Dungeons & Dragons - L'onore dei ladri

Saw the sneak preview today with my wife. I'm a 43-year veteran player and DM, and she's never played. She laughed through the whole thing and was riveted by the action sequences, indicating that this is an excellent intro to the world of D&D for the inexperienced. I was enchanted by what they got right: the iconic monsters, the banter, the feeling of an organic adventuring party coming together combining their strengths.

Best of all, having lived in Neverwinter since 6/7/13 and the MMO's open beta, I got to see the Jewel of the Sword Coast North in all its glory.

I'll be bringing my 4H D&D club to see it as soon as possible, and we'll definitely be seeing it again on our own.

A reboot of the board game property (after the disastrous 2000 release) currently in theaters. Chris Pine, a thief, & Michele Rodriguez, a warrior, are on a quest to retrieve a magical doodad which will resurrect his wife who passed years before which put the caring of his daughter, Chloe Coleman, in the care of his once partner, Hugh Grant, now a de-facto leader of a village. Grant has a red witch, Daisy Head, at his beck & call but what he doesn't realize Head & her ilk are using his largesse to inflict a red mist which will put the populace in thrall (living zombies) to their cause. Pine soon recruits a problematic mage, Justice Smith & a shape shifting Owlbear, Sophia Lillis, to his scheme (w/added panache from Rege-Jean Page) to right his past wrongs before Head gets her way. Not taking the material seriously is a huge boon to this film's success & a lot of the acclaim should go to John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein (they made the Vacation sequel w/Ed Helms, co-wrote Spider-man: Homecoming & Game Night) who could in lesser hands make this a turgid bore but by instilling a healthy dollop of humor make this fantasy for the uninitiated a lot of fun.

I heard some rumblings that this one might be better than it's early year release date and it has easily become my first real surprise viewing of the year and I think it deserves to be ranked amongst some of the best fantasy films in the genre. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a fantasy film with a journey/heist at its center that takes a likable group of thieves (really just misunderstood heroes) through imaginative locations, encountering creative characters/creatures, and giving us some memorable action set pieces with castle chases and even pudgy dragon fights. Calling it a Guardians of the Galaxy for the fantasy genre is a bit simplistic, but it's also not that far off. Another way to put it would be that this is to Lord of the Rings what Shrek was to Disney Princess films. The director/writers here were the writers from 2018's Game Night so that might help give you a clue as to the layered humor to expect and also hope for a juicy Jesse Plemons role in a future sequel.

Three things make this fantasy-action-comedy stand out to me. First, it's just a fun story to watch filled with actors who genuinely feel like they are enjoying their roles. Chris Pine gives a charismatic lead performance here that brings a lot of comedy and still finds some strong dramatic notes. Pine plays the character a bit like if Jason Bateman had been cast as Star Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy instead of Chris Pratt. There's a moment Chris Pine breaks into a song and it's not just played for laughs - it's meant to be for levity and it really works. Hugh Grant, like in Paddington, gets to sink himself into another smarmy villainous role and there's even a delightful little surprise cameo that had me rolling. Second, the film is bursting with creative imagination and features plenty of practical effects to pull it off. There's lots of real-life locations, practical builds, and costumes mixed in with stages/CGI to ground the film. Also, you never feel like they over rely on magic just for the sake of getting some CGI moment into the trailer. Finally, the relatively simple stakes of the film, recapturing a lost family, are refreshing for such a big blockbuster. Sure, they backdoor a bit higher stakes during the overstuffed finale (some trimming and focus would have really helped to nail the landing here) but it's light and takes a backseat to the family stuff. On one hand, it's heartening to have only one entry here and just let this story and world be a one off. On the other hand, they've developed such likable characters and such an interesting and fun world that it would be a shame not to revisit it. If that's a problem, that's a pretty good one to have.

Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves: Great fun! I'm not familiar with the game but you get great dragons both fierce human (and otherkin) eaters and down at heel alms seekers. Chris Pine is OK as an ex-Harper and present thieve, but a good hearted one. Michelle Rodriguez is much more convincing as Holga Kilgore, a barbarian warrior who would put Xena in a lesser league. My favourite member of Pine's posse is Sophia Lillis as Doric, a tiefling druid and shape-shifter who can turn into an owlbear as well as other critters. A richly imagined fantasy world with quests, battles and magic replacing science. Hugh Grant has a supporting role as a conman who always has a plan to make his schemes even more devious, ,he is hilarious; Daisy Head is Sofina, a sorceress who enables his schemes..Armies of the undead and talking corpses are actually amusing. Don't know what true blue fans will make of it but I loved this heist/quest adventure which has great effects. Directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, who co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Gilio. 8/10.

There Are No Spoilers in this review.

Such a perfect representation of what can happen in a DND campaign. It is epic, goofy, incredible, hilarious, and so entertaining. It is truly an immersive experience and is wonderfully paced. I didn't find myself looking at the time at all even though there was so much story covered. The characters are truly likable and they will hit so many of your emotions during the adventure. If you appreciate DND or just love comedic fantasy adventures you will have a blast. Go into it with an open mind and you will certainly be rewarded with a great time. The CGI at times can be a tiny bit lacking, but it is 100% forgivable. I will be going to see it again!