189. Dungeons And Dragons: Honour Among Thieves; movie review

 

DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS - HONOUR AMONG THIEVES

Cert 12A

134 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence, threat, horror and language

Is it the cast, the storyline or the execution or maybe a bit of all three? I struggled to put my finger on exactly why this latest version of Dungeons & Dragons comes up short.

Certainly, Chris Pine and Hugh Grant seem awkward in their roles as comedic lead and villain-in-chief.

To put it bluntly, Pine isn't funny and Grant isn't scary. Are they meant to be either? I thought so but it is difficult to tell.

In terms of the action, the problem is that films of this genre will always conjure thoughts of Harry Potter and will inevitably be in its shadow on all fronts.

Perhaps I am the wrong one to judge John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein's because I have never played the game on which it is based.

Perhaps its devotees may have more impressed.

Pine plays the film's anti-hero, a cowardly lute player who begins the film by bursting out of jail and going in search of his daughter (Chloe Coleman).

Thereafter, he and his literal partner-in-crime (Michelle Rodriguez) find that they have been double-crossed by their former co-conspirator (Grant) who has become the girl's self-appointed guardian.

Thus, they are determined to release her and seek revenge on him and the wizard (Daisy Head) who effectively controls him.

Brought into their team are a changeling (Sophia Lillis) and a magician of dubious talent (Justice Smith).

And so they set off on a litany of improbable or even seemingly impossible missions and face monsters, wizards and even a Hunger Games-style contest.

However, neither I nor Mrs W, who tends to like this type of fantasy movie more than me, felt invested as much as we should have been in Honour Among Thieves.

It wasn't bad just unmemorable.

Reasons to watch: Decent fantasy action

Reasons to avoid: Plot is a little thin

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know? More the 50 million people have played Dungeons & Dragons but when it was first created, no company had an interest in it, so the first 1,000 games were put together in creator Gary Gygax's basement

The final word. Jonathan Goldstein: "it has 50 years of lore and monsters and spells and locations to draw upon, but we’re not married to any of those. We’re not obliged to use any one story because the process of playing D&D is creating your world and your campaign." Coming Soon

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