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 gave us “Games Night” in particular – wanted to transcribe the playful spirit of role-playing on the big screen. And with a budget of US$150 million, they succeed with a lot of special effects and well-crafted dialogues.
Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine who clowns around with such infectious gusto you’d sometimes think of Mel Brooks) is a bard who wants to resuscitate his wife and mother of little Kira (Chloe Coleman). In order to steal the tablet capable of bringing his beloved back to life, he goes on an expedition with, among others, his friends Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez) the barbarian and Forge (Hugh Grant) the magician. But now, Edgin and Holga are taken prisoner. Two years later, they manage to escape and go in search of Forge who is taking care of Kira. And as Forge is no longer very nice, Edgin, still supported by Holga, gets help from the magician Simon (Justice Smith), the druidess Doric (Sophia Lillis) and the paladin Xenk (Regé-Jean Page).
The first thing that strikes you is the place taken by women in this incredible and semi-surreal adventure. For it’s Holga and Doric who take center stage, with Holga fighting with triumphant ferocity and Doric shape-shifting effectively despite a few special effects glitches. Edgin, on the other hand, is a sort of jester, lining up jokes and ridiculing himself more than once. Simon, on the other hand, fails to cast effective spells and Xenk is a paladin in all his splendor… ridiculous (and the actor of “Bridgerton” benefits from the best dialogues which are reminiscent of the “Kaamelot” of Alexander Astier).
As in a game of “Dungeons and Dragons” – the board game – the quests are transformed into a multitude of incidental but necessary quests, each crazier than the other to such an extent that the 134 minutes of this film- river sometimes seem a little artificial, not to say winded.
The special effects are not all up to the unusual budget for this kind of feature film. The animals in which Doric changes – the bear in particular – suffer from pixelated-looking approximations that spoil the pleasure and the lightness of the whole.
Without inventing anything new, “Dungeons and Dragons: Thieves’ Honor” nevertheless manages to provide a good time of escape and that’s all we ask of it.