D&D Movie/TV The D&D Movie Reviews Are Coming In

While Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves doesn't come out until March 31st, reviewers have seen early screenings--and so far at least—it's all almost all overwhelmingly positive.

Of course, while those who follow genre movie news will know that's not an unusual pattern among early screenings, with things starting to settle down a bit later, Rotten Tomatoes currently has the movie at 100%. We can expect that to drop.

[UPDATE -- the Rotten Tomatoes score is now starting to drop and was at 92% at the time of this edit.]
[UPDATE -- now 84%.]

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves brings the rich world and playful spirit of the legendary roleplaying game to the...

www.rottentomatoes.com

Hollywood Reporter said "An adaptation that will appeal to the nostalgic side of existing fans and entertain those whose eyes glaze over at the mention of Dungeon Masters, bards or druids." Variety's verdict was "It’s at once cheesy and charming, synthetic and spectacular, cozily derivative and rambunctiously inventive, a processed piece of junk-culture joy that, by the end, may bring a tear to your eye." Den of Geek says "At last, here is a crowdpleaser that actually pleases, and not least of all because the stakes are as small as an evening with some mates going on "a quest" by way of a 20-sided die." And Total Film speaks of "A Pine-fuelled mix of humour, handsome settings and high-stakes action turns the beloved board game into a big-screen treat."

Other outlets agree. According to Polygon "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is everything a D&D fan could want" and The Wrap says "This Hilarious Epic Fantasy Is a Total Blast". Deadline also gives it a positive review, saying "With renewed interest in the fantasy genre, it’s good to see something outside of Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones getting it right and having a good time. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is also one of the better game adaptations to hit theaters due to all of the elements coming together — a strong cast, a decent story, dynamic direction and pleasing special effects."

Rolling Stone is a little more tempered, however, observing that "‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ Proves Chris Pine Can Save Anything" but warns that "no matter how much the creators confess their love of the game, all of those shout-outs to creatures, character types, campaign details and so on feel like annoying distractions."

RogerEbert.com feels that "The film often feels like it’s faking what the creators love about the game instead of trying to translate it from one medium to another."

But so far, so good! We'll have to wait to see if the trend holds up once the movie is out, but for those hoping we'll finally have a decent D&D movie--it looks like there is hope to be had!

 

[Bayushi_seikuro]

I was actually really surprised by Hugh Grant. I expected much more of the bumbling doofus, but the moments he actually had malice surface up... wow.

 

[Parmandur]

I was actually really surprised by Hugh Grant. I expected much more of the bumbling doofus, but the moments he actually had malice surface up... wow.

I got the impression he liked that the script gave him room to depart from his normal typecast.

 

[Azzy]

Anyone hear any stats?

Here you go...

Claim Honor Among Thieves Bundle now! - D&D Beyond

www.dndbeyond.com

Oh, wait... You mean how the movie is doing.

 

[Mistwell]

Found it @bedir than

From the Variety Article interview

GOLDSTEIN: It never left us with this one. We had people looking over our shoulder from the brand, from the studio. Even on set, we had advisers who said, “Well, she has to say something if she’s going to do the spell, because the spell has a verbal component.” The good thing about working with D&D specifically is it’s not like we’re bound by the characters or preexisting stories. We made up almost all the characters that are in here.

That's a good quote. Not sure they were from WOTC but it was someone who knew something about D&D it sounds like.

 

[bedir than]

That's a good quote. Not sure they were from WOTC but it was someone who knew something about D&D it sounds like.

"From the brand"
That's D&D

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Maybe. In these days of streaming services, it may be a long time before it hits broadcast.

I think it'll end up hitting Paramount+, rather than other, more popular streaming services.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

You all need to see more recent Hugh Grant films. He's been consistently a very believable villain for a number of years now. He's a villain in the second-best-rated movie in Rotten Tomatoes history, for instance. (I won't spoil what movie it was, since in case you don't know, it's kind of a wild realization -- and yes, the movie really is that good.)

 

[Oofta]

I think it'll end up hitting Paramount+, rather than other, more popular streaming services.

Maybe? I assumed so, but then with Amazon Prime being involved with the early showing maybe not.

 

[Xamnam]

You all need to see more recent Hugh Grant films. He's been consistently a very believable villain for a number of years now. He's a villain in the second-best rated movie in Rotten Tomatoes history, for instance. (I won't spoil what movie it was, since in case you don't know, it's kind of a wild realization -- and yes, the movie really is that good.)

This needs seconding, because it is both that surprising and that true.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Maybe? I assumed so, but then with Amazon Prime being involved with the early showing maybe not.

Pretty sure it's a Star Trek situation, where the TV and movie rights are separate. (Star Trek is a more extreme case, of course, since Hasbro still has their hands on both sets of rights, which I gather isn't the case with Star Trek.)

 

[EthanSental]

All the audience scores vanished from Rotten Tomatoes, like WTF, they just screwed over the movie. This was a review bombing, this was actual happy people who saw it at early screenings. If I was Paramount I'd be giving RT an earful.

I just noticed this as well….is this common Rotten Tomato practice? I’ve never really paid much attention. At least the critic review score is still up with 88% from 49 reviews.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I just noticed this as well….is this common Rotten Tomato practice? I’ve never really paid much attention. At least the critic review score is still up with 88% from 49 reviews.

I think RT generally tries to prevent audience reviews showing up before the formal release date. Them appearing and then vanishing is probably some sort of internal miscommunication.

 

[Horacio]

Forbes had just posted a review that really gives me hope, a review from a D&D gamer that says that people behind the film really understand and love D&D...

‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ Review: Everything I Wanted From A D&D Movie

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is surprisingly great, exceeding all of my expectations and delivering one of the best fantasy movies in years. It's the perfect homage to D&D created by people who clearly care about tabletop gaming.

www.forbes.com

 

[Umbran]

I think it'll end up hitting Paramount+, rather than other, more popular streaming services.

Quite possible. I noted it going to broadcast because, if one is boycotting for reasons, then a streaming service defeats the goal - they know exactly how many views they get on streaming services, much like they know gross ticket sales.

Broadcast is where they don't really know viewership in detail.

 

[Delazar]

You all need to see more recent Hugh Grant films. He's been consistently a very believable villain for a number of years now. He's a villain in the second-best-rated movie in Rotten Tomatoes history, for instance. (I won't spoil what movie it was, since in case you don't know, it's kind of a wild realization -- and yes, the movie really is that good.)

man, I'm curious now!

 

[robus]

The Hugh Grant movie in question is revealed here if you choose to watch:

 

[Argyle King]

That hasn't been the dominant mode of D&D combat since the 1990s, if it ever was...

What games would you suggest for someone who does want that style of combat?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

What games would you suggest for someone who does want that style of combat?

When they lost the license to Game of Thrones, Green Ronin took their system and remade it as the Chronicle system, which includes the same sort of gritty combat, social structures built around noble houses, etc.

It looks like Sword Chronicle is out of print in hardcover at the moment, but there's a lot available in PDF.

I am not sure, but I believe the former new hotness Burning Wheel also offered a grittier style of combat than modern day D&D does. And Burning Wheel begat Mouse Guard which in turn begat Torchbearer, which is explicitly their take on early TSR D&D, which might be right up your alley.

I don't have personal experience with either game, but both Sword Chronicle and Torchbearer have excellent reputations. I suspect you can find a lot of threads over on RPG.net with more detail.

 

[occam]

You all need to see more recent Hugh Grant films. He's been consistently a very believable villain for a number of years now. He's a villain in the second-best-rated movie in Rotten Tomatoes history, for instance. (I won't spoil what movie it was, since in case you don't know, it's kind of a wild realization -- and yes, the movie really is that good.)

Hugh Grant was in The Godfather?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Hugh Grant was in The Godfather?

This film is higher rated than the Godfather.

EDIT: It looks like, for a hard to imagine reason, Rotten Tomatoes has made it hard to find their all-time rankings.