Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

What a fun film!
Personally, I had a great time watching 'Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves'! I know the general gist of the role-playing game that this is based upon but have never played/watched anything actually to do with it, so couldn't possibly comment on how accurate/whatever this is to that.
I can, however, say that as a movie it gave me pretty much everything I wanted. It's nice to see these sorta fantasy adventure flicks, I felt this one did a terrific job at bringing its world to life. The score is also (as expected from Lorne Balfe) excellent, there's a neat end credits song too. A ~134min run time could've been damaging, but is in fact the perfect length in my opinion - it flies by.
The cast are ace! I do enjoy Chris Pine as an actor, predominantly thanks to 'Unstoppable' with the great Denzel Washington, and he gives a convincing performance. I remember seeing one or two trailers for this way back and thinking that I thought the actors didn't seem all that 'into' their roles. Happy to say I was wrong!
Michelle Rodriguez is fab as well, not that that was ever in doubt from Letty Ortiz herself. Justice Smith and Sophia Lillis are noteworthy positives, as are Hugh Grant and Regé-Jean Page. Bradley Cooper even manages to stick out in my memory in a very minor role.
I genuinely came close to giving this a higher rating, that's how much I enjoyed it. Quality flick, one I hope gets a sequel.

**_Rebooting the sword & sorcery series with Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez_**
A former member of the Harpers turned thief (Pine) amasses a group of unique individuals in order to acquire a magic relic, The Helm of Disjunction, and get his daughter back from a conman Lord (Hugh Grant) and his Red Wizard accomplice (Daisy Head). The adventurers include a barbarian (Rodriguez), an amateur sorcerer (Justice Smith), a shape-changing tiefling (Sophia Lillis) and a noble paladin (Regé-Jean Page).
"Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” (2023) reboots the trilogy that ran from 2000-2012. It’s easily the best film on a technical level but, story-wise, I prefer the previous two, “Wrath of the Dragon God” (2005) and “The Book of Vile Darkness” (2012), which are more serious.
Like the first one from 2000, it telegraphs from the get-go that it's not to be taken too seriously. If you can roll with the campy air, it’s an amusing throwaway fantasy flick. Imagine the gaudiness of "Star Wars" (1977) if the story were transplanted to a Medieval-like kingdom where dragons & magic are reality and you'd have a good idea of what this movie has to offer.
So, it’s a fun, entertaining adventure-fantasy with a good cast and the highlight of petite Sophia Lillis as the elf-like tiefling, but it’s overlong and needed more depth. Plus, there are too many glaring borrowings from other movies, like the frozen-land prison from “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,” the bald witch-sorceress from “Conan the Barbarian” (2011), Magneto’s helmet from the “X-Men” flicks, bits from the “Thor” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies, etc.
The film runs 2 hours, 14 minutes, and was shot in Iceland and Northern Ireland.
GRADE: B-/C+