Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein
(PG-13)
★★★★
A group of adventurers plots an epic heist.
The new Dungeons & Dragons movie “has the good sense to invite the uninitiated,” said Richard Lawson in Vanity Fair. “Homage and gentle parody at once,” this surprisingly charming actioncomedy serves “a feast of fan worship” without alienating those of us who have never played the fantasy role-playing game. Chris Pine stars as a lute-strumming bard whose ragtag band of thieves is on a quest to retrieve a relic, revive his dead wife, and rescue his estranged daughter from Hugh Grant’s roguish villain. “Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, and it’s hard not to follow suit,” thanks to the screenplay’s “winning blend of sincerity and silliness.” The constant action, though, “doesn’t allow for much else,” said Brian Tallerico in RogerEbert.com. Because the busy plot mimics the spontaneity of D&D’s tabletop game play, the script “feels like it’s often making itself up as it goes along.” Some plotlines prove “oddly unsatisfying,” with supposedly lighthearted twists feeling forced. Still, Chris Pine “keeps this thing buoyant, even when the plot turns start piling up,” said David Fear in Rolling Stone. The charismatic Star Trek actor “knows how to play off his fellow actors,” and even with Michelle Rodriguez, Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page, and It’s Sophia Lillis as sidekicks, “Pine is the secret sauce, the one making this movie fun—like vintage summer-blockbuster kind of fun.” (In theaters only)