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

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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%.]


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!
 
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Haplo781

Legend
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?
 

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Retreater

Legend



Blue Orange

Gone to Texas
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

Level Up & OSR Enthusiast
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

Gnometown Hero
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.
 

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.
 


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...
 

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