-- Honor Among Thieves --
Highly Recommended!
Highly Recommended!
On Sunday, March 19, I attended the Amazon Prime early screening of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Here is my review of the movie:
It was alot FUN! And even more surprisingly... it wasn't Woke! I didn't get the sense that it wanted to push a political message or humiliate a certain group because of their skin color or gender, which seems to be the staple for movies made for "modern" audiences nowadays. This was different. It was a return to traditional values and common sense. And it was refreshing to see. This movie felt more like playing an actual role-playing game with all the nuances and excitement that come with it. All of the characters are very likable, even Hugh Grant's roguish Forge is devilishly charming. Everyone has their own individual skills and abilities based on their class and race. Chris Pine plays Edgin, who is a Harper, a sort of bard who plays the lute (for comic relief) and has a sharp mind. Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga Kilgore, a barbarian with a penchant for axes. Justice Smith plays Simon, a wizard who is more powerful than he realizes. Regé-Jean Page plays Xenk Yendar, a righteous paladin with long life. And Sophia Lillis plays Doric, a tiefling druid, who is small and cute, but deceptively deadly. Apparently, teiflings have TAILS. My only complaint in the film, is that her tail isn't fully revealed until the final battle near the end of the movie where I noticed that something was hanging from her back. Oh, its a tail! Why have a tail if you don't use it? Anyways...
The movie stays true to its setting in Neverwinter Nights. The people, culture, and scenery are right out of the game.
The story is simple, a thief wants to resurrect his dead wife and win back the love of his estranged daughter with the help of his motley crew of adventurers. Their escapades have them crossing paths with multiple dragons, red wizards, and even the undead. In one humorous scene, they need to find a magical helmet last seen at a battle fought years ago by Holga's ancestors. So they dig up the graves of the fallen warriors, one by one they raise the dead, asking them five questions before they return to death never to arise again. But as usual, after digging up all of the graves, its always the LAST one who has the answer.
It was alot FUN! And even more surprisingly... it wasn't Woke! I didn't get the sense that it wanted to push a political message or humiliate a certain group because of their skin color or gender, which seems to be the staple for movies made for "modern" audiences nowadays. This was different. It was a return to traditional values and common sense. And it was refreshing to see. This movie felt more like playing an actual role-playing game with all the nuances and excitement that come with it. All of the characters are very likable, even Hugh Grant's roguish Forge is devilishly charming. Everyone has their own individual skills and abilities based on their class and race. Chris Pine plays Edgin, who is a Harper, a sort of bard who plays the lute (for comic relief) and has a sharp mind. Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga Kilgore, a barbarian with a penchant for axes. Justice Smith plays Simon, a wizard who is more powerful than he realizes. Regé-Jean Page plays Xenk Yendar, a righteous paladin with long life. And Sophia Lillis plays Doric, a tiefling druid, who is small and cute, but deceptively deadly. Apparently, teiflings have TAILS. My only complaint in the film, is that her tail isn't fully revealed until the final battle near the end of the movie where I noticed that something was hanging from her back. Oh, its a tail! Why have a tail if you don't use it? Anyways...
The movie stays true to its setting in Neverwinter Nights. The people, culture, and scenery are right out of the game.
The story is simple, a thief wants to resurrect his dead wife and win back the love of his estranged daughter with the help of his motley crew of adventurers. Their escapades have them crossing paths with multiple dragons, red wizards, and even the undead. In one humorous scene, they need to find a magical helmet last seen at a battle fought years ago by Holga's ancestors. So they dig up the graves of the fallen warriors, one by one they raise the dead, asking them five questions before they return to death never to arise again. But as usual, after digging up all of the graves, its always the LAST one who has the answer.
The movie has plenty of surprises. There is an Easter egg that pays homage to the original 80's Dungeons & Dragons cartoon that if you blink, you might miss it. There in the background of the arena scene are one of the three groups of adventurers who are forced to fight in the maze. The original D&D cartoon characters in live-action: Hank, Presto, Eric, Sheila, Bobby, and Diana are only on screen for less than a minute, but their names are listed in the end Credits. Check it out in the clip below:
I give Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves a roll of 8.5/10, and I am definitely willing to watch it again on the big screen when it officially releases on March 31. Let's go!
- anim8trix
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