D&D Honor Among Thieves

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

I don't recognise them . But if you notice, they aren't playing effectively together or operating as a team, which is, well, critical to surviving madmen's mazes, caverns of doom, or endless warehouses filled with Clockwork. Hence, doomed.

 

Also, while the other contestants are listed on IMDB as Dragonborn Contestant, Wizard Contestant, etc, the other group are Eric, Bobby, Diana, Sheila, Presto and Hank. 

 

OMG.

Just had a thought.

If they don't make it, who's gonna take care of Uni?

 

*sad maaah*

 

 

[TheOtherTed]

1 hour ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

If they don't make it, who's gonna take care of Uni?

My young cynical self hated Uni with a passion.  My old cynical self figures he was a sleeper agent for Venger.

[biostem]

Record of Lodoss War is the best D&D adaptation, unless you're super nostalgic for the 80s cartoon...

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

As the storm clouds gathered, and bright flashes of lightning split the sky, our party ventured out to a place they had not been in years...

....that dark, cavernous, mysterious space, wherein the dread guardians would first demand 

FOURTEEN BLOODY QUID EACH FOR A TICKET ARE YOU BLOODY JOKING?

 

Sheesh. Some things have definitely changed at the flicks post-pandemic.

 

As for the movie...

 

Spoiler

Starting with the bad news - and it's nothing to do with the movie itself.

The marketing campaign has, since the beginning, known this was gonna be a tough sell.

And our screen had only about the best four middle rows out of twenty 75% full, if that.

Every other row was empty.

 

This one might be a critical hit, and CinemaScore A-, but audiences still can't work out if it's for them until they see it.

Which is kind of a shame.

 

But as I've said earlier... if you've ever played a really happy, laughing game of D&D (or MERP, or anything), with rules getting more flexible the more everyone drinks, it's for you. It has that sense of place and richness without letting it drag things down (or when they do, lampshading it.)

 

There's a decent plot, it's a fully recognisable one you'll have seen bolted together from several other good flicks (notably Ocean's 11 - and the ingenious heist sequence is very much a high point of the flick.)

 

The ensemble cast keep it snapping along at pace. Special props to Pine and Rodriguez, but most impressed with Soph Lillis.

Support: Hugh Grant goes full Terry-Thomas rotter mode, much like his turn in Paddington 2. 

Daisy Head doesn't make a massive impression as the actual antagonist but does ok with what she's given: and you've battled one evil wizard, you've battled 'em all.

R-GP is more of an extended (cool and attractive) cameo, and rips the hell out of your classic straight-laced Paladin, and Plot Exposition Characters generally.

And there's one other surprise cameo in a small role but a kinda touching one.

 

Downsides: some of the gags and plotlines are obviously telegraphed, including a rez plz as soon as one of the McGuffins is revealed.

Didn't matter who it was going to be, you knew that was coming. Oh, and that The Kid's somehow going to be end-running a villain.

There's also one or two obvious borrowings (puny wizard...) But nothing game-breaking.

 

Upsides: mostly decent script, and despite the best efforts of their PR team, some jumpscares, gags and surprises they didn't rip out and put in an EPK, including the one malfunctioning-magic gag you absolutely don't see coming and got a serious gutlaugh out of the audience. Some touching bits, well-rounded, intelligent characters (Simon the Sorceror aside: Not sure if Justice Smith was grappling more with his awkward personality or script, but the only one that didn't come off.) 

 

So: not a natural 20. There are flaws, and the odd frankly rubbish bit. but absolutely a successful Charm roll and a very decent popcorn movie. 

I hope it does better at the box office than a wet Saturday audience would suggest. I'm not sure if they can pull off a GOTG-style franchise with this, but I'd like to see this cast roll together again.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[biostem]

The problem is, frankly, the mass audience doesn't care that it's D&D.  They should have marketed it as a high fantasy adventure in a magical land sort of epic, but got too bogged down in random nonsense and modern-day "stuff".  Sell it as fun and entertaining, with the fact that it is D&D as a footnote...

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

YET ANOTHER SPOILER from the D&D PR team, but this news made an awful lot of old nerds happy when I put it on General Chat.

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Quick thread rez spell:

 

[InvaderStych]

Funny you should drop a wakie on this thread; I finally got around to watching this one last week.

 

Expectations met - enjoyable if a bit on the "safe" side to keep it palatable to the masses. RJP's performance was the highlight for me; well balanced between taking itself seriously and not really taking itself seriously. I'd watch a movie or series focused on that character; backstory, continuation, end of the road, or otherwise. Very much doubt that will come to pass, and it would be quite a stretch if they did.

 

Enough nods to the D&D fans in the audience without drowning non-players in overt references. Probably as many that I missed as I caught given that I haven't played in probably 25 years or more. I'm sure some found cause for nerd-rage in there somewhere. Didn't see it. Of course I went in expecting pretty much what I got, a safely written, accessible film that gives a mainstream audience the expected story beats on the anticipated page. For what it was, it was well done though. There's no "universe" or "sequel" here that I can see (despite admitting the above about the paladin), but they might try to cobble one together anyway. 🤣

 

Loved the treatment on the displacer beasts, but since those were in the trailers I sort of knew I would and was looking forward to them. 😼

 

 

Edited September 6, 2023 by InvaderStych