By CJ GRACE
Staff Writer
As can be attested to by anyone with even a modicum of experience with Dungeons and Dragons, only one word can fully encompass how it feels to play: chaotic. Regardless of the group you’re with, the story you might be playing through, or even the circumstances of the game itself, there is pure primordial uncertainty resting in the center of a D20. The same can be said of the franchise’s latest cinematic endeavor, “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” which reboots the series on the big screen over a decade after their last outing.
The film follows Chris Pine’s Edgin, a bard (or entertainer, for those new to the franchise), who embarks on a quest to rescue his daughter alongside his barbarian cohort Holga, played to angry potato-eating perfection by the always engaging Michelle Rodriguez. As the pair attempt to put together a crew to break into a castle in Neverwinter to reclaim both Edgin’s daughter and an artifact that can resurrect her deceased mother, including Doric, a shapeshifting Tiefling (half-human half-beast), and Simon, a small-time wizard whose party-trick best sees a single candle-sized flame emitting from his finger, the tone seems to shift from buddy comedy-themed epic to a medieval Seven Samurai that earns its frequent comparisons to the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Despite the proliferation of orcs, dragons, and other fantasy creatures that populate the world of the film, the vast majority of effects used are practical, such as the reanimated corpses of soldiers in a far too short interrogation scene that seem antithetically lifelike. CGI is still present, but only for the sake of creating otherwise impossible shots that make the environment feel fully open. The editing prowess displayed also extends to combat sequences, particularly that of Doric’s escape from the castle, which sees multiple transformations between animal forms and a wonderfully animated tracking sequence from ground to air and back.
From top to bottom, “D&D” uses its cast to their strengths, with the delightfully dickish Hugh Grant falling into antagonism with ease, and Regé-Jean Page’s paladin (or knight) Xenk Yendar falling into the himbo-istic shoes of Dave Bautista with just as much grace as stupidity. Even the briefest of cameos for Bradley Cooper as Holga’s halfling ex-husband makes for brilliant awkward comedy. Chemistry exudes from the entire group, and every individual pairing feels as if it could stand on its own, but as a whole feels all the more engaging.
Even the smallest of details are attended to in this production, from the utilization of the game’s classes to build a nearly-complete party to real languages and locations from the game’s lore. “Honor Among Thieves” is made with a genuine compassion for the source material at every level, and it shows. Whether you’re a seasoned tabletop vet or simply looking for a comedy with just enough bite to back up its bark, “Dungeons and Dragons” is enjoyable fare for any and every audience.
