Obsessed with Baldur’s Gate 3? We also. And it’s normal. Venturing into his world is a joy. Let yourself be carried away by their great stories or see the hilarious consequences derived from a bad shot even more. However, did you know that there are movies inspired by that same fantasy universe? One of the best, in fact, was released just a few months before Larian’s video game.
the saga Baldur’s Gate It is set in Dungeons & Dragons. More specifically, our journey takes place in the Forgotten Realms, a context shared by the bard Edgin Darvis, the barbarian Holga Kilgore and the rest of the characters in the movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves from Paramount Pictures, the most recent foray being of the franchise on the big screen.
Logically, the current campaign the Forgotten Realms of D&D it also draws from countless previous fantasy universes and others created after the fact. From Tolkien’s signature in The Lord of the Rings to other much more modern productions created directly for small screens. And, of course, a colossal legacy of sword and magic video games.
Adapting the universe of The Forgotten Realms and the essence of Dungeons & Dragons to the new times and the concerns of those passionate about fantasy, but preserving the essentials to awaken the fascination and adventurous spirit of new generations through any medium or format.
As you already know, in LifeExtra We are true lovers of fantasy. The one we live through video games, of course, but even beyond. Precisely for this reason, we have prepared a very special selection of films and series that, we hope, you will love if you are enjoying both Baldur’s Gate 3 like us.
From animated productions to large film productions or timeless classics. Content that addresses the stories of magic and swords from different points of view, sometimes not so serious and others less orthodox. Promoting variety so that there is always something interesting for everyone. And, hopefully, inspiring you for when you resume your game.
Our starting point, the work that our SamaGame colleagues crowned as the best adventure film of recent years.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Paramount Pictures shot a sensational, hilarious, and action-packed game of Dungeons & Dragons in which nods to the Forgotten Realms, the essence of the franchise, and the spirit of high-fantasy quests fill the screen. A movie that, without being strictly perfect, is absolutely essential for Baldur’s Gate 3 players.
- Streaming: Movistar+
Dungeons & Dragons (Dungeons and Dragons)
The first major live-action production of Dungeons & Dragons for the big screen was released in 2000 and was quickly eclipsed by the success of other great magic and fantasy sagas. Which does not take away its own merits, its successes -which it has- and the fact of starting its own film trilogy whose brooch will be launched directly in domestic format.
Dragons and Dungeons, the animated series
Forty years before the premiere of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and Baldur’s Gate 3which is said quickly, the first animated series based on Dungeons & Dragons, offering three seasons of adventures starring young adventurers trying to return to the real world with the help of the Dungeon Master plus one missing episode. Watch out for the theme of the Spanish version performed by Dulces.
The film saga of The Lord of the Rings
It is absolutely impossible to allude to the great adventure, fantasy, magic and sword films without recommending Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. An impeccable adaptation of the literary saga that revolutionized the film industry and, in the process, masterfully captured the essence of a work that until then was considered impossible to film.
- Streaming: HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video
The Hobbit Trilogy
A decade after the cinematic phenomenon of the Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson himself and his team tackled the challenge of taking the YA novel The Hobbit by transforming it into a three-film saga. And despite its great excesses, which are very visible, it is still a spectacular experience of adventure, magic and swords with a huge dragon capable of amortizing that expensive sound bar that you bought for your television.
- Streaming: Amazon Prime Video
The Flight of Dragons
Decades before Warner’s adapted Tolkien’s works, the company released the flight of dragonsan animated film based -with enormous liberties- on the novel of the same name that Peter Dickinson wrote in 1979. And despite the fact that so much animation carries many elements of its time, its way of presenting the coexistence between science and magic in a Medieval fantasy world remains timeless.
Conan the barbarian
One of the best fantasy films ever made. As it is. The adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s work starring Arnold Schwarzenegger himself (with none other than James Earl Jones replicating him) conveys the epic of swordplay and great adventures from its opening bars. Of course, its sequel, Conan the Destroyer, brims with much more fantasy, magic and elements of D&D, although as a film it lags far behind. Much further back.
- Streaming: Disney Plus
The Princess Bride (The Princess Bride)
“” The engaged princess (The Princess Bride) is a well-deserved cult work and a true fantasy, adventure film classic with touches of comedy and fairy tales based, of course, on the 1973 book of the same name. With colorful characters, iconic and inevitable elements sword duels capable of capturing the imagination of a young reader and, by extension, of entire generations of spectators.
- Streaming: Amazon Prime Video
Warcraft: The Origin
From the video game to the big screen with no expense spared. Blizzard and Universal put all the meat on the grill to bring the eternal conflict between the Alliance and the Horde to movie theaters, offering an authentic visual spectacle that divided specialized critics and those passionate about video games.
And despite the fact that, in this case, it is Blizzard who borrows elements from D&D to cement its background, the gratuitousness with which spells are performed or the decorations will draw smiles among Baldur’s Gate players.
- Streaming: Amazon Prime Video, Netflix Skyshowtime
(dis)charm
Our first not-so-jarring note is very carefully chosen: (dis)charm It is the third major animation project from the creators of The Simpsons and Futurama and, at the same time, a tribute, parody and own approach to the fantasy and adventure genre; with that point of criticism and acid humor so characteristic of Matt Groening’s characters. A madness, yes, with events worthy of one of those very bad thrown in Baldur’s Gate that lead to fascinating dramas.
Streaming: Netflix
The Witcher Saga on Netflix
More than high fantasy, the universe imagined by Andrzej Sapkowski in his literary saga matches much more with dark fantasy. But, at the same time, he provides a cruder and darker portrait of the typical adventure feats in which elements of Nordic and medieval myths play a leading role. Especially when it comes to fighting against dark creatures and beasts.
With regard to this selection, we have not only wanted to keep in mind the already available seasons of The Witcher, the series, but also productions closely linked to them such as the Nightmare of the Wolf. And while The Witcher: Origin of Blood movie is in many ways a nonsense, in its own way -and with its flaws- it fits much better within the standards of D&D games than it does in Geralt’s world of Rivia.
- Streaming: Netflix
the wheel of time
Once again, television drinks from paper by taking Robert Jordan’s High Fantasy novels (James Oliver Rigney to our close friends) to serial format. However, we cannot forget that more than 20 years ago Wizards of the Coast itself, owner of Dungeons & Dragons and by extension Baldur’s Gate, developed a role-playing game based on the rules of the third edition of D&D. They are independent franchises, for the record, but with enough points in common so that The Wheel of Time deserves a viewing if we like to get lost on the Sword Coast.
- Streaming: Amazon Prime Video
Knights, princesses and other beasts
Recommend Knights, princesses and other beasts (Your Highness) due to its plot, its contribution to the seventh art or its themes is really complicated: David Gordon Green’s film is a true prank that not even the most warlike and charming Natalie Portman can save. And yet, the way to sweep home each and every one of the clichés inherited from the enormous legacy of Dungeons & Dragons achieves that, at least, it deserves a mention. Even if it is to add a note of color to our selection.
- Streaming: SkyShowtime
In the name of the king (In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale)
The legacy of uwe boll and its dangerous flirtations with video game adaptations is almost a subgenre in itself from which what is just and necessary can be rescued. In the King’s name, with its flaws, manages to make the cut: Jason Statham, Burt Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Claire Forlani and even John Rhys-Davies lend themselves to adapting the Dungeon Siege role-playing saga, achieving high suspense for Boll, but also his best fantasy film , magic and swords. Another thing is where the bar is, of course.
- Streaming: Rakuten TV
The Dragon of the Lake of Fire (DragonSlayer)
As much as we are passionate about video games, we could not close our review of fantasy, magic and sword films with a contribution from Uwe Boll. The general idea is to offer a wide variety of approaches to the themes of Baldur’s Gate 3, And the movie fits that very well. But it wouldn’t be pretty. That is why we have reserved DragonSlayer for the end.
Released in Spain under the name of The Dragon of the Lake of Fire, it is a Dark Fantasy story produced by Paramount and Disney itself that, despite its marked clichés, combines feelings of heroism, tests of courage and the determination to finish with a powerful enemy to offer the viewer the essence of great adventures.
