Okay, this looks good. Waaaay better than I expected. I wouldn't bet on it being a great movie, but the trailer is cool. Owlbearls and coeurls (or "displacer beast")? Count me in.

Quote from: Crusader X on July 21, 2022, 08:04:05 PM

Quoteyou don't sell them on the prospect of spending hours in a room full Cheeto stained neckbeards that smell like sour milk.

None of that was in the movie trailer.

QuoteYou sell them on the thrill of being daring, larger than life heroes undertaking dangerous quests to explore forgotten ruins, defeat fearsome monsters and villains, rescue princesses, and save the kingdom.

All of that was in the movie trailer.  Except the princess rescuing.  Just with a more lighthearted and fun tone rather than a more super-serious tone.

I wasn't commenting on the movie trailer. I was commenting on the half a dozen posts above mine nitpicking exceptions that may technically happen in game or stuff that may have been shown in the rule books in passing (without actually being the focus of the book's content, just filler illustrations) to argue for the sake of arguing, while missing the forest for the trees. And here you're essentially doing the same thing.

You're not arguing against what I'm actually saying. You're fishing for superficial inconsistencies and things that may appear to be wrong in my post when taken out of context to dismiss them without understanding or addressing what's actually being said.

Hmmm the main trailer showed us:
* black male being awesome
* hispanic female being awesome
* white female being awesome
* white male screwing around and being a buffoon, then being asked why he was even there. Why indeed?

The trailer looks great to me. I've gone from skeptical to wanting to see this.

Here is a more direct link:



Here is WOTC commentary on the preview



And here is DnDBeyond spotting easter eggs:

Quote from: BronzeDragon on July 21, 2022, 07:37:19 PM

Quote from: VisionStorm on July 21, 2022, 06:16:08 PM
Second (and this is probably the tricky part when it comes to rights) take the most popular character with an established IP, who happens to be from that flagship setting, and make the movie about Drizzt Do'Urden. Take Icewind Dale Trilogy and give it the LotR treatment. Treat that novel like it is a serious thing and give us a film about an actual band of adventurers going through personal struggles, where the main character is persecuted minority attempting to overcome persecution—which I know plays into the woke bullshit, but the public will eat that shit up if you do it right.

And this is a proven element with staying power and an established fan base. Not some toss away popcorn flick, but something you can take seriously and build a franchise around.

Although I do agree picking a setting and characters would be better, the Drizz't story would not fly in this day and age without major alterations. I don't even like Salvatore's novels, but they clearly present certain...problems for The Message.

All black elves are evil (except the main character). NOOOPE.

Said evil race is organized as a mega evil Matriarchy. LOL NOPE.

Said evil race is even more evil because they hold slaves. HAHAHA NOPE.

The girl in the main party is not always present, and not really that relevant in terms of action. Nope.

As for the trailer, it hasn't changed my perspective. Like I said, the bells & whistles of post production do make things look less shoddy, but they still look cheap to me.

Is Drizzt not perfect for the Message when you have a Black character who is constantly being persecuted where ever he goes?

Quote from: VisionStorm on July 21, 2022, 07:39:49 PM
This is about marketing not illustrating reality or actual game play. Marketing isn't about painting reality or highlighting oddball moments that may occasionally happen (like pretending to be mice by wearing goofy outfits to sneak pass some monsters), but aren't the focus of actual play or the main thing the game is actually about. Marketing is about polishing that shit and making it look better than it actually is. No one wants to see a movie about the actual stuff people usually do in most games (in or out of character). They wanna be sold on the fantasy that this is an actual tale of high adventure.

I don't think it's all one or the other. There are clearly *some* people who are sold on dark and/or serious fantasy like Lord of the Rings. On the other hand, there are also some people sold by fantasy with light-hearted elements and banter - like Pirates of the Carribean or The Princess Bride. It's not about reproducing a typical game, it's about evoking what a truly great game is. For some people, a really great game session can be one with really clever banter and entertaining moments and so forth. A film that evokes this can have jokes and banter written by a brilliant writer and performed by a very engaging professional actor.

And of course, some people enjoy both light-hearted fantasy and serious fantasy.

Quote from: kreegan on July 21, 2022, 09:42:38 PM
Hmmm the main trailer showed us:
* black male being awesome
* hispanic female being awesome
* white female being awesome
* white male screwing around and being a buffoon, then being asked why he was even there. Why indeed?

You mean the bard leader of the group wearing the Harpers pin? The biggest star for the movie, who is totally awesome in this clip?

Jesus wept, when did conservatives like you become such whiney little pussies looking to play the victim over anything? Are you really as insecure as you come across?

Quote from: Shasarak on July 21, 2022, 10:03:11 PM
Is Drizzt not perfect for the Message when you have a Black character who is constantly being persecuted where ever he goes?

Not when the reason for the persecution is the fact that all black elves are evil, matriarchal slave holders who love torture and worship an evil spider goddess.

The fact that he isn't doesn't change the underlying facts of his race and civilization.

Hence my observation that major lore changes would be required to make the offer palatable to "modern audiences".

Quote from: Dylan on July 21, 2022, 10:04:19 AM
Don't be churlish: it looks great.

Quote from: kreegan on July 21, 2022, 09:42:38 PM
Hmmm the main trailer showed us:
...
* white male screwing around and being a buffoon, then being asked why he was even there. Why indeed?

Nah, that was just Chris Pine doing his usual thing. 

I thought the trailer looked good.

The movie is set in the Forgotten Realms. This isn't in the trailer but the promotional material makes the setting clear. Also, the main inspiration will be "Guardians of the Galaxy" - which is not a bad start IMHO. Having run more serious D&D campaigns I can say that, to me, the banter and the jokes between the players are always at the core of D&D. Of course they have to pull it off.

"We didn't mean to unleash the greatest evil the world has ever known" is the basic plot of every D&D campaign ever.

I have no problems with Michelle Rodriguez as she is cool in everything she does. Her ability not to age is unnatural.

Yeah, I can see "modern" elements in the trailer, especially "Every female character is smart, every male character is either stupid, or evil, or evil and stupid". I still like the "I make plans" banter at the end. Generally speaking, the trailer give me vibes of a group of players around the table playing D&D and having fun. Compare this with the "gravitas" of "The Rings of Power" trailer and the atrocious dialogue that you find there.

Since there is a D&D series in the works by the same production companies I guess that this movie will be the pilot. The problem I see is that it already looks more something made for streaming than for the big screen (and the second season of "The Witcher" already showed better production values). We can only wait and see.

It's like a showcase of D&D's goofiest monsters (i.e. owlbear and mimic). Will we also get to see an otyugh and a flumph?

Quote from: kreegan on July 21, 2022, 09:42:38 PM
Hmmm the main trailer showed us:
* black male being awesome
* hispanic female being awesome
* white female being awesome
* white male screwing around and being a buffoon, then being asked why he was even there. Why indeed?

Exactly - thought the trailer looked ok until the typical racist misandry at the end.

Quote from: Skullking on July 22, 2022, 04:15:28 AM

Quote from: kreegan on July 21, 2022, 09:42:38 PM
Hmmm the main trailer showed us:
* black male being awesome
* hispanic female being awesome
* white female being awesome
* white male screwing around and being a buffoon, then being asked why he was even there. Why indeed?

Exactly - thought the trailer looked ok until the typical racist misandry at the end.

The lack of diversity is appalling. Where's the lesbian tabaxi warrior in a combat wheelchair who self-identifies as a beholder?

Quote from: Rhymer88 on July 22, 2022, 03:22:50 AM
It's like a showcase of D&D's goofiest monsters (i.e. owlbear and mimic). Will we also get to see an otyugh and a flumph?

I think I spotted a gelatinous cube there as well maybe.

Tbh it looked quite fun.