Dungeons & Dragons...this spring's sleeper?

[Monterey Jack]

91% RT rating. The trailers were awful, but maybe it was just an example of a good movie saddled with terrible advertising. It'd be nice to have an authentically fun fantasy movie again, and this movie is supposed to deliver a great audience experience in a way a lot of recent F/X spectacles have not. Cautiously optimistic, and this is from someone who knows dick about the game.

[AndyDursin]

I will definitely see this at some point. I get the feeling it must be decent and the trailers did a lousy job, or at least didn't give us an indication what made the movie "unique" as it were. Instead they were conventional/boring ads making it look like any other blockbuster.

On the other hand RENFIELD looks like garbage and I'm sure it's going to be! This month's "Universal Povery Row" release (after COCAINE BEAR)...

[Monterey Jack]

8.5/10



One of the most pleasant surprises in recent memory, D&D is a beautifully-produced fantasy epic that somehow manages to be full of glib, modernized humor without sacrificing the dramatic stakes and character arcs that allow the viewer to remain invested all the way through. The cast is clearly having a blast, with Chris Pine regaining the lite swagger that made him so winning as Capt. Kirk and an especially droll, frequently hilarious turn from Hugh Grant. It also boasts a surprising amount of old-school makeup and creature F/X captured in-camera. Co-directors and writers Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (who also made the uproarious, surprisingly stylish comedy Game Night) keep the tone light and the plot happily percolating, with swashbuckling adventure, Ocean's 11-style heist plotting and wacky, eccentric asides (including an Is-that-who-I-think-it-is? cameo that's especially odd yet amusing). And - proving the adage that even a stopped clock is right twice a day - there's an unexpected good score from Lorne Balfe(!!!), which boasts at least one memorable recurring theme, and some lovely harp, woodwind and bagpipe flavorings on top of the usual choral chanting that's in a pleasurable Jerry Goldsmith Omen mode instead of the usual atonal droning. Of course, I should put "Lorne Balfe" inside quotation marks, as there are SIX "additional music" composers listed in the end credits, but when it's as good as this, why carp? The movie is also blissfully colorful and BRIGHT, without the desaturated murk that typifies most CGI-crammed adventure movies these days. It'll probably tank at the box office (even if it does a decent opening weekend, it's gonna get buried by the Super Mario Bros. movie next weekend), but I was very entertained by this, and it ought to generate a healthy fanbase at home if nothing else. I have zero idea if the movie is faithful to the games (all I know about it is what I've gleaned from Stranger Things over the years), but this is big-time fun that had me chuckling and smiling throughout, and in today's mirthless cinematic environment, that's to be treasured.

[AndyDursin]

Nice, looking forward to checking this out eventually!

[AndyDursin]

Is it suitable for an 8 year old or is it too gory and or humor inappropriate?

[Monterey Jack]

Is it suitable for an 8 year old or is it too gory and or humor inappropriate?

The violence is pretty much only implied, and I recall at least one use of "Sh!t" in the dialogue, but it should be okay for an eight-year-old. If you've shown Theo the Indiana Jones movies, there's nothing in this as scary or violent as Raiders or especially Temple of Doom. And there's so much humor laced throughout even the mildly spooky moments should be tolerable. Also no inappropriate lesbianism or transgender politics gratuitously shoved in. This is good family entertainment, the way it used to be.

[Eric W.]

I had zero interest until reading this thread.

[Monterey Jack]

Looking at a $40 million opening weekend, which is far better than what I anticipated. Hopefully it can get the same word-of-mouth longevity that Puss In Boots 2 did.

[AndyDursin]

It's good to see, but it's dual edged sword. It helps to find an audience when there's nothing else out there for that demographic. I mean we've gotten to April and there's like nothing out there for the PG-13 crowd other than Avatar, which opened at Christmas. Little else for teens/kids other than 2 lame super-hero sequels that each underperformed in their own respective ways. The rest of it's been R rated "adult" movies like Wick, Scream, and Cocaine Bear (and I use 'adult' lightly because the latter is still aimed at the sensibilities of a 15 year old). Creed is another sequel but it still skews older I'd imagine in terms of the audience.

So it's good this movie is going to be able to perform at a much higher level than it would've years ago -- people are simply starved for content.

Hopefully it can get the same word-of-mouth longevity that Puss In Boots 2 did.

There weren't any other kid movies other than PUSS IN BOOTS at the time -- for like weeks on end -- so again, I don't know if it's so much word of mouth as it is there's nothing else to see.

As I've said many times before, if the movie has any initial interest in this marketplace, it's going to get a chance to find an audience. At least until they get more product into theaters it will be a good thing for these movies on an individual basis, though not so much theater owners, who are still struggling. If one of these "tentpoles" underperforms like SHAZAM 2 or whatever crap they're going to release, it leaves a huge void. I still can't imagine how much money many of these places are losing right now.

[Monterey Jack]

[John Johnson]

Now available on Paramount Plus

[Paul MacLean]

4/10

I lasted half an hour before turning it off. The same old cliched characters and formulaic CGI effects.

[BobaMike]

4/10

I lasted half an hour before turning it off. The same old cliched characters and formulaic CGI effects.

It was okay, but I don't remember a thing about it, other than Hugh Grant seemed to be having fun.

[AndyDursin]

I didnt love it but it had some laughs and Theo enjoyed it. Was overlong and kind of "generic" but, low bar as it is, was more entertaining than Indiana Jones 5 that's for sure!

[Eric W.]

A decent one time rental.