Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Delivers High-Rolling Success

     It can be seen as being an enormous undertaking with taking a tabletop role playing game and transforming it into cinematic form given the previous attempt at doing so with  2000's Dungeons & Dragons. That one ended up being such an astounding critical and commercial misfire, that fans unanimously choose to pretend it never happened. Thankfully, that wasn't the only attempt at bringing this world to the screen as Paramount Pictures takes another shot at bringing the popular game to the big screen with their newest effort, Dungeons - Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, finding the correct balance of humor, excitement, and heart to craft a crowd-pleasing piece of entertainment that both fans of the game, as well as general audiences can enjoy. 

      Dragons plot has a common thief (Chris Pratt) and a band of unlikely adventurers embarking on an epic quest to retrieve a long lost relic. However, their journey ends up going dangerously awry when they encounter dangerous villains. Honor Among Thieves plot stays true to the game that inspired it, while finding a way to cinematically adapt its story in a way that the 2000 film couldn't do. The new film gives audiences a story that's engaging and straightforward, along with a colorful batch of characters who are likable. What could've easily ended up being another major disappointment for devoted fans of the fantasy board game, turns out to be a genuinely pleasant surprise that's epic, exciting, funny, and sincere in its desire to do right by its fans and source material. 

      One of the key components that makes the board game such a fun experience for players is the role playing aspect of it with pure dedication being demanded in order to bring believability to the games scenario. The same applies here with Dragons cast delivering performances that are not only stellar, but completely convincing with each actor and actress being on-point. Chris Pine makes for an excellent lead as former member of the Harpers and bard, Edging Darvis. Pine's performance is a brilliant combination of seriousness, humor, and emotion as a father desperately trying to get back what was lost. Sharing the screen with Pine is Michelle Rodriguez whose equally charming as Darvis friend and barbarian, Holga Kilgore, who acts as a surrogate mother for Edgin's daughter, Kira, and was banned from the Elk tribe. Pine and Rodriguez showcase terrific buddy-movie chemistry with the rest of the cast backing them up with strong work. Hugh Grant is perfect as ambitious con artist Forge, whose a former member of Edgin's crew and has been taking care of his daughter Kira. Chloe Coleman impresses as Edgin's 14-year-old daughter Kira who falls under the sway of Forge following her father's imprisonment. Rege-Jean Page excels as Paladin Xenk Yendar along with Justice Smith as half-elf magic sorcerer Simon, Sophia Lillis as tiefling druid, Doric, and Daisy Head as Red Wizard Of That, Sofina.

      With Dragons directing duo, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley do a fantastic job of finding the right balance of comedy and adventure that doesn't allow them to fall into spoof territory. There are certain scenes shown which give off a Lord Of The Rings feel including an epic bridge sequence that screams comparisons to that of Balrog's in The Fellowship Of The Ring. The story is full of tons of fantasy action violence shown, which includes swordfighting, crossbows, and magical battles largely consisting of life-or-death moments that lead to lots of death and destruction. At 2hrs & 14 mins, Dragons remains steadily paced with the film allowing ample time for its plot and characters to grow without compromise. The soundtrack is full of many exciting and thrilling tracks that compliment the films bold action, while also being appropriately emotional when focusing on key characters and plot points. Overall, Thieves directing duo does a remarkable job of bringing the popular role-playing game to the screen and doing so with clear enthusiasm and love for its universe and its characters. 

     In terms of themes, loss plays a significant role throughout the story with the death of loved ones, possessing guilt, trusting others, greed, and getting back what's lost also being at play. Despite these themes, the film is first and foremost an adventure story with teamwork being heavily encouraged here. Although the main characters are essentially thieves, they're shown to be loyal to each other while also helping others rather than just themselves. The female characters are shown as being strong-willed and capable of doing things on their own with the films romantic elements being reduced to brief flashback sequences showing what was before tragedy struck. Edging's character is presented as being a thief who wants to regain the family he lost with bringing his deceased wife back to life in addition to rescuing his daughter from the clutches of Forge. As a whole, Dragon's script appears to be well-rounded with each character receiving just the right amount of character development with the humor never feeling excessive, but cleverly sprinkled throughout the story to give off a feel good vibe that's in contrast to the high serious tone of Lord Of The Rings.

      Whereas the 2000 Dungeons & Dragons adaptation often felt like it lacked the devotion of both its cast and crew to make it work, that isn't the case here as Honor Among Thieves ensemble and creative team give their absolute all in making it work. It's tremendously fun, extremely faithful to its source material, and evenly balanced in regards to its tone with the end result being a highly honorable effort that amounts to being a high- rolling victory for fans of the game. 

Final Verdict: A must see for fans of the game or those looking for a well-crafted yet goofy adventure.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie Delivers A Super Worthy Adaptation Of The Classic Video Game

      

      It's been nearly 30 years since audiences we're last treated to a live-action film adaptation of the popular Nintendo game, Super Mario Bros. The previous attempt became such a huge critical and commercial misfire, that Hollywood strayed from revisiting the popular video game universe until now with Universal Pictures The Super Mario Bros. Movie, producing a more faithful adaptation of the classic video game this time in animated form. If one found themselves to be tremendously disappointed by the failed 1993 film, they'll be happy to hear that the newest iteration is the exact opposite and more true to its source material despite its plot feeling generic.

      The plot for Super Mario Bros. has Mario and Luigi with the help of Princess Peach, preparing to square off against the all-powerful Bowser to thwart his plans from conquering the world. The newest adaptation of the classic Nintendo game is what the fans have been waiting decades to see, and promises a fresh new cinematic start for these characters. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is exciting, funny, unapologetically charming, and rightfully heartfelt in providing a solidly well-crafted comedic adventure that's fueled with fan-focused devotion. 

      Much of Mario's effectiveness as a faithful video game adaptation comes from the voice performances of its all-star cast, who demonstrate clear excitement and dedication towards playing their iconic roles. Though initially considered to be a controversial choice for the role, Chris Pratt makes for a worthy Mario despite not using a thick Italian accent to play the part. Pratt is convincing as a struggling plumber from Brooklyn, whose accidentally transported to the world of the Mushroom Kingdom. Charlie Day is perfectly casted as Mario's timid younger brother Luigi with both actors sharing strong chemistry. Anya Taylor-Joy is terrific as Princess Peach, ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom and Mario's love interest. Joy presents her character as being strong-willed and determined to defend her kingdom against King Bowser. Jack Black steals the show as Bowser, king of the Koppas, who plots to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom by marrying Princess Peach. Black is hilarious in the role with his surprise song "Peaches" destined to become a major hit next award season. Seth Rogan surprises as the powerful anthropomorphic gorilla, Donkey Kong, whose also the heir to the throne of the Jungle Kingdom. Adding to the films level of fun is Keegan-Michael Key as Mushroom Kingdom resident Toad, who aspires to go on his first real adventure, along with Fred Armisen as Donkey Kong's father, King Cranky Kong, whose the ruler of the Jungle Kingdom, and Sebastian Maniscalco as Mario and Luigi's former boss from the wrecking crew, Spike.

      When it comes to the films style of animation, Illumination proved to be the perfect animation studio to design the universe for Mario world with directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic presenting the story with stunning animation that's vibrant, and brings the Mario universe to the screen in a way that feels immersive and larger than life. The fantasy action violence presented is family-friendly though has bits that include the use of magic and characters fighting with various powerups resulting in explosions. There is one sequence shown in which a character is tortured by magic along with another being pursued by zombie skeletons. At 92 minutes, the film remains fast-paced with the first overall story playing out more like a thrill ride, while still allowing time for both plot and character development. The soundtrack does a fine job of honoring the games classic themes, while weaving together with the films newer compositions to deliver an incredibly upbeat feel that includes iconic 80's tunes like Bonnie Tyler's Holding Out For A Hero. With bringing the Super Mario Bros. to the screen, the job for any filmmaker is to bring the games universe to life for the audience to experience in film form. In that regard both Borvath and Jelenic succeed in doing so while incorporating fun bits including sound effects which are lifted directly from the games to further drive the audiences nostalgia with playing them.

      Some key themes in Super Mario Bros. that allow it to have a tremendous amount of heart are siblings looking out for each other, feeling small and insignificant with the desire to do something big, fulfilling ones dreams, unrequited love, and heroism that's demonstrated by the Mario Brothers and Princess Peach. The Mario's are portrayed as having a great sibling relationship with dreams of doing big things with their careers as plumbers. With their relationship, the audience see's how both siblings look out for each other with Mario having the stronger character arc of the two. Princess Peach is shown to be a strong leader of the Mushroom Kingdom with her prepared to defend it against Bowser while simultaneously catching feelings for Mario. Whereas her character could've easily ended up being a typical damsel-in-distress, Peach is presented as being smart, strong-willed, and not needing men to do things for her. King Boswer steals the show with him not just providing the film with the correct type of villain required, but surprises with the amount of humorous bits his character possesses. 

      Although the story is serviceable at best, it's the nostalgia of the game along with the fleshing out of its key characters that help the film overcome the scripts shortcomings and ultimately make it work. For fans of the video game, this one will leave them feeling hugely satisfied due to it being jam-packed with Easter eggs, and the dedication put forth by its voice cast who approach the source material with the utmost amount of respect and dedication. For audiences as a whole, The Super Mario Bros. Movie provides an enjoyable experience for the whole family.

Final Verdict: SEE IT

Images Courtesy Of Universal Pictures