The Plot: Following a home invasion, cheeky thief Edgin (Chris Pine) finds his family life disrupted and his daughter now adopted by the arrogant Forge (Hugh Grant). He falls in with warrior Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), magician Simon (Justice Smith) and changeling Doric (Sophia Lillis). Having carried out a heist of a precious artefact, they find that it ends up in the hands of dark wizard Sofina (Daisy Head), now aligned to Forge and his quest for power. Edgin and his crew plot to steal the artefact back but that will be easier said than done…
The Verdict: Fantasy adventure Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves is bookended by a gag that works for a character the first time but doesn’t the second time. It’s also a metaphor for the story of D&D’s tortured transition from role-playing board game to a big screen adaptation – in reverse that is. The game began life in 1974 and captured the imagination of players around the world. A film adaptation was attempted in 2000 but was quickly dismissed and is now largely forgotten, the only memorable thing about it being Jeremy Irons hamming it to the hilt. As the saying goes if at first you don’t succeed, try try again. Things have changed in the last 23 years. The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit brought fantasy back to where it belongs and that mark of epic quality from Peter Jackson is an obvious touchstone here. This attempt quite comfortably banishes memories of the previous film to the Forgotten Realms within minutes and then goes on its own merry way, with a firm sense of purpose and an even greater sense of fun.
Directors and co-writers John Francis Daly and Jonathan Goldstein have been upfront about what they hoped to achieve here. They wanted to give D&D its proper place in the fantasy firmament and make a film that is as accessible to someone who hasn’t played the game before as it is to a hardcore player. They’ve succeeded in spades on that front, making this adaptation a more character-driven piece that sets up its fantasy world without lengthy prologues or ponderous backstory. As with Game Of Thrones, the uninitiated viewer is plunged into this world straight away and then brought along for the ride to work out the mechanics of the plot jigsaw piece by jigsaw piece without the need for hand-holding. It’s a refreshingly straightforward approach to take when the plot involves wizards, dragons, macguffins, throwaway magic and something sounding like the end of the world as the characters know it. At its core, it’s a heist movie with a band of amiable but honourable rogues who don’t want to hurt anyone and only steal from those who won’t really lose from the theft.
This is where the casting adds a further layer of credibility to the proceedings – they play it straight and with a twinkle in their eyes. Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez are terrific in the lead fatherly/motherly roles, with their characters making up Plan A, B, C and more as they attempt to restore balance after a heist gone wrong. Justice Smith and Sophia Lillis round out the rest of the merry band in strong support. Pine in particular has a ball with his troubadour character trying to reconnect with his daughter. He brings proper movie star charisma and just the right amount of knowing humour as Edgin is upstaged by the too-cool-for-school Xenk (Regé Jean-Page), who he seeks out to help on the quest. Hugh Grant plays, well, the Hugh Grant version of a bumbling but potentially dangerous power player with just the right-sized slice of ham to go with it. If he was studying Irons’ previous performance, it doesn’t show as he’s a delight throughout. His character even has a literally inflated opinion of himself on a hot air balloon. Touché.
Mostly filmed amidst lush green fields and forests in Northern Ireland, there’s plenty of imaginative worldbuilding on show here as the adventure dips in and out of various environments and a variety of creature design. A stand-out is a cave-set sequence which quickly escalates from a booby trap to a frenetic, thrilling chase. The film is also carefully contained with the limits of its world too, not over-aiming and landing short like some fantasy films. The humour in the film is also sharp, with most of the jokes landing on target and used when appropriate like the hilarious graveyard sequence. A fantasy film like this very much lives for another day or dies on its sword depending on its tone. Daly and Goldstein have avoided the many pitfalls of getting D&D wrong here through getting the tone spot-on and delivering a rousing crowd pleaser that is a lot of fun to boot. D&D is a fantastic fantasy that by any rights deserves to be a critical and box office success. Sequel please.
Rating: 4 / 5
Review by Gareth O’Connor
In short: Fantastic fantasy
Directed by John Francis Daly, Jonathan Goldstein.
Starring Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Sophia Lillis, Justice Smith, Daisy Head, Hugh Grant.