A wonderfully entertaining and captivating fantasy film. From start to finish. Absolutely loved it. I laughed, I cried, I even liked Regé-Jean Page's performance in here. AND loved Michelle Rodriguez's character. The movie is THAT good. Reminded me a lot of Guy Ritchie's King Arthur.
Not bad, but could be better. Especially the first half is quite boring and slow. Around the halfway point it feels like the movie changes writers and it got better, even with some clever moments. I also presume one or multiple of the writers have a very fragile ego and he had to belittle or insult every male character in the movie. At least that also disappears in the second half.
The movie is being dragged down by many jokes that just don't land or don't fit the setting at all. Also, the overall randomness was bad. They just need something and something happens, or they find something, all the time. Crazy convenient.
As mentioned, once over the half, there are some really good moments and it was quite enjoyable in the end. But I was not interested in D&D before I saw this movie, and I'm still not interested at all after seeing it.
I'm glad this felt like a D&D campaign, instead of just another fantasy movie. I just wish there was more character development.
This was a very good movie. I didn’t know anything about Dungeons and Dragons a board game but this was still a blast. The movie theater I went to didn’t have a break during the movie and I definitely did not need that with this one. The humor was also on another level and very clever. The movie definitely has some hartwarming scenes but doesn’t take itself too seriously.
As for someone that has not played a DnD campaign before, I was very entertained, and laughed more than I thought I would. I'm sure I missed a lot of inside jokes, but this was an easy follow with or without knowing the source material.
"Johnathan!!!"
The plot was exactly what I was expecting from an American adventure movie of this kind, no surprises, some predictable passages. It mostly manages to recreate the atmospheres of the modern D&D tabletop adventures (not however the ones usually done in the 70s and 80s, that I prefer, more focused on intricate dungeons), with many cliches well-inserted. Some elements were not well-modeled, such as the spellcasters with infinite spells (instead of a more Vancian magic), no rolls to hit or savings throws, and other technical elements a D&D fan would want to find. Irony was there, but not well distributed throughout. All in all, a fair adventure film, worth a watch.
A fun action fantasy. Cannot deny it. The comedy is so-so but the action choreography is pretty good. The story is very D&D like, adventure leading to another, last minute lucky d20 roll saves, and many choices for the characters to make. Since it's Dungeons and Dragons, it's good but I think if it were just a fantasy action film of any other kind it wouldn't have made sense as much. Or I wouldn't have overlooked the flaws as D&D-esque writing.
Like men looking at Star Trek porn, Chris Pine took this solid 5 and made it 6. Small wonder Pine is a kind of wood.
Honestly, this is a decent spectacle with a fair sense of humor, but Pine's presence gives it even more respectability and his talent makes it entirely watchable.
I would say a 8.5 actually.
The villains where pretty cartoonish but I liked the overall goofy feeling of the movie.
Rated a Connor 10, normal 8.8
A slightly above average movie. There’s a lot of hype over this, so I guess people’s expectations have lowered.
Make no mistake, this is a high 7 out of 10. This has simple story, simple themes and character motivations but it doesn't try to do anything silly, overly complex or woke. It just tells a good story, with good writing, good character motivations that stays true to the world that has come before it. This was great fun. Also great to see A LOT of practical effects.
Got exactly what I was going for: a fun heroic fantasy adventure movie.
Closer to an 8.5 than a 9 for me but nevertheless fun movie great time exactly what it is supposed to be
I found the movie pretty much flawless (for my standards anyway). The plot is entertaining, the pace is good, the humor is great and even clever and the cast is remarkable. There's also a ton of good action sequences and stunning visual effects.
Now I don't know much about D&D lore but I caught some references.
It's a very fun watch overall.
Well that one shits all over the other version with a fun and a funny script, a cast that all did well together and plenty of good action and special effects.
Although I found this bizarre “Dungeons & Dragons” adaptation to be far better than expected, it tries a little too hard to impress and make you laugh, resulting in noticeable highs and lows in both the humor and special effects. Given its length, it would have benefited from some cuts to make the quality more consistent throughout. The type of self-deprecating humor that borders on spoof led me to anticipate a twist akin to "The Lego Movie," but instead, the film stayed within the confines of a generic action comedy. Despite lacking that extra spark, the film still leaves a relatively genuine and heartfelt impression, with plenty of room for improvement in future sequels
Overall a pretty superb movie; the acting, action, comedy and storylines were great. My personal favourite moment was when the gang attempted to question the dead- be sure to stick around for the brief post credit scene!
A fun movie.
I really liked the humor, I wasn't expecting to find it that funny.
It's more interesting than expected.
This was a fun engaging movie with great set pieces.
I would say I expected slightly more laughs going off some reviews, perhaps more American than British friendly humour.
I still appreciated the lighthearted unserious tone whilst buying into the story.
6.8/10
My brother came out of this movie insisting that it was basically a Marvel film, and upon some reflection I tend to agree. Sure it's got a fantasy coat of paint, but at the end of the day, what are D&D adventurers if not the superheroes of the realm. Even the action feels superhero-esque, as Michelle Rodriguez's Fighter (or possibly Barbarian? I haven't cracked open a Players Handbook in a while, so my knowledge of D&D classes is probably out of date) tosses enemies around with superhuman strength. Or maybe she's just got +5 gauntlets of kicking ass, who knows. I'd also call out the final fight sequence against Sofina, which definitely feels like it took inspiration from one of the Avengers fights versus Thanos. In any case, if this film modeled itself after Marvel, the question is, does it feel like a good Marvel movie, or a recent Marvel movie (looking at you Quantummania). All in all, I'd say closer to the former. I don't think it's going to win any awards and I don't know that I would feel the need to re-watch it anytime soon, but it was fun.
Surprisingly, the thing I'd praise most is the story. The writers manage to craft an adventure that somehow feels like a greatest hits of classic D&D while also avoiding being predictable (barring a couple of moments that still worked as payoffs). Specifically, there is some fun magic implementation and problem solving (the use of the portal gun, I mean, hither-thither staff in the heist plan was very clever. The comedy, which also feels quite Marvel-esque, never landed 100% for me, but it wasn't a total miss either. No real laughs, but some chuckles throughout. As far as things that disappointed, I wasn't a big fan of the fat dragon sequence. I'd also say that I wasn't particularly impressed with the performances, with perhaps exceptions for Chris Pine and Regé-Jean Page. Everyone else felt a bit flat. Luckily, this movie doesn't need Oscar winning performances to be entertaining.
A fun and witty Fantasy Adventure. That despite how bad the trailers were. Dungeons and Dragons is one of the best Fantasy films in recent years.
I've played D&D for 40 years and the only way I would be disappointed by this movie is if they don't make more of them. Everything I could have wanted it to be and so much better than every past attempt.
For any who have pondered what it would look like in our post-Lord of the Rings, superhero blockbuster era if somebody tried making The Princess Bride, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is your answer. It's an ambitious swing that results in a solid hit, if not a classic. And while it falls short of being a viable launching pad for a new universe of IP-based media content, it is an all-around fun watch that will entertain and perhaps even delight you, so long as you don't stare too hard at some of the frayed plot edges. The cast is all aces (though Chris Pine is - surprisingly - the weakest link among them), and the script from Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, & Michael Gilio is solid. Even when they're making jokes at its expense, the filmmakers show a deep respect for the source material, though they're not always interested in being 100% faithful to it. Genre films that don't take themselves too seriously can be lots of fun. See the afore-mentioned The Princess Bride or Eric the Viking (which clearly had an influence here) for great examples. But the flip side of irreverence is a deprioritization of world-building. Case in point, there's no sense of place, as the team jumps from region to region and nothing is explored. Another issue is magic- one moment we're getting an explanation of why magic can't just solve everything, and - literally - the next we get the introduction of a new magic MacGuffin. ("See? You can magic your way in!" one character says.) Magic has rules, apparently, but they are almost never explained or followed- except when they serve to present an obstacle for the characters to overcome. There's an order of spies & supposed defenders of justice that one of the main characters was once a part of, but we never see any of them. At the center of the plot is the fact that there's a vast kingdom bordering the region of Neverwinter that's ruled by an all-powerful cadre of Red Wizards who command an army of the undead. Yet why isn't the entire society on a war footing? All of this and more is glossed over in favor of jokes and madcap adventure. To be clear, the madcap adventure is fun and the fan service is subtle enough to be accessible to novices (a really neat trick, that), but as I was watching I just kept feeling like this could be so much more.
Tolkien's work demands dedicated, detailed craftsmanship from the people who want to translate it to the big screen. Why is it that Dungeons & Dragons doesn't warrant the same kind of effort? And what would a movie (or prestige TV series) from this talented team of filmmakers look like if it did? I hope that we can find out someday.
A mediocre commercial film. The ending battle was somewhat disappointing (it felt anticlimactic), and the plot was a classic cliché, with the forced death of a team member followed by their resurrection. The trailer contained a significant portion of the exciting content.
Silly and cringe at times, but the good kind, the kind that's mixed in with some clever and genuinely funny comedy. A fun time from beginning to end, I was laughing throughout and the runtime went by quickly. The action sequences are intense and some of the best i've seen this year, my favorite was the animal transforming to get out of the city it was butt clenching and so thrilling. The characters are fun, likable and I like the interactions. Michelle Rodriguez's Holga is my favorite and damn is she good in action sequences, an instant badass.
As a casual D&D player I enjoyed what they did with it. There's this thing when you play a game of D&D where you can pretty much make your character do anything you want to beat whatever the game throws at you. However crazy the idea the player has, all that's required is 1. The game master has to approve that it's understandably logical within his game. And 2. Roll the dices and let fate choose if it's a hit or a miss. They did that a lot in the movie. Some of the things the characters do feel jarring, silly and sometimes hella convenient for what's happening but from a D&D perspective it makes total sense. You think your character conveniently has the object that solves the current problem hidden in his bag, sure just roll the dices.
I hope this gets a sequel!
It was entertaining and fun. It looks like they wrote Chris Pine and Hugh Grant's roles with them in mind. 1 post-credits scene. This homage to the cartoon series
Very enjoyable. The pace drops occasionally so it didn't grab me the way I thought it would. But there are moments in this film that are genuinely inspired.
I desperately wanted to enjoy this. I felt they tried to do too much and the pacing was all off.
"Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" is an excellent popcorn film. I was certainly entertained for more than two hours because all the elements of the movie mesh together wonderfully. For example, the cast doesn't have a single real weak point. The heroic quartet at the heart of the story is consistently endearing. On the antagonistic side, Hugh Grant is especially charming with his delightfully quirky character. A real scene-stealer, however, is Regé-Jean Page, whose role could have been a bit bigger.
In terms of content, I can't complain much either. The film has a good pace and some hilarious scenes. The special effects are also quite good, though they are not the film's main attraction. Overall, the movie doesn't really deliver many new elements for blockbuster cinema. However, the ingredients are perfectly matched, so you can definitely have a good time. I would definitely watch any future sequels. However, "Honor Among Thieves" also works very well on its own.
There are some clunky moments in the first half as things get settled and I was very underwhelmed initially by Michelle Rodriguez performance as a Drax-lite type character but the action is really well executed and overall the movie is a ton of fun. It isn’t as tongue in cheek or meta as the trailer makes it seem which is a good thing as it never feels like it is making fun of or ashamed of the genre. It fully embraces it and the characters really come together as a team.
I went to a pre-screening of this movie last night, not expecting much more than a comfortable seat in an UltraAVX theatre with a big bag of popcorn with layered butter. The last three movies I’d seen of Chris Pine’s had been big disappointments and I knew he was the top of the call sheet for this film. So, basically I thought it would be a media hyped 2 to 4 out of 10. I was wrong. The story had a well crafted arc (though predictably the good guys win - I don’t even think that qualifies as a spoiler). The practical effects were amazing, almost making the CGI unnecessary. There were dungeons, dragons and mayhem. The writing was witty and the comedy was ridiculous. More than just a three lead movie, the young cast were fantastic, definitely not playing in the shadow. As usual, I did a mini-exit poll of the people sitting around me in the packed house. There was one 7.5, five 8s and I’ll add to that because I would definitely see this film again, it was a lot of fun. I give this film an 8 (great entertainment) out of 10. [Fantasy, Adventure Romp]
Very entertaining and funny, didn’t expect it to be so good! :star_struck:
This was a very decent Hollywood fantasy flick. You can predict by the actors what kind of movie you can expect. I imagine bonus points for D&D fans!
Watched this in the theatre. The person left to me was browsing on his phone, and the one on the right fell asleep. It’s a bit slow at moments and I was happy it was over.
I think it was fair, it had a few funny moments. Enjoyable for 1 time.
It felt like it was an epic campaign your friend played, but it sounds a lot less interesting when your friend was retelling the story. :person_shrugging:
I loved the cartoons in the 80's and played the game in the 90's so I didn't go in blind. However I also remember past attempts so I didn't expect anything.
This movie balances perfectly between fan service ( D&D lore ) , humor for the Marvel crowd and action for the F&F audience. Although I expect D&D content creators will fill up social media with posts nitpicking stuff I think it landed where Willow wanted to go. Lighter than hard fantasy ( G.O.T, L.O.T.R ) but not, as my teenager would say, cringe ( Wheel of Time , The Rings Of Power , Blood origin )
Good old fashioned quest, popcorn movie for the entire family. Start of a franchise but nothing groundbreaking, solid 7.
Wow, what a movie. And perfectly transformed from the game. It has the fun of all the gaming-rounds I played with D&D.
The world has been „painted“ wonderful and the actors are perfect.
I really enjoyed it today in the sneak preview
We had a chance to watch the special preview earlier today. Overall it was a really good movie. Everyone in the theater seemed to enjoy the showing.
The action was good, had the right amount of jokes and the story flowed well.
While it doesn't hold a candle to The Leged of Vox Machina, it's still quite a fun movie to sit back and switch off to. Sadly most of the one liners and quips were in the trailers, but the story in between is fairly good too. Enough to keep you engrossed in the movie. It's definitely worth the watch if you're at all interested in light hearted fantasy movies or D&D type things.
First it was described as a live action remake of the awesome 80s cartoon, now it's something else again... Bet it's going to be bad
Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and D&D?
I'm in.
If it's half as good as the 80s cartoon I'm in.
Review by JordyVIP 8BlockedParent2023-05-02T22:08:33Z
It’s nice to see that the directors behind this are clearly passionate and putting in the effort, but their voice often gets lost in the commercial machinery of it all. At the core of this, we have a very simple fetch quest with mostly flat characters. The comedy is hit or miss; sometimes it’s sharp, sometimes it tries to be a Marvel movie. Michelle Rodriguez and Justice Smith reinforce that they can’t act, Hugh Grant is in Paddington 2 mode again, Chris Pine is genuinely trying but ends up feeling like your typical, modern movie protagonist. The world looks fine if a little too derivative of stuff like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. The cinematography is surprisingly good, and even the CGI is well done until you get to those typical overblown, plastic action sequences that are required for these things. That’s not to say that there isn’t good action, because the actual combat stuff is very well choreographed and filmed. All in all, I’d say this is at its best when it’s being a fun heist adventure with creative set pieces, and it’s at its worst when it’s focussing on the characters or spoonfeeding pointless exposition. Unfortunately it tips too often in the direction of being unmemorable and bland, and it’s unquestionably too long and too predictable, but the directors certainly tried to make the best out of the cards they were dealt.