Great Film overall

Better Late Then Never

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

MIDNIGHT CHRONICLES is a Cosplay fan's version of THE LORD OF THE RINGS, complete with elves, orcs, and dark lords, and not an ounce of sense to go with it. This is an amateur night production with very little to recommend it, mired as it is in a sea of poor writing, even worse acting, and a general lack of cohesion that makes it a real chore to sit through.Occasionally - and only occasionally - the film offers up some not-bad visuals that would have been at home in the Jackson trilogy, but for most of the time it's embarrassingly inept. The orcs in particular are silly-looking, full-grown guys wearing what looks like Halloween masks. The narrative is slow moving, lack in incident and spectacle, and there's nary any action to get excited about either. Yeah, it's a waste of time on the part of the viewer and effort on the part of the film-makers.

I gave this such a high score because I could not believe it only had a 3.5 rating and I want to see a sequel. Most low budget films are barely worth watching; bad dialog, bad CG, etc. Those who think this is bad; either have never seen a truly bad movie or have a very short attention span. I admit there is some bad dialog and some badly delivered dialog in this movie. If you want lots of action and bad CG effects, then this movie is not for you. That being said, this is a great movie for people who enjoy fantasy. Hell, take out the Orks and Elves and you still have a good movie. Don't expect a lot of action just good entertainment. My only regret is that it ended; I want to see more.

Picture a world very similar to that of Tolkien's Middle Earth. You've got orcs, elves, a dark bad guy much like Sauron and everything but with one significant twist: 100 years ago, the bad guy won. This is the world of Midnight Chronicles.Some context: this world first appear as a "Campaign setting" for the Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game. A campaign setting, for the non-initiated simply being a world backdrop for your game adventures. Christian T. Petersen is primarily known as the president of Fantasy Flight Games, a company that excels at making various board games, roleplaying games and also imports and translates several amazing board games from Europe. This is his first foray as a director and although I've seen worse, there really is a sense that he did not have the technical knowledge to pull this extremely ambitious project.There are a few positives, though. Charles Hubbell is pretty good in the role of the main character, Mag Kiln. The character has a little bit of Shades of grey but essentially, is an envoy of "the bad guy". As such, it is fascinating because usually, protagonists in epic fantasy are clearly "good guys". The only other actor who is decent is Sam L. Landman who plays Kruce. He is Mag Kiln's sidekick and definitely has the best lines in the movie and injects a bit of wit in what is otherwise an overly dramatic affair. The rest of the cast ranges from decent to really bad. The writing doesn't help either. Many of the characters are bland stereotypes, while others do seem to have depth which is ruined by a confusing plot. And this is what basically kills any hope this movie has: the story overfeeds us with awkward plot exposition. There are several characters to keep track of but few are given enough attention for us to care. It has been said Midnight Chronicles was to act as a calling card, a pilot for a potential TV series and this shows. After all these characters are presented and a plot that moves very slowly, the movie ends abruptly on a less than thrilling sequence. As if you had to put "DVD2" in your player. It's a little heartbreaking for me to review this labor of love. The attempt at making a darker fantasy is laudable. And although the whole movie looks amateurish, it must have cost the producers (8 of them, including Petersen) an arm and a leg. The introduction sequence alone features tons of extras on a road. There are horse scene, several sets were build and the 3D is amateurish but still pretty. It all comes down to writing, acting and direction. I can feel the love in this independent project but the skills are lacking. Here's hoping it's still picked for a TV series as there is much potential if additional writers tighten this up.

The costumes are great and the overall setting well crafted. Except for the the cheap below TV quality recording the look of the movie is really good. The acting is very mixed, some characters are played well, but most actors are as uninspired as the pace of the movie which drags on and on.I agree with the other comments about this movie, there are some good ideas in the story but they aren't played out. For a hundred minutes you wait for something to happen that's being hinted on and then the movie is through after a short and totally meaningless "climax" that makes you think: Was the whole movie just a character introduction?The high rating of this movie on IMDb comes as a big surprise. I only gave it 3/10 as a thank you for the costumes and scenery and because I am in a very good mood while typing this. I think the other voters are the actors of the movie who received a bonus to come here and give it a good rating ;).