Dungeons & Dragons starts off on the right foot by giving us a brief glimpse of this world we've entered and showing us a couple of wonderous creatures, before we're introduced to our lead first supporting character. There's humorous rapport before Michelle Rodriguez' Holga beats the snot out of a troll (or some other such ugly fantasy creature). It's an opening scene that encapsulates the film we're about to see. Often very funny, of course adventurous, and with a spirit that simultaneously fits the world perfectly while also coming off as what you might expect from a game of D&D with a group of friends, this is a movie that is easily accessible to all audiences and is one of the most purely fun fantasy films we've seen in what seems like forever.
Chris Pine is Edgin, a bard and former warrior-of-sorts who has been imprisoned along with his friend and partner Holga for burglary, along with former, and currently free, teammates sorcerer Simon (Justice Smith) and rogue-turned-lord Forge (Hugh Grant). Promptly escaping from prison, Edgin sets off to find his daughter and reclaim a valued treasure, leading to a series of quests in which the group are joined by druid Doric (Sophia Lillis) and paladin Xenk (Regé-Jean Page). The cast in this is delightful and like any good party, they all compliment one another, with wit, sarcasm, and even Xenk's no nonsense attitude lending to a consistently funny and fun time. It leaves a feeling as if you're sitting around a table with your best friends, diving deep into a roleplay of these characters.
Along with this is some fantastic world building that seems to come before you can ask what the name of that city they said was. Seasoned players will no doubt catch all the references to the game, while others who are less familiar will still enjoy how thorough the film is at developing it's world. While it might seem intimidating, there's no long winded explanations of places and creatures. These are lived in worlds and the time isn't taken to explain the fantasy elements, which is a positive. What it makes room for is fun encounters with a variety of these creatures, places, and folks occupying them. There's also plenty of humor along the way and much of it comes from banter that has no problem feeling like a bit of an aside from what we usually expect of fantasy.
The special effects are well done and many of the creature designs are great, although these kinds of things are less impressive now as they might have been several years ago. With theaters so inundated with effects driven films, much of the effects work here feels like it acts as a support to the elements that truly shine. This film isn't going to blow anyone away, but it is a truly good time. It also pays a lot of respect to the game it's based on and the players who play it. If you've seen the trailer and thought of this as yet another, average, effects driven film, it's worth giving a chance.
Chris Pine is Edgin, a bard and former warrior-of-sorts who has been imprisoned along with his friend and partner Holga for burglary, along with former, and currently free, teammates sorcerer Simon (Justice Smith) and rogue-turned-lord Forge (Hugh Grant). Promptly escaping from prison, Edgin sets off to find his daughter and reclaim a valued treasure, leading to a series of quests in which the group are joined by druid Doric (Sophia Lillis) and paladin Xenk (Regé-Jean Page). The cast in this is delightful and like any good party, they all compliment one another, with wit, sarcasm, and even Xenk's no nonsense attitude lending to a consistently funny and fun time. It leaves a feeling as if you're sitting around a table with your best friends, diving deep into a roleplay of these characters.
Along with this is some fantastic world building that seems to come before you can ask what the name of that city they said was. Seasoned players will no doubt catch all the references to the game, while others who are less familiar will still enjoy how thorough the film is at developing it's world. While it might seem intimidating, there's no long winded explanations of places and creatures. These are lived in worlds and the time isn't taken to explain the fantasy elements, which is a positive. What it makes room for is fun encounters with a variety of these creatures, places, and folks occupying them. There's also plenty of humor along the way and much of it comes from banter that has no problem feeling like a bit of an aside from what we usually expect of fantasy.
The special effects are well done and many of the creature designs are great, although these kinds of things are less impressive now as they might have been several years ago. With theaters so inundated with effects driven films, much of the effects work here feels like it acts as a support to the elements that truly shine. This film isn't going to blow anyone away, but it is a truly good time. It also pays a lot of respect to the game it's based on and the players who play it. If you've seen the trailer and thought of this as yet another, average, effects driven film, it's worth giving a chance.