tell the paladin is a DMPC, that the bard gives pep talks so much because he's using bardic inspiration, it genuinely feels like when they were writing this, they kept thinking about what the actual players were doing behind the scenes, and that's why it succeeds, it FEELS like a dnd campaign come to life
So glad you watched this. As a fellow D&D nerd and RPG nerd, this movie was so much fun! The right around of camp, heart and lore.
Jarnathan is definitely named that because the players asked the DM the name of the NPC and there was nothing prepped.
My good friend and I love this movie! One of the things we enjoy about this movie, is the fact that they went with practical effects and make-up for the non-human species characters instead of CGI.
The situation with the flame finger in the cave. It was shown earlier that the dragon was having trouble ignighting its breath it succeeds earlier when it spits into the lava but it's ignition doesn't seem to work on its own. So they were just ignighting the accumulated dragons breath.
Gotta love the Wild magic sorcerer.
And that staff is totally a portal gun.
As a D&D player, I recognized it for what it is: an Arcane Gate spell, literally on a stick.
The range & duration were tweaked for plot reasons, but it's still a 6th level spell at its core.
Oh I missed that until now, "The great Simon Aumar"! So he's of the famed Elminster's bloodline?
Chris Pine's character outright says he's a part of Elminster's bloodline, as they try to convince Doric to join them on their mission.
@@Alliebutt Yeah, I missed that
I love Themverchaud! Can't believe they used him.
Just gotta love the subtle nods to actions and abilities to keep the D&D community talk “Did Xenk use zone of truth, and that’s why Edgin had a hard time trying to speak, cause at the time it was likely a lie? A barely succeeded charisma save perhaps”
“Was that Meteor Swarm Sofina first used outside the arena?”
I’ve played dnd for 13 years now (26/m) and I loved every second of this
considering today's C.G. I'd say we got very lucky with how this movie turned out. If they had used c.g. i can only assume it would have been so cheesy bad. The practical effects are awesome. and the fight sequences are so cool. Holga's stunt double kicks ass
Yup I agree with all that. The CG was good when needed in this film. :)
As a long time DnD player, this film was a delight start to finish. Well cast, well filmed, beautiful, interesting sets, well LIT (I tell you what, being able to see everything on screen makes a nice change from other recent fantasy shows, they probably also had beautiful sets, but you couldn't SEE them) ALSO shoutout to the costume department for not dressing everyone in shades of "Ye Olde Mud". The choice to use a lot of practical effects was a great one, it means this film won't look ridiculous in a year, and practical effects are always better for immersion. Everything was interesting to look at, you got a great sense of the world without needing hours of infodumping, and it was just...fun :D
It's been immediately added to my rotation of "movies to watch when I need to improve my day" which honestly is a short list.
tl;dr: loved it, 8.5/10, loses points for Hugh Grant because I just can't stand the guy (don't at me, he's a fine actor, I just don't like most of his work), but it's great.
Have you considered reacting to The Legend of Vox Machina animated series? (if you haven't watched it already, your recognition of the FCG reference makes me think you might have) based on Critical Role's first DnD campaign, and produced and voiced by the same cast that played those characters for years :) Do recommend if you want more DnD-based goodness.
I started to react to Vox Machina, but it didn't perform well on my channel. I hope to get back to it someday. :) Thanks for watching.
That's a shame, it's a great series :) Worth watching in your own time if not as a reaction.
You know, I LOVED Hugh Grant in this film because he plays just the sleazy git I love to hate him as. Normally we’re meant to like his characters so this was cathartic. 😂
Currently in a Dragonlance game. Been going for 9.5 months at this point. And that's literally the extent of my TTRPG experience so far. I'm loving it.
Awesome! I recently started a TTRPG TH-cam channel. Here's the link if you are interested. www.youtube.com/@RadiantPathGaming
I'm sure this has been answered already, or you found it in the edit, but the combustible part when they were cornered by the dragon was the dragon breath. The dragon had been trying to blow fire the entire fight but couldn't manage to get it to spark.
Ohhh I didn't think it was that, I thought where he said. This is Salt water, I have a plan! I thought it was something to do with that. Haha okay thanks for explaining it.
@@NewfieMovieReactions The salt water was just that he knew they were close enough that if the rock blasted apart, they'd be able to swim to the surface of the ocean and escape.
Been playing for about 30 years, and this was the best D&D movie that I could have imagined.
You guessed at levels a few times. There are official statblocks for characters in the movie. The four party members are all CR 5. Forge is CR 8. Zenk is CR 10. Sofina is CR 15.
I started playing D&D in '79 and have loved RPGs ever since. I loved this movie. i have seen a few reactions to this movie, but all were those who did not know D&D or RPGs. This was great to see the perspective of someone who does understand it all. One thing I really liked is that even those who had no knowledge really enjoyed it as well.
Buffy season 6 discussed the returning from the dead and it’s consequences of happiness there.
Very cool how ”Speak to the Dead” actually briefly resurrected the corpses :-)
I used to play D&D while in the military in the early 90's. I also read most of the books from both Dragonlance & Forgotten Realms and played a lot of RPGs on the computer & consoles.
I saw this movie with my DND group and we had a fantastic time. One thing I really liked about it is that, even though we never see the players behind these characters, you can almost hear them in your mind, making jokes about what’s happening as the story progresses.
I knew what a D20 was before I could count that high. I had the original little white box for D&D. And Traveler.
I also used to write for Games Workshop. Ran the tournaments and stuff. Loved going to all the cons, watching people play games and drinking adult beverages for a living.
D&D player here, haven't been table-topping for too long little over a year. Definitely loving the difference. From games to rp. Love this movie 🎲
Playing D&D for over 25 years now and I loved this movie. The subtle easter eggs like the D&D cartoon series characters as well as the boogie man that is Thay (which I learned to know well in the AD&D 2E campaign I was in back in the days. I love how they managed to make everything easy to grasp for someone who does not know anything about D&D as well as warming the hearts of die hard fans. That is also why I think they did not make bard or druid spellcasting a thing, it would have confused the average movie goer (like "Wait... he/she is now a sorcerer too!?").
I started playing DnD during 4th ed. This movie was everything i cpuld have wanted in a DnD movie.
He realized that Holga WAS Kia's mom, he was indeed not raising Kia's mom, he was raising HIS WIFE. His daughter had never known her mother... she'd only ever known Holga. So he did what he said he was going to do: he made them a family again.
He brought HOLGA back so his daughter could have both her mom and dad again.
The science behind their escape from themberchaud (apologies if I misspelled the name) is that they were beneath the sea and that igniting the gas that themberchaud was breathing would blow open the roof. Themberchaud can't light his own fires as shown earlier when he used lava to ignite flammable gas that he breathed out
A friwnd whos really into dnd took me to see it. Now im in 2 campaigns he runs
That's awesome! :)
Great review. I loved it too. You missed Simon's last name and there was another easter egg with the wizard (sage perhaps?) he saw while trying to attune. His last name is "Au Mar". I would assume the person he saw was Elminster.
He thinks he sees Elminster, as the figure says, "I am also an Aumar.", but it's not, it's just Simon.
Like JinxedPixie pointed out, he was seeing himself from the start. He himself was the only obstacle in the way of him getting better as a sorcerer, and he needed to stand up for himself to attune with the helmet.
we've been playin since the early 80s. this is the best D&D movie ive seen. my only real complaint was that we never saw any real powers from the bard and that the only thing the druid did was wild shape but overall, i enjoyed it.
I've been playing for over 15 years, my wife started playing about 4 years ago. What we loved about this movie is it's serious when it needs to be, but never takes itself seriously, just like a D&D campaign. The way the party finds overly complicated ways to overcome the problems is such a real at-the-table situation. Just such a good movie.
I loved this film, it made me laugh several times. I've been playing D&D for a few years now - I didn't get all the Easter Eggs, but noticed things like botched up saving throws and stuff ^^
the prison structure they escape from is called a Panopticon, and was a real project someone made, I believe in renaissance times, as a concept for a more secure prison, where the guards would be in the central body of the prison and the prisoners on the outer ring.. also able to see each other and be a bit more social... not sure if it was ever built though. doubt it.
There are so many subtle additions that may or may not have been on purpose regarding things like good or bad rolls. for example, delaying the story until Jarnathan arrived, getting trapped in the sand pit and unable to get out, when the guard was about to execute them in the alley holga was able to delay him giving her time to get the brick, the fact that Edgin kept trying but failing to cut the ropes tying his hands... just to name a few lol really well made movie and surprised me
Also your comment on not being all that invested in his wife at the beginning when she died is on par with the theme of the ending, the audience was in the same position as his daughter.
I only now saw your reaction video! I have played tabletop role playing games for 37 years - and this movie was perfect. It was made with such love and care, so many of the chilchés set in there with care and appreciation. It is so funny and touching and sweet. I just hope we will see many more of these adventures.
Am in Newfoundland too and just found your channel! Great reaction and glad you enjoyed the film :)
First player I've reacted to! Thank you for your insight into the game, it made the reaction so much more enjoyable
Glad you enjoyed! As there is soo much enjoyment in this movie for someone who plays Dungeons and Dragons. :)
Going to heaven and being dragged back was the plot of an entire season of Buffy
Love D&D! Played a human paladin with an enemies snake familiar that rode along wrapped in my glaive.
I really want a series and cinematic universe for these characters.
They always says "Simon, hold it"
Because Simon has "Bag of Holding" :p
Ahhhh okay! Nice!
did you miss that one of the other groups in the maze was supposed to be the kids from the 80s D&D cartoon?
Yeah, I didn't watch the D&D cartoon as a kid. I wish I did.
D&D player and Dungeon Master, been playing d&d since 2017ish been playing ttrpgs since 2014-2015 ish
I love this movie. Been Playing D&D in my friend's game for the last 20 years, and been DMing in my homebrewed world for the last 15.
That's awesome! Same world for 15 years, that's epic! :)
@@NewfieMovieReactions I'm gearing up to a big apocalyptic story. I've been laying the groundwork for it for a few years now. When that's done, we are jumping 700 years into the future to see how the world has changed.
The fat dragon is so overweight he can't breathe fire. He spews out gas but it doesn't light unless there is a fire. Holga hit it to get it mad so it would fill the room with gas and the candle spell ignited it. Evard's Black Tentacles.
Yup! Haha awesome. I picked up on that during editing the 2nd time through. Great touch. Loved this film.
"I told you he'd get us out!"
You: "Yeah, against his will though."
Me: "Every great party knows that the best plans always contain an element of surprise."
The lady screaming "JARNATHAN" is still the funniest thing in the whole move lol
I started D&D back in the old days of Basic and Advanced rules - I had all of the basic box sets. From there, I spread to all other RPGs - my favorites have been Shadowrun (I love the way they did the NPC comments in the sourcebooks) and the Palladium books (including the classic TMNT, which I own a first edition of with the Not-PC Insanity tables). Of those two, I own nearly all of the original books - took me forever to find some of them - like the Tir sourcebook for Shadowrun.
This movie was a real surprise. I really enjoyed it. I wish it did better at the box office.
And all the romantic entanglements making a mess out of everything Bards are especially fun.
In the end, he chose his Kid's Mother, over his Wife.
Yes practical effects and CGI is the way to go. I use to be a big fan of Fangoria magazine. Practical effects always amazed me. 😄
I play D&D and have been for about 4ish years. & I love this movie. :D
47 years of table top gaming here...... started D@D when I was 9 been a min.....
Amazing! Never stop.
@@NewfieMovieReactions never always finding newbies
So this movie uses a lot of lore from the official D&D campaign setting the Forgotten Realms. For example, Thumberchad, the pudgy red dragon, is an actual dragon from the campaign Out of the Abyss.
I loved how the fat dragon is not only refreshing, but our laughter fades away as it becomes apparent that the fat dragon knows how to navigate through that space to capture and eat its prey. The expected comedy precedes the surprising badassery.
This was such a good film. Really enjoyed it. And a great review!
Themberchaud is a canon D&D dragon and yes, he is canonically grossly fat for a dragon. He's the best thing ever put in D&D as far as I'm concerned.
This movie should have mase twice as much at the box office. I hope this production crew gets to make a sequal.
I loved this movie especially the Easter Eggs,.. the talk to dead shpele was so funny I had to pause the movie because it is so something my last Adventure group would do.. All the cock ups SO D&D. Effing great.
14:37 Well - depending on the edition she's either level 20 (in 5e - until level 20 druids only have 2 wild shapes per day, she shifted 7 times during this chase) or epic level (3.0 or 3.5 - 7th wildshape comes with level 21, and the ability to shape into magical beasts like an owlbear is an epic level feature as well).
Regarding the fight with the dragon - don't forget that Paladins have Smite Evil. Not to mention that in Pathfinder (yeah I know, not exactly D&D) their first attack against their smite target deals double damage if it is an evil outsider, dragon or undead.
I still have my original box set of D&D. Haven't played it, or any other tabletop game in years, but I was there at the beginning.
Loved this movie. Not great art but a great Saturday afternoon beer and chips flick.
The nearest I can figure is that salt water has a higher boiling point, or the salt indicated that above them was open water and not an underground lake or something.
This just popped up in my recommendations. I'm an Old School DnD guy myself. I'm excited to hear your take. Fwiw, I pretty much loved the whole thing. It had a lot of very recognizable things, but didn't force itself to "follow the rules". It just tasted like DnD.
Oh, I've played for like, 38 years i think?
The dragon's breath was just gas, no fire, due to its overweight nature and age (at one point it breathed near lava and then it ignited) so Edgin realized if Simon used his fire cantrip then he could set it off and detonate the cavern
I love dungeons and dragons and I love this movie
I never got into the circle of RP DnD, only played a few related video games like BG and the movie still got me hooked into its universe.