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!

 

[MNblockhead]

It's not the combat. D&D's DNA is mostly combat. It's the style of combat. I'd much rather see Game of Thrones-style combat than Hulk-style combat.


One could. But for some odd reason, I think Marvel is significantly older than D&D.

Duergar combat, best of both worlds.

 

[wingsandsword]

The 13th review, from an Austin TV station, is the first negative one. It still expects the movie to launch a franchise. Also, the negative is that it's too much like the most dominant movies of all time

I'm sure Hasbro would love for it to launch a film "franchise".

. . .and D&D is built on the backs of Lord of the Rings, Conan, and a half-dozen other fantasy series that didn't get big film deals. OF COURSE a D&D movie will resemble other movies. If it didn't at least halfway remind you of some other popular things, it wouldn't be D&D.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It's not the combat. D&D's DNA is mostly combat. It's the style of combat. I'd much rather see Game of Thrones-style combat than Hulk-style combat.

That hasn't been the dominant mode of D&D combat since the 1990s, if it ever was. This was the same period when gods were slap-fighting in the Forgotten Realms and skyships were flying over Mystara, so it's been super-heroic fantasy for a very long time now.

And I think, from a filmmakers' standpoint, making a movie that's too much like Game of Thrones sets them up for comparisons they will probably not do well in. Better to be doing something different and avoid most of that.

 

[nevin]

That negative review makes me want to see the movie.

The austin community likes to think it's Highbrow. Usually if the media there hates something it's at least entertaining.

 

[nevin]

That hasn't been the dominant mode of D&D combat since the 1990s, if it ever was. This was the same period when gods were slap-fighting in the Forgotten Realms and skyships were flying over Mystara, so it's been super-heroic fantasy for a very long time now.

And I think, from a filmmakers' standpoint, making a movie that's too much like Game of Thrones sets them up for comparisons they will probably not do well in. Better to be doing something different and avoid most of that.

absolutely. DND was never low fantasy nitty gritty. The first treasure tables had Artifacts, the staff of Power and and rules to generate Hordes of treasure. By the 80's Gygax was actively railing at the "Monty Haul DM's" who were breaking his game but they were also the one's paying his bills.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I suppose this movie will be a success in the box-office, opening the door to the arrival of a cinematographic franchise.

We can suppose we are going to see not only a sequel, but also spin-off with different groups of heroes.

My question is if we are going to be D&D productions set in other worlds: Greyhawk, Ravenloft, Spelljammer, Dark Sun..

 

[I'm A Banana]

Goofy fun is an important element of D&D and I'm happy to see goofy fun as a big element in these reviews. It's a nice way to set it apart from its more Epic Fantasy counterparts. It's not the Witcher, it's not Game of Thrones, it's got a sense of humor about itself, which is perfect, that's on-brand for D&D IMXP.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Goofy fun is an important element of D&D and I'm happy to see goofy fun as a big element in these reviews. It's a nice way to set it apart from its more Epic Fantasy counterparts. It's not the Witcher, it's not Game of Thrones, it's got a sense of humor about itself, which is perfect, that's on-brand for D&D IMXP.

It'll be interesting to see how much of the general public put two and two together regarding the tone (and dragons) of Vox Machina and Honor Among Thieves.

 

[beta-ray]

"‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ Proves Chris Pine Can Save Anything"

Really? I didn't know WW 1984 did that well (I did not see it). And from my own personal experience, Star Trek Into Darkness was pretty damn bad.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Really? I didn't know WW 1984 did that well (I did not see it). And from my own personal experience, Star Trek Into Darkness was pretty damn bad.

Star Trek Into Darkness has been memory-holed by most people, for good reason.

 

[Haplo781]

I got excited for a minute when I saw Amazon Prime was going to have a one day preview for members, then realized that it was going to be in a theatre (not streaming) and that I'd have to drive out of state to go.
So I guess I'm waiting until it comes to streaming or available for checkout from my library.

More info?

 

[Retreater]

More info?

About the early screening?...

D&D Movie/TV - Dungeons & Dragons movie prescreening for Amazon Prime members March 19th

I saw this just now after watching a movie. Not sure if other movies do this and to how much, or if they are pushing this movie more. Amazon Prime members in the United States can buy tickets to join the adventure on Sunday, March 19. The one-day screening will take place at 2:00pm local time...

www.enworld.org

 

[Vaalingrade]

It's not the combat. D&D's DNA is mostly combat. It's the style of combat. I'd much rather see Game of Thrones-style combat than Hulk-style combat.

Disappointing and poorly shot?

 

[Azzy]

Rolling Stone is generally* a pretty good barometer of where professional critics will land on a movie. So, "good but not great" is a good bet for the eventual consensus.

* Generally. Don't @ me.

@Whizbang Dustyboots

 

[Blue Orange]

So, for someone with more time than me: is there a difference in opinions between 'geek' media reviews (gaming sites, RPG sites) and mainstream media reviews (newspapers, TV stations, etc)

 

[Micah Sweet]

That hasn't been the dominant mode of D&D combat since the 1990s, if it ever was. This was the same period when gods were slap-fighting in the Forgotten Realms and skyships were flying over Mystara, so it's been super-heroic fantasy for a very long time now.

And I think, from a filmmakers' standpoint, making a movie that's too much like Game of Thrones sets them up for comparisons they will probably not do well in. Better to be doing something different and avoid most of that.

MCU-style combat is hardly doing something different.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

So, for someone with more time than me: is there a difference in opinions between 'geek' media reviews (gaming sites, RPG sites) and mainstream media reviews (newspapers, TV stations, etc)

The geeks are more effusively happy about it so far, which matches with how most geek entertainment is reviewed. (Even the new Ant-Man movie was better liked in geek media than it was in mainstream media, which was generally not kind.)

It's still better than the pre-MCU days, when geek media would put a thumb on the scale and explicitly say stuff like "it's good for a superhero movie" or "it's good for a fantasy movie." Happily, we're beyond the point where they need to explicitly do that.

 

[humble minion]

MCU-style combat is hardly doing something different.

What makes you think they ever wanted to do something different? This movie was always going to be something in the quippy, PG-actiony vein of Buffy, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the MCU. It's well-worn formula, but it's a formula that is a lot of fun when done right. They were always going to be conservative, from a filmmaking point of view, making this. Even the MCU only dared get slightly weird, experimental, or innovative about 10 films in.

 

[toucanbuzz]

Not expecting it to win an Oscar, but if I'm going to get the wife convinced to invest in a babysitter and the cost of a movie, better be 80%+ and certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Otherwise, I'm cancelling game day and going with the group instead!

 

[Demetrios1453]

What makes you think they ever wanted to do something different? This movie was always going to be something in the quippy, PG-actiony vein of Buffy, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the MCU. It's well-worn formula, but it's a formula that is a lot of fun when done right. They were always going to be conservative, from a filmmaking point of view, making this. Even the MCU only dared get slightly weird, experimental, or innovative about 10 films in.

I mean, honestly, that's what I would hope for in a D&D movie. I'm not going in expecting something to rival Citizen Kane, and I'm sure as not going in if it appears to be GoT-style grimdark fantasy. I want something fun and entertaining, like my tabletop experience. Give me a fantasy Guardians of the Galaxy and it will be just perfect. It appears that the production team thought the same way. And if it succeeds at doing that, audiences should respond well...