Let’s be honest, when we found out that a new Dungeons & Dragons movie was coming to the big screen, we trembled.
A loophole remained in our memory of the infamous version of the year 2000 with Jeremy Irons that we have not even dared to revisit and that had a sequel in 2005 entitled Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God that nobody remembers. Amen to the 2012 TV movie Dungeons & Dragons: The Book of Vile Darkness.
Even stronger still beats the memory of the animated series from the 80s that made us hum its song for years: “Dungeons and Dragons, a hellish world. The forces of evil are hidden in the shadows.” The members of Los dulces, sons of Los diablos, were in charge of the catchy theme, in a decade in which children’s groups broke the corduroy in our country.
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Dungeons & Dragons International Trailer: Honor Among Thieves
But if we start making the moviola, we have to go back another decade in time to talk about the origin of it all: the heroic fantasy role-playing game that was born in 1974 in the United States. It was designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Ameson and published by a company that belonged to TSR (Tactical Studies Rules).
Its importance is paramount to understanding modern role-playing games since its launch was a bridge between the board games designed by hitting paper, pencil and dice and the current industry we know today.
The firm’s journey has been very long, but with some essential milestones to understand the origin of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Wizards of the Coast, which owned the IP, passed into the hands of Hasbro in 1999 and in 2019 it was acquired by eOne Entertainment, whose distribution area closed in Spain in 2022.
The producer, however, reached an agreement with Paramount Pictures that has allowed the launch of the film with the aim of starting a new cinematographic universe. And the initial move has gone very well.
Despite its somewhat long 135 minutes, it offers just what the public can look for in it: funny entertainment, some absurd humor, spells, creatures, challenges and adventures.
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A look behind the scenes of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, the movie about the role-playing game
Its strengths lie in a script that respects the source material, a charismatic cast led by Chris Pine y Michelle Rodriguez and a sense of humor close to the 90s adventures that suits him very well and brings to mind other works with which he shares the spirit.
If Gygax in his day aspired to create a fictional universe as large and cohesive as that of Star Wars or Indiana Jones, the mirror in which directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley look today is that of Marvel, for obvious reasons. Let us bear in mind that, despite the gradual decline due to what they call “saturation fatigue”, they have generated a very substantial line of business.
The idea behind this film, which has a script written by the directors in collaboration with Michael Gilio based on a story by Gilio and Michael McKay, is to recreate a role-playing game. The latter has proven to have an undeniable flair for the show, directing films like Tomorrow’s War and having projects like Renfield and Jonny Quest in the pipeline.
The best thing is that you don’t have to be an expert role-playing player or the “master of the dungeon” to enjoy it, because it is designed as a blockbuster that is very accessible to everyone, although with all kinds of winks that improve the experience for those who are familiar with it. mythology: names, characters, places, situations…
Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves Posters (6 Images)
Put a little fantasy in your life
But what is the movie about? The argument of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves It balances drama, comedy and action very well. It introduces us to Chris Pine who plays Edgin, a rogue thief who had to leave his daughter behind when he was caught red-handed in a heist and thrown in prison.
Years later, he decides to run away and return to his side, but the young Kira is under the protection of Forge, who was his sidekick, although now his ambition has taken him to the top of the food chain of power.
Along with him, an enigmatic sorceress Sofina is going to become a real headache for Edgin, his faithful friend Holga and other colleagues who are going to join them along the way and end up putting their talent (and their desire to improve ) at the service of a noble cause.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves – Image Gallery (7 images)
Despite its imperfections, which it has, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves it has a halo of magic that makes it very peculiar. It subverts the trend of self-awareness, which is already tiring or the permanent need to bait the viewer with cliffhangers, post-credits sequences or delusions of grandeur that sometimes come to nothing
We have already lost count of the truncated future plans of superhero movies, for example!
It offers a joyous viewing experience with the occasional hilarious incursion (the characters played by Regé-Jean Page y Bradley Cooper are laughter). The film has value on its own, but at the same time it lays a good foundation for the future because it makes us grow fond of this group of heroes in the making who sometimes succeed and sometimes fail.
In his honesty lies one of the great keys to Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves because it does not pretend to be what it is not… outside doctrines, shoehorned plots and grandiose claims and inside fun, friendship, feats and irresistible fantasy. We’re in!
