Monday With Mildred: “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves”

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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie poster

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Long, long ago, before online gaming was even a twinkle in anyone’s eye, I played a few games of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) using actual book reference manuals and honest to goodness hand-thrown dice. Too bad for me, my Dungeon Master (DM, the person who runs the game) was not very good. It was fun but not enough to continue. The world of D&D started as a deeply drawn set of rules and matrixes and pre-fabricated creatures, and continued to become more popular and with ever expanding sets of resources. And why not? The whole thing is an exercise in creativity and group activities. Since the beginning, the gaming worlds have grown from the simple meeting at a tavern then going forth to slay a dragon to every environ a person can imagine. But the original is still popular and holds a fond place in most gamers’ heart.

Hasbro (yes, the toy company) has released another movie based on a colorful realm that began with a game. The last one I watched was Battleship, a fascinating adaptation of a tiny board game that was interesting at times but not what I would call a great movie. They’re a little closer to the mark this time around. Everything you need for classic D&D is in this included. There is a tavern, a wizard, a dungeon, some heroes, puzzles, action, and monsters. The story is simple, Edgin (Chris Pine, Star Trek, Wonder Woman) is trying to get a gadget that will bring his wife back to life, and then save his daughter from a bad guy. He has adventures with his close friend and battle companion Holga (Michelle Rodriguez, Fast and Furious).

There is, in fact, much diversity in the cast beyond a woman being one of the two main adventurers, and the more dangerous one to boot. Everything looks gorgeous, from scenery to sets and costuming, and there is a lot of humor all the way through. Most of it is situational or character comedy, but there are some in jokes, like the sequence of the adventurers questioning a corpse. It’s a deeply D&D gag about players who don’t take everything into consideration when describing what actions they’re taking, and even though I had seen some of it in the trailer I laughed out loud. I also really enjoyed a gag early about players thinking they can solve any problem with magic. It’s a nice idea, but so wrong. The joke works whether you’ve played or not, but it’s funnier if you have.

If you’ve ever played D&D you really should watch this film because it’s beautiful and has everything you’ve ever encountered in a campaign. Plus, it’s funny and touching and the acting isn’t horrible. If you’ve never played the game, I still encourage you to watch sometime because it’s just a straight up funny movie even if you don’t get the gaming nods.

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CFR: In Addition

OMG. Ok. I’m a gamer. I loved Stranger Things because it opened in the ‘80s in Indiana with people playing Dungeons & Dragons in their basement. Ah childhood.

I started playing DnD when it was a 5”x7” white pamphlet with a staple down the middle. (Yes it was.) I had a friend who opened one of the first shops that made DnD miniatures. Another friend had a brother who got paid to paint them. In short, I was there.

Throughout my life I have enjoyed DnD, talking about it, listening to other people’s games, reading their gaming stories. It has been with me all of my life and I love it. And I have waited for a good DnD movie for decades.

I’ve been sorely disappointed many times and figured my hopes of a good DnD movie were a pipe dream. Sometimes people, I LOVE being wrong.

I went to the special sneak preview of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (DD:HAT or HAT) with my good friend Rene who also games. We were worried. Was this going to be another crazy disappointment? The trailer looked like fun and the actors were ones we liked but oh my, we had both been here before. Hoping the DnD movie would capture the fun of DnD. So when the movie started, I held my breath.

Five minutes into the movie, I was like WHAT?!?!?! This is GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH WOW! I thoroughly enjoyed myself and so did Rene and we were like yay it was good!

Now if you don’t know anything about DnD you will enjoy it. 🙂 If you do know anything about DnD you will really enjoy it!

In short, this is the DnD movie we have waited for. Worth it.

The script and story telling is just wow. I loved the twists and turns and characters and I could feel a game behind it. It felt like I was watching a game. It was beautiful and funny and exciting. The actors threw themselves into their roles and they were believable. I LOVED IT!!

This is the Dungeons & Dragons movie you have waited for. Go watch it now.

Oh and the movie has a chonky dragon! It was so fat it just slide down hills on its belly. It ws so cute and funny my buddy Rene laughed with joy the entire time it was on screen.

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