Other Dungeons & Dragons movies have been made and have never caught enough momentum to toss sequels on a regular basis or equal the long-term draw of the roleplaying game.
I played D&D in my teens and then abandoned it. The basic gist was appealing, but I didn't like the pompous jerks who ruined its Yellow Brick Road splendor with their know-it-all dictates and bending of rules, which were sometimes too sissified for my taste. The game's little, metal characters were what I found appealing, and if I could have set them on adventures without snide impediment, D&D may have won me over for life.
What I like about Honor Among Thieves, written and directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (with story-telling assistance by Chris McKay and Michael Gilio), is that it's never too rule-ridden, unless it's comes to matters of morality, and then it's only right that some sum of discussion flows. At its sincere heart, Honor of Thieves is about a group of roguish misfits (for all intents, rather like the wee figures I once had, and culled, no less, from veritable, D&D mythology), marching forth to steal and later retrieve a magical relic, The Tablet of Riches, which can bestow reawakening and resurrecting properties to those who possess it. Along the way, our noble nomads come upon certain individuals who wish to halt their lofty goals, which includes indirect redemption.
Leading the adventurers is Chris Pine's crafty Edgin Darvis, of the respected Harper order, a man who once played by the rules, but upon his wife's murder by the vindictive Red Wizards, threw virtue to the wind. During his introspective jaunt, Darvis is accompanied by Chloe Coleman's Kira, his estranged, teleporting daughter; Michelle Rodriguez's loyal, but past-clinging Amazon, Holga Kilgore; Justice Smith's humble and often-too-practical magician, Simon Aumar; Sophia Lillis' principled, shapeshifting elf, Doric; Rege-Jon Page's gracious warrior-sorcerer, Xenk Yendar; Hugh Grant's Carey Grant-ish conman, Forge Fritzwilliam; and Daisy Head's brooding, cold-to-the-touch Sofina.
Fritzwilliam and Sofina are the ones to beware, for they harbor dark secrets and subversive plans. Fritzwilliam, in his own right, presents a dual persona, providing for Kira during her father's imprisonment, while holding court with Sofina, a Red Wizard spellcaster, linked to Jason Wong's callous kingpin, Dralas.
In addition to unmasking the duo's motives, the downtrodden yet mirthful band encounters various strange and/or ferocious creatures along the way, though contrary to the title's proclamation, there are few dragons to be seen, let alone dungeons. Perhaps one should take the label as an allegorical, trials-and-tribulations banner, and leave it at that.
What's important is that Honor Among Thieves has winsome characters, exciting interludes, unwavering purpose and never loses focus of these things (i.e., its original, gaming intent). Even when it treads its feminine borders, it never grows frilly or mushy, taking nods from only the best formulaic, virile-magic escapades, like Doctor Strange (television or Multiverse); Doctor Mordrid; Army of Darkness; The Magic Sword; The Sword and the Sorcerer; Conan the Destroyer; Wizards and Warriors; and Excalibur (a pretty cool queue).
In closing, this new D&D is a springtime spurt of fresh air, an adolescent reverie come true, which will please audiences of all ages. As an amusing but decorous divergence, it's worth the price of admission and beyond any debate, a sequel or two.
Bradley Cooper's cameo was interesting. When he's in the big chair, the scene reminded me of a similar one from THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN. Wonder if this was, indeed, a homage.
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