3/25/23 - Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) - 6+/10

My expectations were incredibly low for this flick, underwhelmed by the trailer and all the dramas around its release. So, consider my astonishment when I took the plunge, saw it, and found it refreshing and enjoyable. This was a dungeon of delight and worth the watch.

It plays broad for a wide audience but not to a crippling detriment. I’m not a D&D aficionado, but I thought it served its tropes and details with piety and panache. Action filled, adventure laden, often actually funny, and estimably & exceedingly charming.

Chris Pine is the bard straw that stirs this tasty drink. His charisma is exuberant but not cloying. He is surrounded by a cast that excels in their roles - I can’t say who kills it the most but Michelle Rodriguez as the winking badass and Hugh Grant in his recent & fashionable shoe of a role (if you have seen Paddington 2 or Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen, then you know); both were stellar choices & performances.

The use of D&D, fantasy, and role playing elements to both supply and decorate the story was appreciable and smile inducing. I’m sure for some it wasn’t nearly enough or properly respected, but I thought it let the high fantasy of it all raise it above the dreck I expected into the stratosphere of a quite amusing and gratifying jaunt.