Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

By Joshua Xiang

About: A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers embark on an epic quest to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.

An infectiously good-spirited comedy with a solid emotional core, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves offers fun fantasy and adventure even if you don't know your HP from your OP. (Rotten Tomatoes)

After finishing the trailer I was so excited to see the movie, the pleasant action scene, and the beautiful long extreme shot scenery shown in the trailer already fulfilled the high expectation that I had for the film. However, what I didn't expect is that those scenes turn out to be all of the highlights of the film. Besides the part shown in the trailer, the whole movie is covered with an infinitive amount of dialogue, which is very frustrating. The most unpleasant thing about the whole movie is that there is nothing that really can help it to support the box office, the director totally lost through the process of positioning this movie to a category. It can't be a commercial blockbuster, because it definitely didn't try its best to present its visual effects and CGI; It also can't be a "popcorn movie", simply because it really bores me through the whole time by adding too much dialogue and lack of action scenes; Moreover, if John Francis Daley (the director) wants to try to duplicate the grand poem style and the massive world view set up like Lord of the Rings there is no chance that his work can get close to it. John wants to add too many elements and ideas into the movie, but at last, it is just overcompensating.

However, stay an objective view I have to say, it does include a lot of good references from the board game, which will make the hardcore D&D fans go crazy. The settings, custom designs, and other details in the movie can virtually present many compositions and cultural references from western mythology. Also, the cast did well too, Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez have terrific buddy-movie chemistry in a fantasy film that deftly balances high-stakes action, warm drama, and clever comedy.