Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Action, Comedy
Directed by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley
Screenplay byJonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Michael Gilio
Produced by Jeremy Latcham, Brian Goldner, Nick Meyer
Story by Chris McKay, Michael Gilio
Based on Dungeons & Dragons by Hasbro
Starring: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis&Hugh Grant.
Cinematography: Barry Peterson
Edited byDanLebental
Music by Lorne Balfe
Production companies: Paramount Pictures, Entertainment One
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures (United States) Entertainment One (Canada/United Kingdom)
The plot: A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers embark on an epic quest to retrieve a long lost relic, but their charming adventure goes dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.
I was Looking Forward to this film.
This Dungeons & Dragons Movie was Surprisingly Epic in a Good Way.
Pros: I do appreciate how this other fantasy tale was done with a lot of heart and humour to stand apart from the others of this genre. There’s a lot of love for so many D.A.D. (Dungeons & Dragons) fans from this film in terms of Easter eggs, references, and the death traps. A lot of action in the movie. The four combatants are quite similar like the Guardians of the Galaxy, and I liked how the story was framed like a video game at times.
Cons: I am glad it didn’t take the comedy too serious. I couldn’t see the animatronics skeletons that much and the bad-guy character Forge was useless.
The Casts:
- Chris Pine as Edgin Darvis, a bard and former member of the Harpers. After his wife was murdered, he raised his daughter Kira with his friend Holga. In prison with Holga following a heist gone wrong, he plots their escape in hopes of being reunited with his daughter.
- Michelle Rodriguez as Holga Kilgore, a barbarian who was exiled from the Uthgardt Elk Tribe. She acts as a surrogate mother for Kira and is imprisoned with Edgin.
- Regé-Jean Page as XenkYendar, a paladin who narrowly escaped the lichSzass Tam‘s “rise to power” in Thay and as a result, “ages more slowly than a normal human”.
- Rylan Jackson portrays a young Xenk.
- Justice Smith as Simon Aumar, a wild magic sorcerer who is the descendent of ElminsterAumar, a notable wizard.
- Sophia Lillis as Doric, a tiefling druid raised in the Neverwinter Wood by a wood elf enclave. She is a member of the Emerald Enclave and has organized a resistance against the Lord of Neverwinter who targeted the forest “for its resources”.
- Hugh Grant as Forge Fitzwilliam, an ambitious rogue and con artist. He is a former member of Edgin’s crew and has been taking care of Kira. Since Edgin’s imprisonment, he’s become the Lord of Neverwinter, gained great wealth and received counsel from Sofina.
- Chloe Coleman as Kira Darvis, Edgin’s daughter who has fallen under the sway of Forge, her guardian for two years following her father’s imprisonment
- Daisy Head as Sofina, a Red Wizard of Thay with a focus in necromancy and “ties to Thay’s tyrannical magocracy”.
- Jason Wong as Dralas, a Red Wizard of Thay
I recommend watching this film to those who adored Dungeons & Dragons.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Ryan Balkwill:
Resident film reviewer,
Level Best Art Café