Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Hugh Grant and their accomplices have a great time in this fun and light adaptation.
Fun and light…yes, because Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley – the writers and directors who brought us “Games Night” in particular – wanted to bring the playful spirit of role-playing to the big screen. And with a budget of $150 million, they succeed with lots of special effects and well-crafted dialogue.
Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine, who fools around with such infectious enthusiasm that it sometimes makes you think of Mel Brooks) is a bard trying to revive his wife and mother of little Kira (Chloe Coleman). In order to steal the tablet that can bring his beloved back to life, he embarks on an expedition with his friends, among others, Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez), the barbarian, and Forge (Hugh Grant), the magician. But now Edgin and Holga are captured. Two years later, they manage to escape and go in search of Forge, who is taking care of Kira. And since Forge is no longer very nice, Edgin, still supported by Holga, gets help from the wizard Simon (Justice Smith), the druid Doric (Sophia Lillis) and the paladin Xenk (Regé-Jean Page).
The first thing that strikes you is the place women occupy in this incredible and semi-surreal adventure. Because it’s Holga and Doric who take center stage, with Holga fighting with triumphant ferocity and Doric effectively shapeshifting despite some special effects glitches. Edgin, on the other hand, is a kind of jester who strings jokes together and makes a fool of himself on more than one occasion. Simon, on the other hand, fails to cast effective spells and Xenk is a paladin in all his glory…ridiculous (and the ‘Bridgerton’ actor benefits from the best dialogue, reminiscent of Alexander Astier’s ‘Kaamelot’).
As in a game of Dungeons and Dragons – the board game – the quests turn into a multitude of random but necessary quests, each one as crazy as the next that the 134 minutes of this cinematic flow sometimes seem a little artificial, not to say bloated .
The special effects aren’t all big enough for the unusual budget for this type of feature film. The animals Doric transforms into – especially the bear – suffer from pixelated approaches that spoil the enjoyment and lightness of the whole.
Without inventing anything new, Dungeons and Dragons: Thieves’ Honor still manages to offer a good time escaping and that’s all we ask of it.