B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e not a lot of fun, are you,B次元官网网址� notes barbarian Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) to brave fighter Xenk (Reg茅-Jean Page) in the new B次元官网网址淒ungeons & DragonsB次元官网网址� film, making two jokes at once.
The first is that Xenk, a paladin (or holy knight) in B次元官网网址淒&DB次元官网网址� lingo, is everything BUT fun B次元官网网址� gorgeous, noble, heroic, smart, and did we mention gorgeous? HeB次元官网网址檚 just REALLY not fun, or funny. HeB次元官网网址檚 so not funny, itB次元官网网址檚 hilarious.
The second, broader joke is that hotly awaited by devotees of the decades-old role-playing game, makes darned sure to be fun, and funny B次元官网网址� enough to laugh at itself. And thatB次元官网网址檚 the thing that makes it work.
At least, for a newbie like me. IB次元官网网址檝e never played the game, I confess. But this is a movie, not a game, and IB次元官网网址檓 here to tell you how it works for over two hours at the multiplex. Which is to say, surprisingly, sometimes delightfully well B次元官网网址� even if you have no clue what a paladin or Red Wizard or Harper is, or if the term B次元官网网址淒ungeon MasterB次元官网网址� sends your mind straight to B次元官网网址淔ifty Shades of Grey.B次元官网网址�
The most obvious reason for this success, besides fleet-footed direction by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, is star Chris Pine, whose sunny charisma and smooth knack for comedy, plus an ability to seem like heB次元官网网址檚 both inside the movie and outside looking in, keeps everything bubbling.
HeB次元官网网址檚 ably assisted by Rodriguez, plus young accomplices Justice Smith as a confidence-challenged (but sweet) wizard and Sophia Lillis as a shape-shifting druid. And then we have a graying Hugh Grant, playing the heck out of yet another comic villain role B次元官网网址� a character almost as curmudgeonly as he was
Plus thereB次元官网网址檚 a cameo from another big star, but more on that in a minute. Because first we have to mention the pudgy dragon. Yes, pudgy. Whatever dragons eat, and heB次元官网网址檚 had too many.
But back to Pine, aka the bard Edgin, whom we first meet in a dank, freezing prison cell. HeB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址� well, heB次元官网网址檚 knitting. Nearby sits Holga (Rodriguez), and her own hobby is eating. SheB次元官网网址檚 not a cordial sort, especially when food supply is at risk.
An appearance in front of a judicial council, begging for a pardon, gives Edgin the chance to tell his backstory. Turns out he wasnB次元官网网址檛 always a criminal; he was a Harper, part of a spy guild acting for the greater good, but he attracted the ire of the Red Wizards of Thay, which led to the tragic murder of his wife.
Teaming with Holga, he sets out to find the magical Tablet of Reawakening that would return his wife to him and especially their baby daughter Kira (played by Chloe Coleman as a youngster). But they get captured, and their accomplice Forge (Grant), who somehow escapes, swears to take care of Kira.
Edgin, a master planner, devises a jailbreak right during the pardon hearing. They discover Kira is now living in a walled city with Forge, a con-man who turns out (gasp!) to have planned the whole thing, and has convinced her that Dad betrayed her for riches. And now heB次元官网网址檚 allied with Sofina, a terrifying sorceress (Daisy Head). Forge not only refuses to give Kira back but sends Edgin and Holga to their deaths. Holga, however, quickly dispatches all the soldiers meant to kill them B次元官网网址� all while Edgin tries, and fails, to untie a rope.
Now they need that tablet, but first they need a magical helmet (bear with us.) The quest, upon which theyB次元官网网址檙e joined by Simon (Smith) and Doric (Lillis), leads to the filmB次元官网网址檚 most entertaining scenes. One of these is an impressive, fast-paced sequence where shape-shifter Doric infiltrates enemy lines and then, chased by Sofina, morphs seamlessly into various animal forms and back to herself again.
Another is a comic bit where PineB次元官网网址檚 Edgin tries to elicit key information from a series of corpses. Summoned to life by an increasingly effective Simon, each corpse can answer five questions before returning to the grave forever. Edgin keeps wasting his chances with questions like B次元官网网址淒id that count as a question?B次元官网网址�
And a prime comic moment comes from none other than Bradley Cooper (see, worth the wait!). WeB次元官网网址檒l reveal nothing but the observation that this cameo is small, but packs a punch.
Finally we have Xenk (Page), perfectly cast as a paladin so, well, perfect that he delivers babies in between vanquishing enemies, and provides the crucial help Edgin needs. But for all sorts of reasons, Edgin canB次元官网网址檛 bring himself to like the guy. Most of all, he canB次元官网网址檛 deal with his lack of understanding of irony, sarcasm, and especially humor.
HeB次元官网网址檚 probably right. Heroism is all well and good, but humor is crucial. ThatB次元官网网址檚 a lesson this film has, luckily, already figured out.
B次元官网网址淒ungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,B次元官网网址� a Paramount Pictures release, has been rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America B次元官网网址渇or fantasy action/violence and some language.B次元官网网址� Running time: 134 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
MPAA definition of PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
B次元官网网址擩ocelyn Noveck, The Associated Press
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