There is nothing wrong with DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: HONOUR AMONG THIEVES..
..Except:
1: Yet another attempt to give Chris Pine a franchise which will not fly. Shame as he is a nice guy, solid to good actor and verges on cusp of actually charismatic leading man. But he’s no Harrison Ford as Indiana Solo or Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow or Downey as Tony Stark etc.
IE:
2: This movie NEEDS a bigger bout of charismatic clashes between stars. Hugh Grant is hilarious in places. But that’s just it. He is only ever in places. The guy should be front and centre. Hugh is neither the big bad nor comedic foil; they do not quite sell him as a loveable rogue or satanic villain, which leaves him as an underused spare part. Still steals the show though and makes us laugh in every scene. A missed opp, nonetheless, either to utilise his charm or to surprise us all and make him the full on baddie baddie?
3: Movie requires pacier, punchier, pithier editing. It’s overlong and slow in places, thereby showing up its limitations as a kind of CGI sugar-rush video game on film, via tired tropes from other Marvel-lous franchises.
4: Lorne Balfe. You had ONE job! And so it is that the score has maybe one memorable track (a montage, will add to playlist). But this needed a theme. A big, rousing, sing in the shower Hans Zimmer/John Williams style tune. Shame. Lorne can be awesome (cf: MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE).
5: Tone and aesthetic are a tad muddled. At its core? This is a budget Lord of the Rings. Elves. Magic. Quest to steal a thing from a place via caves and monsters n shit. There are moments veering on profound or portentous yet those are lacking space to breathe in what is an already crammed film. On the whole, though? They seem to be aiming for rip roaring adventure (successful, in some scenes) via laughs (once again, accomplished, on occasion, but nowhere near enough~).
In short? C++ / B-. By all means go and see DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: HONOUR AMOMNG THIEVES.
You will enjoy it. It has charm, warmth, morality and much to feel satisfied by. Equally though? You miss nothing by (say this in Hugh Grant voice / tone), in fact, um, missing it. Hope that makes sense. I’m not recommending it. But I am not, um, not recommending it, either.
