pietroschek Dungeons & Dragons 3 – Book of Vile DarknessD&D has grown adult, and the third movie is finally mature and courageous enough to dare using protagonists who are antiheroes at best, or hellbent villains at their worst. Once again the lower- budget movies' value has to do with its authenticity to the roleplaying game it IS attached to. To give an example to readers:The wizard of the group, actually a wizard by base class and vermin lord by prestige class, is really inspired by a class which the supposedly evil Book of Vile Darkness allows roleplayers to create. Seemingly it is based on the outdated 3,5 or 4th edition of the game-books.The Shadakai Witch then, just to mention one special aspect, is able of healing magic, as is shown in the movie. This is crucial for a disciplined witch is much more subtle than another religious cleric all too eager to pester absolutely everyone with another sermon about why his or her deity is the best choice... My hint is comparing her to the main evil witch of 'Hansel & Gretel – Witchhunters', as that one was well-performed, and showing a veteran, no-nonsense wicked evil lady.Just as a paladin does not start all-flawless among the do-good- meddlers, so does evil not automatically mean perfection either. Roleplayers of D&D call it levels. Levels of Experience, which is in example earned by adventuring and vanquishing foes, means growing levels of competence. To give some well known examples: 1: Gandalf from Lord of the Rings was a wizard. Gandalf the Grey was a lower level than Gandalf the White ( or Black, if Evil), for the change of robes signaled it. 2: A boyscout age 12 could be considered a ranger level 1, but to form guys like Aragorn, Lord of the Rings, or Jon Snow,Game of Thrones, it would need a progressive development which roleplayers would consider the accumulation of advanced levels of experience in the ranger character class. 3: In real life a paramedic is a less competent healer than the accomplished doctors, still both could be considered to be of the healing class. The details then come due experience gain which is symbolizing the increasing of competences (and special effects for movies). This movie is mostly for adults. It gives hints at sex, murder for fun, personal gratification & profit, uses the concept of 'Liquid Pain' from the written Book of Vile Darkness, and uses monsters, like the Undead Child, to grow beyond & above the monster-slayer stereotype. Technically it remains a lower-budget work, still the actors are motivated, aware of what role they play and doing their best in a humorous yet darkly crueler way. It makes this movie outstanding among roleplayers, as 'good-guy charades' are considered a more proper, but actually only more stupid, moralist & hypocrite way to make use of Dungeons & Dragons. Context: A knight who was just a little bit befuddled by his supposed deity's reaction to his dedication awakes left for dead and has to face the selfish task of rescuing his father along with the chance to fight some real Evil. Contrary to dumbest and most crude approach he cannot just draw his sword and make all the bad guys jump into it. Henceforth he has to learn how to infiltrate a villainous group of evil adventurers, play along with their goals, and ultimately remember his real priorities. To the benefit of the audience this is achieved without making the other characters ill- portrayed or suppressed! A Non-Roleplayer can rightfully vote it 0 to 10 by taste. But as one of the movies blending acting and roleplaiyng into one the achievements, many unique and first time dared, should result in a rating of 6 to 10. My class-choice by book? Base Class: Wizard; Prestige Class: Diabolist or Disciple of Mephistopheles. ;-)

Anssi Vartiainen As someone who has played D&D for years, I can only marvel how this movie even manages to exist. It feels like someone literally took their campaign notes and used them as a script. It's not a movie inspired by roleplaying games, it's not based on any single campaign. It simply is a campaign, word for word.And for what it is, it's amazing. The world of Dungeons & Dragons is transferred to the silver screen in all of its geeky glory. Men of might and valor set worth from their rural origins to battle great evil. Necromancers openly walk the streets, mass murdering people left and right with their black magic. Because that's what you do when you're evil. Loot is gathered, and even sold in stores, using the geekiest names imaginable. Dragons are slain, forces vanquished and damsels saved. It's glorious.It's also stupid beyond all belief, don't get me wrong, but that's how we like it. The acting is surprisingly decent, given the budget, but it's still pretty terrible. The technical aspects show the lack of budget and the story... well, as stated, I think they simply used the campaign notes instead of writing an actual script.This movie has a lot of "so bad it's good" value to it, especially if you're a gamer. It's bad, it's oh so bad, but it's entertaining as well. Exercise caution and bring a bowl of popcorn.

thetickspoon This movie stands as a testament of why I hate the MPAA. If any true DnD fans recall... the Dnd movie hit the theaters around when Star Wars Ep 2 hit. Dnd had a PG13 movie and was destroyed by the low violence it was allowed and lack of sex and danger. While SW ep3 had creatures cut in half with light sabers and even the head Fett mofo had his frigging head cut off and that was only PG. Tell me how that makes any frigging sense? This movie had action, violence, evil, a good-looking main character and actual plot that follows true DnD lore with a minor artifact of power.My only gripe with the movie... and I know... true DnD geek here... the main character goes from like a level 4 warrior to a level 30 paladin and obliterates all the bad guys in the last 2 minutes of the movie. Other than that... this movie is the epitome of DnD.Should have been the first... then we would have many good sequels to follow instead of that baby crap violence allowed in the first!

inkkipeipee I really do not understand the low scores on this movie...Yes, it is low budget, and yes it lacks the shine of those expensive movies...So? The plot is OK, love story is more realistic than in many many other movies, even the characters are believable. I usually find many annoyances in films, even the best ones, but whats very weird, nothing really annoyed me in this one.I have played D&D games, and many other RPGs, but I don't think thats of any relevance, this is a decent movie for all who like these sword & magic fantasy flicks.For a low budget movie, even the CG effects are very successful. And there's some more eye candy in the form of a Gothic hot chick ;D I had somewhat low expectations for this one, and I was very positively surprised, so 8/10 for this one, and thanks to other who have commented, wouldn't have watched it without you.If you are into this kind of movies, try it, you might be surprised too...