Criticism of ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor among thieves’, the promised adventure

It is no coincidence that those responsible for this vigorous adaptation of the imaginary of the first modern role-playing game come from comedy: specifically, the excellent ‘Vacations’ (2015), a remake that surpassed the original, and ‘Game Night’ (2018 ), where the essence of re-enacting it functioned as a catalyst for reframing the pop rom-com. Nor that, for their purpose, they choose to invoke the spirit of Richard Lester. In titles such as ‘The Three Musketeers: The Queen’s Diamonds’ (1973) and the first two installments of ‘Superman’, Lester revealed his ability to combine humor with a moderate self-parody bias and fast-paced action, the constant juxtaposition of gags and set pieces, getting the dissonant parts to thread into a harmonious whole, whose inclination towards the burlesque did not invalidate the adventurous emotion.

If the essence of the role is the non-existence of a predetermined script, the film bets on the apparent entropy of the director of ‘The Ritz’ (1976) as opposed to the fatuous desire for transcendence of so many current franchises. The space, the action and the gags function as a hiberal board for the showcasing of a charismatic cast. I can’t think of a better way than to express the affection and the need to pay tribute to the role-playing nature of the original, and fans will find enough winks to meet their demands. Each scene shows a meridian balance between an eye for detail, verbal punch and magical abstraction. Let’s add to the formula that sympathy for trickery, for the cronyism among the disinherited so like Guy Ritchie (let’s cite the misunderstood ‘King Arthur: The Legend of Excalibur’, but also the delicious ‘Robin Hood’ by Otto Bathurst) and we up the ante with that sense of wonder of the best Terry Gilliam from ‘The Adventures of Baron Münchausen’ (1988). The most disturbing of the set is the ease shown by their authors to highlight, with master lightness, some of the recent titles of the Marvel Universe.

For knaves, zascandiles and urchins wanting a good party ‘sword and sorcery’

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DATA SHEET

Address: John Francis Daley, Jonathan M. Goldstein Distribution: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Hugh Grant Country: USA Year: 2023 Release date: 31–3-2023 Gender: Adventure Script: Dave Arneson, John Francis Daley, Jonathan M. Goldstein, E. Gary Gygax, Derek Kolstad Duration: 134 min.

Synopsis: A charming thief and a band of incredible adventurers go on an epic heist to recover a lost relic, but things go horribly wrong when they run into the wrong people.