MOVIE
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Director John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein
Review Ray Chan
You don’t really need to know the rules of the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons to grasp the concept of the movie.
The tabletop battleplay franchise pioneered so many sword-and-sorcery imitators that it’s almost commonplace now for fantasy scenarios to feature dashing young warriors or Amazon-like women scurrying about finding treasure or rescuing prisoners in medieaval kingdoms.
Honor Among Thieves hones in on Edgin (Chris Pine), a bard turned to a life of crime after the murder of his wife Zia by the Red Wizards of Thay, the most feared faction in the Realms, forcing him to raise his daughter Kira with the help of his friend, a barbarian named Holga (Michelle Rodriguez).
After being captured while on a heist, Edgin and Holga spend a couple of years in prison, enabling their traitorous former crony Forge (Hugh Grant, playing the same sort of addled character he always does) to bring up Kira, whom he has developed an affection for.
Finally escaping, the pair join forces with a sorcerer with confidence issues named Simon, a druid tiefling named Doric, and a paladin named Xenk Yendar as they aim to reunite with Kira.
They also want to retrieve the Tablet of Resurrection, an artifact that can bring Edgin’s wife back to life.
Forge, meanwhile, has allied with a powerful and vicious Red Wizard named Sofina, a role which actress Daisy Head hams up with as much malevolence as she can muster.
With battles taking place amid castles, dragons and panoramic vistas, Honor Among Thieves tells its story with all the anticipated visual delights replete with comfortable tropes and structures expected of the feudal setting.
The movie succeeds because it doesn't take itself too seriously, unlike, say, World of Warcraft. And it does seem to shine when it’s at its most ridiculously unpredictable and downright silly. Whether deliberate or spontaneous, and granted a couple of bits of witty dialogue, Pine exudes a comedic charm that is reminiscent of Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, while perhaps not quite hitting the mark.
What conveys the movie more is a solid, uplifting conclusion. While the party seems outmatched by Sofina’s abilities, they ultimately defeat her by working as a familial team and using their strengths, enabling the underdogs to pull off an unlikely victory, albeit at the expense of Holga, who suffers a fatal stab wound.
With the tablet now acquired by Edgin, he is faced with making a difficult choice: use it to resurrect Zia and give Kira back her mother, or revive Holga, who had been a surrogate maternal presence as Kira grew up.
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Director John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein
Review Ray Chan
You don’t really need to know the rules of the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons to grasp the concept of the movie.
The tabletop battleplay franchise pioneered so many sword-and-sorcery imitators that it’s almost commonplace now for fantasy scenarios to feature dashing young warriors or Amazon-like women scurrying about finding treasure or rescuing prisoners in medieaval kingdoms.
Honor Among Thieves hones in on Edgin (Chris Pine), a bard turned to a life of crime after the murder of his wife Zia by the Red Wizards of Thay, the most feared faction in the Realms, forcing him to raise his daughter Kira with the help of his friend, a barbarian named Holga (Michelle Rodriguez).
After being captured while on a heist, Edgin and Holga spend a couple of years in prison, enabling their traitorous former crony Forge (Hugh Grant, playing the same sort of addled character he always does) to bring up Kira, whom he has developed an affection for.
Finally escaping, the pair join forces with a sorcerer with confidence issues named Simon, a druid tiefling named Doric, and a paladin named Xenk Yendar as they aim to reunite with Kira.
They also want to retrieve the Tablet of Resurrection, an artifact that can bring Edgin’s wife back to life.
Forge, meanwhile, has allied with a powerful and vicious Red Wizard named Sofina, a role which actress Daisy Head hams up with as much malevolence as she can muster.
With battles taking place amid castles, dragons and panoramic vistas, Honor Among Thieves tells its story with all the anticipated visual delights replete with comfortable tropes and structures expected of the feudal setting.
The movie succeeds because it doesn't take itself too seriously, unlike, say, World of Warcraft. And it does seem to shine when it’s at its most ridiculously unpredictable and downright silly. Whether deliberate or spontaneous, and granted a couple of bits of witty dialogue, Pine exudes a comedic charm that is reminiscent of Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, while perhaps not quite hitting the mark.
What conveys the movie more is a solid, uplifting conclusion. While the party seems outmatched by Sofina’s abilities, they ultimately defeat her by working as a familial team and using their strengths, enabling the underdogs to pull off an unlikely victory, albeit at the expense of Holga, who suffers a fatal stab wound.
With the tablet now acquired by Edgin, he is faced with making a difficult choice: use it to resurrect Zia and give Kira back her mother, or revive Holga, who had been a surrogate maternal presence as Kira grew up.
#dungeonsanddragons #universal
