Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves

Excellent stuff! The jokes, the visual effects, the twists, everything works to perfection. The smart script and the pinpoint direction of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are supported by great performances. The perfect chemistry of the protagonists, comparable to Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, pulls the whole film forward. Chris Pine is great, he truly enjoys his role as a Harper, and in the strongly dramatic sequences he doesn’t leave a single eye dry. Michelle Rodriguez as the female version Conan the Barbarian is having an incredible career comeback. The heists, the exploration, the rescues and the fights are executed with incredible wit and inventiveness. Balfe's music is top-notch. This is something you can count with almost any time, and I am already looking forward to watching it again. (01/04/2023)

A flat storyline with a variation of the same plot seen hundreds of times, but with an excellent group of likeable characters and a truly amazing villain. The whole thing is dynamic, funny with some great scenes (the fat dragon) and a charismatic lead in Chris Pine. It's obvious that it was made by someone who has a feel for the material and a respect for fantasy. The potential for a sequel or saga is there, but next time it should be either darker or more original. (30/06/2023)

It rarely happens that a movie from which I don't expect much pleasantly surprises me to the point of being thrilled. This time, the Americans nailed it and created a genuinely high-quality fantasy, which I love encountering in gaming worlds. The story was well constructed, the acting performances were not wasted, the dialogue had a nice touch of humor, and the action scenes didn't offend me with how they were handled (nor did they lack humor). Hugh Grant's role as the almost arch-villain fit him very well. I missed some blood and unanchored parts of human anatomy here because they are inseparable from the genre. This way, it was almost like a fairytale. A professionally done fairytale. Finally, I know how it would turn out if an owl had sex with a bear after a wild forest party. If you're not a fantasy fan, this may not be the movie for you, but I enjoyed it, and I feel obliged to give it five stars. / "You're getting better. You didn't fly as far." / Lesson learned: Never interfere between a warrior and her potato. (01/07/2023)

I didn't really expect to like this, so it was an even more pleasant surprise. The plot formula is clichéd, but it’s dressed up with a lot of imaginative and likably playful details, including dialogue devices showing that the movie’s creators are more clever than is usually the case with such farces. This will turn out to be a successful franchise if it keeps the quality at this level. (23/06/2023)

We haven’t had such a fine film for a long time. This fantasy popcorn flick, playing to the rhythm of Guardians of the Galaxy, is set in a new, unfamiliar world full of new characters, and yet is somewhat pleasantly familiar. It starts with a scene that quotes Jurassic Park, but then goes its own way, and it does it very well. The plot is pleasantly straightforward and keeps to the ground, it doesn't even matter that it's not particularly surprising, because originality is all around. The characters have real believable relationships with each other, the humour is not hammy at all costs and when the script wants to, it can even slow the film down a bit and give room for other emotions, like in one scene with a cameo by a very famous actor who isn't even listed in the cast yet, and I hope it stays that way for a long time. The actors and actresses are great, apart from Chris Pine I was especially pleased with Michelle Rodriguez (she really nailed it) and Sophia Lillis, and I feel Hugh Grant had as much fun during the shooting as I did in the cinema. The production design is appropriately fantastic and uncluttered, the action scenes are often imaginative, and Lorne Balfe composed the first ever soundtrack I'm happy to listen to in its entirety. I really hope we’ll get a sequel, because this is a world I would love to go back to. (31/03/2023)