Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Hugh Grant, Chloe Coleman, Daisy Head, Spencer Wilding, Will Irvine, Nicholas Blane, Bryan Larkin, Sarah Amankwah, Colin Carnegie, Georgia Landers, Sophia Nell Huntley, Clayton Grover, Bradley Cooper, Hayley-Marie Axe.
Dungeons & Dragons is a phenomenon of our time, more than a game, it is an icon, an industry masquerading as a competitive pastime. It is equally adored and derided, but there is no doubting the seriousness in which those who immerse themselves into the fortunes and constructed tales take as they don the imagination and furnish the creativity, and to those who watch from the sidelines, they cannot help themselves but wish to join in.
The inevitability of one form of expression of human creativity influencing another is always to be reckoned with, as sure as eggs is eggs, one artistic culture will persuade another to expand the universe, and where there is a game in the modern age, there is a tale to be adapted from it, and in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is the latest of a long line to tackle the role playing game and aim high in which to emulate its more formidable namesake.
Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley deserve credit for their polished, often amusing and knowing adaptation. The pair’s insight comes from a place of love, and the challenge to live up to the fans’ expectations could have been enough to tip into to the cinematic doldrums, of being punished for its daring; and it would not be the first time that such a fate has befallen a crusade of inventiveness.
The pairing succeed enough to see the main cast of the film strut subtly enough to capture the essence of humour required, whilst adding a different layer of heroism to the genre. Chris Pine is allowed to be himself, the addition of rising stars Justice Smith and Sophia Lillis is a blessing of casting, and Michelle Rodriguez and Hugh Grant give performances that are expected as they are enjoyable.
The positivity of the film, the relishing of the set-up, the allusion to the hero apparent and the good old-fashioned tussle between good and evil is enough to see the film remain steady under the eagle eyes of scrutiny and be seen as perhaps a precursor to a franchise if one were to be called for by the public.
Inspiration comes from a place where the invention is already written, all we can do is adapt it to another realm of entertainment; and for that Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a vision of movie-magic that will accommodate even the most stringent of those who wish to join in the role-playing exercise.
Ian D. Hall