Superhero Universe
  • Entertainment
    DC FanDome Returning in October

    DC FanDome Returning in October

    Michael B. Jordan on ‘Without Remorse’ and Superman Rumors: “I’m Just Watching on This One”

    Michael B. Jordan on ‘Without Remorse’ and Superman Rumors: “I’m Just Watching on This One”

    ‘Tomorrow War’ Teaser: Chris Pratt Fights for the Future

    ‘Tomorrow War’ Teaser: Chris Pratt Fights for the Future

    ‘Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal the Movie’ Coming to Netflix

    ‘Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal the Movie’ Coming to Netflix

    Marvel’s ‘Ironheart’ Enlists Chinaka Hodge as Head Writer for Disney+ Series

    Marvel’s ‘Ironheart’ Enlists Chinaka Hodge as Head Writer for Disney+ Series

    Heavy Metal Magazine, Range Media Team to Produce Film, TV Based in Sci-Fi, Fantasy Space

    Heavy Metal Magazine, Range Media Team to Produce Film, TV Based in Sci-Fi, Fantasy Space

    DC Super Hero Girls and Teen Titans Go! Team Up for First-Ever Crossover Special (Exclusive)

    DC Super Hero Girls and Teen Titans Go! Team Up for First-Ever Crossover Special (Exclusive)

  • Games
    Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance Sees Life On PC For The First Time

    Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance Sees Life On PC For The First Time

    2022 Video Game Release Schedule

    2022 Video Game Release Schedule

    Scorn Breaks Its Silence With October 2022 Launch Window

    Scorn Breaks Its Silence With October 2022 Launch Window

    Sniper Elite 5 Brings X-Ray Brutality Back To WWII

    Sniper Elite 5 Brings X-Ray Brutality Back To WWII

    UPDATE: Raven Software Lays Off Members Of Its QA Team

    UPDATE: Raven Software Lays Off Members Of Its QA Team

    UPDATE: Fortnite Chapter 2 Has Reached The End, Watch The Event Full Here

    UPDATE: Fortnite Chapter 2 Has Reached The End, Watch The Event Full Here

    Halo Infinite Multiplayer: Here’s What’s You Can Unlock This Week

    Halo Infinite Multiplayer: Here’s What’s You Can Unlock This Week

  • Science

    Six and a Half Months in Orbit: Junk Food and Sublime Moments

    Six and a Half Months in Orbit: Junk Food and Sublime Moments

    NASA Snags Its First Asteroid Sample

    NASA Snags Its First Asteroid Sample

    The Bold Plan to See Continents and Oceans on Another Earth

    The Bold Plan to See Continents and Oceans on Another Earth

    Here’s How Scientists Mapped the Perseverance Rover’s Landing Site

    Here’s How Scientists Mapped the Perseverance Rover’s Landing Site

    People. Passion. Planets.

    People. Passion. Planets.

  • Tech

    How SEACAD Technologies Can Help You

    3 Application Development Trends to Be Aware of in 2023

    How to Protect a Dedicated Server

    How to Protect a Dedicated Server

    What Is cURL Good for?

    What Is cURL Good for?

    The Future of Business: How Technology is Transforming the Way We Work

    Is Renting a Server(s) an Alternative to Buying, Problems and Prospects

    Is Renting a Server(s) an Alternative to Buying, Problems and Prospects

    Diving Into Digital Art NFTs

    Diving Into Digital Art NFTs

  • Travel
    • Paris
    • Spain
    • New York
    • Singapore
    • Tokyo
  • Videos
  • Reviews
    Resident Evil 4 Remake – Hands-On Impressions Review – REfreshed and REloaded

    Resident Evil 4 Remake – Hands-On Impressions Review – REfreshed and REloaded

    Evil Dead Rise brings on the gleeful gore for horror fans

    Evil Dead Rise brings on the gleeful gore for horror fans

    The Resident Evil 4 remake pulls off the same great trick

    The Resident Evil 4 remake pulls off the same great trick

    The deeper I dig into roguelike Have a Nice Death, the less value I find

    The deeper I dig into roguelike Have a Nice Death, the less value I find

    The Tetris movie doesn’t do its story justice

    The Tetris movie doesn’t do its story justice

    Cyberpunk’s new equipment book is smart satire on the future of American gun culture

    Cyberpunk’s new equipment book is smart satire on the future of American gun culture

    Is Patch Quest a roguelike, Metroidvania, bullet hell, or Pokémon-like? Yes

    Is Patch Quest a roguelike, Metroidvania, bullet hell, or Pokémon-like? Yes

No Result
View All Result
Superhero Universe
  • Entertainment
    DC FanDome Returning in October

    DC FanDome Returning in October

    Michael B. Jordan on ‘Without Remorse’ and Superman Rumors: “I’m Just Watching on This One”

    Michael B. Jordan on ‘Without Remorse’ and Superman Rumors: “I’m Just Watching on This One”

    ‘Tomorrow War’ Teaser: Chris Pratt Fights for the Future

    ‘Tomorrow War’ Teaser: Chris Pratt Fights for the Future

    ‘Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal the Movie’ Coming to Netflix

    ‘Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal the Movie’ Coming to Netflix

    Marvel’s ‘Ironheart’ Enlists Chinaka Hodge as Head Writer for Disney+ Series

    Marvel’s ‘Ironheart’ Enlists Chinaka Hodge as Head Writer for Disney+ Series

    Heavy Metal Magazine, Range Media Team to Produce Film, TV Based in Sci-Fi, Fantasy Space

    Heavy Metal Magazine, Range Media Team to Produce Film, TV Based in Sci-Fi, Fantasy Space

    DC Super Hero Girls and Teen Titans Go! Team Up for First-Ever Crossover Special (Exclusive)

    DC Super Hero Girls and Teen Titans Go! Team Up for First-Ever Crossover Special (Exclusive)

  • Games
    Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance Sees Life On PC For The First Time

    Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance Sees Life On PC For The First Time

    2022 Video Game Release Schedule

    2022 Video Game Release Schedule

    Scorn Breaks Its Silence With October 2022 Launch Window

    Scorn Breaks Its Silence With October 2022 Launch Window

    Sniper Elite 5 Brings X-Ray Brutality Back To WWII

    Sniper Elite 5 Brings X-Ray Brutality Back To WWII

    UPDATE: Raven Software Lays Off Members Of Its QA Team

    UPDATE: Raven Software Lays Off Members Of Its QA Team

    UPDATE: Fortnite Chapter 2 Has Reached The End, Watch The Event Full Here

    UPDATE: Fortnite Chapter 2 Has Reached The End, Watch The Event Full Here

    Halo Infinite Multiplayer: Here’s What’s You Can Unlock This Week

    Halo Infinite Multiplayer: Here’s What’s You Can Unlock This Week

  • Science

    Six and a Half Months in Orbit: Junk Food and Sublime Moments

    Six and a Half Months in Orbit: Junk Food and Sublime Moments

    NASA Snags Its First Asteroid Sample

    NASA Snags Its First Asteroid Sample

    The Bold Plan to See Continents and Oceans on Another Earth

    The Bold Plan to See Continents and Oceans on Another Earth

    Here’s How Scientists Mapped the Perseverance Rover’s Landing Site

    Here’s How Scientists Mapped the Perseverance Rover’s Landing Site

    People. Passion. Planets.

    People. Passion. Planets.

  • Tech

    How SEACAD Technologies Can Help You

    3 Application Development Trends to Be Aware of in 2023

    How to Protect a Dedicated Server

    How to Protect a Dedicated Server

    What Is cURL Good for?

    What Is cURL Good for?

    The Future of Business: How Technology is Transforming the Way We Work

    Is Renting a Server(s) an Alternative to Buying, Problems and Prospects

    Is Renting a Server(s) an Alternative to Buying, Problems and Prospects

    Diving Into Digital Art NFTs

    Diving Into Digital Art NFTs

  • Travel
    • Paris
    • Spain
    • New York
    • Singapore
    • Tokyo
  • Videos
  • Reviews
    Resident Evil 4 Remake – Hands-On Impressions Review – REfreshed and REloaded

    Resident Evil 4 Remake – Hands-On Impressions Review – REfreshed and REloaded

    Evil Dead Rise brings on the gleeful gore for horror fans

    Evil Dead Rise brings on the gleeful gore for horror fans

    The Resident Evil 4 remake pulls off the same great trick

    The Resident Evil 4 remake pulls off the same great trick

    The deeper I dig into roguelike Have a Nice Death, the less value I find

    The deeper I dig into roguelike Have a Nice Death, the less value I find

    The Tetris movie doesn’t do its story justice

    The Tetris movie doesn’t do its story justice

    Cyberpunk’s new equipment book is smart satire on the future of American gun culture

    Cyberpunk’s new equipment book is smart satire on the future of American gun culture

    Is Patch Quest a roguelike, Metroidvania, bullet hell, or Pokémon-like? Yes

    Is Patch Quest a roguelike, Metroidvania, bullet hell, or Pokémon-like? Yes

No Result
View All Result
Superhero Universe
No Result
View All Result

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is everything a D&D fan could want

by
16 March, 2023
in Reviews
3.7k 194
0
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is everything a D&D fan could want
1.6k
SHARES
12.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterPin it
1200x627 Get More Done, Together
ADVERTISEMENT

This initial spoiler-free take on Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves comes from the movie’s debut at the 2023 SXSW Conference. We’ll have more in-depth coverage as the movie’s release date approaches.

We’re living in a new golden age for fantasy movies and shows. Gone is the time when epic fantasy adventures were given low budgets that crippled production, or scripts that showed open disdain for the genre. Now, elves, dragons, and magic are as big a part of the pop culture zeitgeist as sitcoms were in the ’90s. And yet, thanks to the huge success of Game of Thrones, fantasy shows and movies are usually dark and bleak, both in tone and in visuals. That’s just one of many reasons why the movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is such a shock to the system: It’s an attempt to prove that we’re finally ready to embrace the fun, chaos, and full-on weirdness of the fantasy genre.

What makes Dungeons & Dragons unique as a game is the way the system works as a huge sandbox. No two games are the same, even though players are using so many of the same tools. The new movie, from John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, based on a script written by Daley, Goldstein, and Michael Gilio, feels like an invitation to sit on the latest session in a campaign they’ve been running for years.

It’s like watching an episode of Critical Role and realizing the group hasn’t just crafted a good story out of the blue, they were playing together for a long time even before the cameras rolled. Even before Honor Among Thieves’ bard Edgin (Chris Pine) tells a story about his background so the audience can understand his motivation (his actual words), and we see his past adventures with most of the other characters, the movie feels like the latest chapter in a very long and intricate story.

Barbarian Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) and bard Edgin (Chris Pine) kneel awkwardly in sand and shattered tiles in front of several chairs in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Photo: Aidan Monaghan/Paramount Pictures

This is what the best stories do: They invite you into an expansive, intricate world that feels like it existed long before these characters entered the story, and far beyond this particular adventure. Honor Among Thieves aces that world-building. It name-drops several key D&D locations, like Baldur’s Gate and Waterdeep. But the real sense of connection for fans of the game comes in the way the film uses real sets and locations to convey the grandeur and size of the world, and populates them with a ton of characters and background sights, from ruins to ancient monuments. In a way, the approach feels similar to James Cameron’s original Avatar, which tells a fairly simple, uncomplicated, often predictable story, so Cameron can focus on building a massive world without overwhelming the audience.

In Honor Among Thieves, that approach pays off. The story of a group of misfits going on a quest to find a magical artifact in order to pull off a heist isn’t very complex, and it’s often predictable. But it’s effective and to the point, designed to let the characters and the world speak for themselves.

For viewers who’ve never played Dungeons & Dragons, the movie’s world won’t be harder to wrap your head around than Westeros or Middle-earth, apart from all the creatures and cultures, from dragon people to lizard people to cat people. (The Tabaxi in this film rule.) There’s a similarly large variety of creatures, like owlbears and mimics. The film employs plenty of practical creature effects that look incredible, though at times, the CGI touch-ups don’t blend as well as they could. It’s a testament to the writers’ trust in the audience that they don’t overexplain how things work in this world, whether it’s the magic, the characters’ abilities, factions like the Harpers or the Emerald Enclave, or the anachronistic technology that puts this movie closer to Willow or The Princess Bride than Lord of the Rings.

But the differences between Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy franchises is the sweet spot where Honor Among Thieves really shines. That starts with the film’s portrayal of magic, which is unlike anything else on TV or film. There are no wizards waving their wands, shooting CGI rays of light around. Instead, they need physical ingredients, gestures, words, and even concentration to cast all kinds of spells, simple and complex. The movie makes it very clear that there are limitations to magic — just covering a sorcerer’s mouth stops them from casting spells, for instance.

The D&D party moves into action in a red-tinged group shot, with Edgin (Chris Pine) up front reaching over his shoulder for his instrument in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Photo: Aidan Monaghan/Paramount Pictures

As cool as the magic is, however, Daley and Goldstein make sure every member of the main party gets a moment to show off their class skills, from the barbarian Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) raging and kicking everyone’s ass in stunningly choreographed action sequences to Pine’s bard motivating his teammates to accomplish their goals. The standout, however, is Sophia Lillis’ tiefling druid Doric, who steals the stage with her use of Wild Shape in the movie’s best sequence, a single-shot escape through a castle that showcases different creatures and proves that druids are the best class. (Fight me.)

Arguably no character feels like they come straight from a gaming session as much as the paladin Xenk (Regé-Jean Page). He is this movie’s take on Jesse Plemons’ character from Game Night, an incredibly serious character surrounded by silly doofuses. He also feels like that one older player who joins a table of newbies with an OP character they’ve been playing for years and who takes the game super-seriously, refusing to break character and constantly reminding you they “do not tolerate colloquialisms.”

For fans of the game, or any of its hundreds of derivative products, it’s a genuine joy to see these dynamics play out recognizably on the screen without shame, to see known locations realized in such lavish detail, and to see this world populated by the creatures that make D&D such a unique franchise. (The intellect devourer is a scene-stealer.) The movie also does a great job of capturing the different tones players might experience in their own campaigns, from horror to campy fun, and from epic high fantasy to a thrilling heist.

That last point is crucial to the success of the movie, which juggles several tones and genres while always remaining playfully earnest. The characters are constantly failing in fights and puzzles. It’s a hoot and a riot to see them be total goofs, but also a triumph when they finally succeed. There’s no embarrassment about the fantasy elements or their origins here, and no attempt to hide or undercut the nerd stuff with sarcastic, dismissive comments. No one mocks each other’s names or skills. The appearance of a displacer beast or a gelatinous cube doesn’t elicit quips about them being ridiculous creatures: They’re just treated as dangerous.

The film is playful and earnest throughout, focusing on the fact that for the characters, these are serious situations. Rodriguez’s barbarian is still reeling from a broken relationship, and when her storyline pays off, it’s hilarious — but the audience is still invited to feel and empathize with her pain. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves doesn’t re-create game mechanics or a sense of improvisation as well as, say, The Legend of Vox Machina, but it is the best Dungeons & Dragons movie we could have hoped for. Not only is it a fun fantasy movie, it’s a great adaptation of a gaming session. And it’s an invitation into a new and more visual version of a world dedicated players already love — and that the filmmakers seem to love, too.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves will premiere in theaters on March 31.

Previous Post

How to Avoid Norovirus When Traveling

Next Post

Is Patch Quest a roguelike, Metroidvania, bullet hell, or Pokémon-like? Yes

Related Posts

Resident Evil 4 Remake – Hands-On Impressions Review – REfreshed and REloaded
Reviews

Resident Evil 4 Remake – Hands-On Impressions Review – REfreshed and REloaded

23 March, 2023
Evil Dead Rise brings on the gleeful gore for horror fans
Reviews

Evil Dead Rise brings on the gleeful gore for horror fans

23 March, 2023
The Resident Evil 4 remake pulls off the same great trick
Reviews

The Resident Evil 4 remake pulls off the same great trick

23 March, 2023
The deeper I dig into roguelike Have a Nice Death, the less value I find
Reviews

The deeper I dig into roguelike Have a Nice Death, the less value I find

19 March, 2023
The Tetris movie doesn’t do its story justice
Reviews

The Tetris movie doesn’t do its story justice

19 March, 2023
Cyberpunk’s new equipment book is smart satire on the future of American gun culture
Reviews

Cyberpunk’s new equipment book is smart satire on the future of American gun culture

19 March, 2023
Next Post
Is Patch Quest a roguelike, Metroidvania, bullet hell, or Pokémon-like? Yes

Is Patch Quest a roguelike, Metroidvania, bullet hell, or Pokémon-like? Yes

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
‘Big Country’ Brings Western Noir to Comics

‘Big Country’ Brings Western Noir to Comics

25 November, 2019
The State of Planetary Defense

The State of Planetary Defense

28 October, 2019
How organisations can prevent external eavesdropping and influence through electromagnetic emissions

How organisations can prevent external eavesdropping and influence through electromagnetic emissions

28 October, 2019
The Bold Plan to See Continents and Oceans on Another Earth

The Bold Plan to See Continents and Oceans on Another Earth

28 May, 2020

How SEACAD Technologies Can Help You

0

0

0

0

How SEACAD Technologies Can Help You

26 March, 2023
Resident Evil 4 Remake – Hands-On Impressions Review – REfreshed and REloaded

Resident Evil 4 Remake – Hands-On Impressions Review – REfreshed and REloaded

23 March, 2023
Evil Dead Rise brings on the gleeful gore for horror fans

Evil Dead Rise brings on the gleeful gore for horror fans

23 March, 2023
The Resident Evil 4 remake pulls off the same great trick

The Resident Evil 4 remake pulls off the same great trick

23 March, 2023

Recommended

How SEACAD Technologies Can Help You

26 March, 2023
Resident Evil 4 Remake – Hands-On Impressions Review – REfreshed and REloaded

Resident Evil 4 Remake – Hands-On Impressions Review – REfreshed and REloaded

23 March, 2023
Evil Dead Rise brings on the gleeful gore for horror fans

Evil Dead Rise brings on the gleeful gore for horror fans

23 March, 2023
The Resident Evil 4 remake pulls off the same great trick

The Resident Evil 4 remake pulls off the same great trick

23 March, 2023

About Us

Get the latest news and reviews on games, science, technology, and entertainment

Categories

  • Entertainment
  • Games
  • New York
  • Paris
  • Reviews
  • Science
  • Singapore
  • Spain
  • Tech
  • Tokyo
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Video
No Result
View All Result
  • Entertainment
  • Games
  • Science
  • Tech
  • Travel
    • Paris
    • Spain
    • New York
    • Singapore
    • Tokyo
  • Videos
  • Reviews

© 2019 SuperheroUniverse.com

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In