what do you think about the new D&D movie?

[Aelastiar]

I thought it was lame. I was thoroughly bored about 2/3rd of the way through. The jokes weren't very funny, and certain scenes in the storyline were ever so predictable. It's another carbon copy movie, just with D&D splashed over it. But there were some nice scenes, namely the graveyard scene and seeing their impression of what a time stop looks like.

I wouldn't watch it again. And I advise anyone to save their money and just wait for it to come out on w/e streaming service.

[Tarinia]

I thought it was lame. I was thoroughly bored about 2/3rd of the way through. The jokes weren't very funny, and certain scenes in the storyline were ever so predictable. It's another carbon copy movie, just with D&D splashed over it. But there were some nice scenes, namely the graveyard scene and seeing their impression of what a time stop looks like.

I wouldn't watch it again. And I advise anyone to save their money and just wait for it to come out on w/e streaming service.

Of course not everyone have the same taste, but do you really know before what the end would bring? I was surprised. Do you knowed that both villains had different agendas? Do you knowed before that the paladin would only be a intermezzo- many situations evolved in other directions then a typical movie...

[axel15810]

Thought it was good. Not amazing or anything but solid. I did a youtube video giving my thoughts on this but basically it was a 7/10 to me. Solid movie for the comedy approach they were going for even if it did follow the Marvel formula too closely for my taste.

Some of the jokes made me chuckle while some were just jarringly out of place and took me out of the immersion. Some of the CGI was incredible, such as the underdark monsters and the druid scenes. CGI in other areas was fairly poor - some of the red wizard scenes and the bard illusion in particular. I thought the practical effects they used on the Tabaxi and Undead looked great.

Like others said I'd much prefer a more serious DnD movie. Something in the style of the Mythica movies, peter jackson LotR, etc. even if that approach would mean a lower budget.

[Valtan]

It's laggy.

[Eantarus]

Of course not everyone have the same taste, but do you really know before what the end would bring? I was surprised. Do you knowed that both villains had different agendas? Do you knowed before that the paladin would only be a intermezzo- many situations evolved in other directions then a typical movie...

If you see enough films, everything becomes predictable. That doesn't necessarily make it bad. Like the painting falling over once it got into the vault. I saw that coming back enjoyed it anyway because it perfectly fit the tone of the film. If your plot is well-written, its going to be predictable at certain points.

[Hafeal]

I went with my wife (a non-RPGer) and we both found it entertaining.

I wish they had a dice roll somewhere on the screen at times and had mentioned that to a friend after the show and I see it mentioned earlier in the thread. I also found myself wishing the bard abilities felt a little more "magical" but the story was good enough, the portrayal of the dragons, mimic and gelatinous cube among others, were just fabulous.

I want to see it again as I know there were plenty of easter eggs I missed during the film focusing somewhere else.

All in all - I would encourage anyone to watch.

[GoldyGopher]

I gave the move a solid C, maybe even as high as a C+.

For WotC Executives and others who were very critical of the 2000 Movie to basically use the same approach, albeit with a higher budget, rubs me the wrong way. I didn't hate the original movie, I appreciated what they were trying to do with it, it just didn't work. Do I think the story telling was better, no, was it less corny because they had the bigger budget, yes.

There are parts to this movie that had me going, what huh, that's not how this works in the RPG. Helm, Owlbear, Wild Shape changes, and why is Eldgin a Bard in the first place?
Don't get me started on the fridging.

The movie is trying to hard to be too funny. Many of the jokes fell flat and worse yet broke immersion. All kidding aside there have been many comments they were attempting to do a Marvel movie and that I think is incorrect, they were more trying to do a classic Chevy Chase movie with Chris Pine playing a Chevy Chase Character. I am not one to suggest this should have been a more serious Drama, in the fashion of Lord of the Rings, or what we assume the DragonLance TV series will be. You can have fun adventure movies, The Mummy (1999) or Raiders of the Lost Arc (1981)are pulp versions of what this film could have been.

I would hate to be WotC legal team today trying to explain how they "violated" Ed Greenwood's Contact with TSR (WOTC and Hasbro) by changing canon material without his required approval and the inclusion of certain other IP that TSR/WotC may not actually own/control to the Sr. Executives at Hasbro.
What bother's me the most about this, is that [insert virtually any former TSR employee] would have reviewed the script for free and highlighted these problems.

The VFX and practical effects was very uneven. Some looked finished and polished, much of it was blah, but some looked like a first render or a badly painted miniature. With a movie delayed, a year?, this should not have been an issue. Not every shot needs to be as perfect as Amazon's Lord of the Rings Series, but it should not look like a 1990's

The story they were trying to tell would very much have worked better as an six to eight episode TV show on Paramount+. That doesn't mean they shouldn't have made a movie, rather they needed to break the movie into a much cleaner story. Taking a four hour story and stuffing into a two hour film never works.

[Eantarus]

I also found myself wishing the bard abilities felt a little more "magical" but the story was good enough, the portrayal of the dragons, mimic and gelatinous cube among others, were just fabulous.

I did have a tough time with the "bard" insofar as he didn't really seem to have a class. If they hadn't given him a lute I wouldn't have guessed he was a bard.

That said I kind of liked the fact that he was just a non-magical human. Makes his character more interesting.

[Arkat]

It's laggy.

Funnily enough, it was NOT laggy, unlike DDO.

My wife and I both thought it was paced very well.

It didn't get bogged down with either too much combat or too much exposition.

[Martininice]

I did have a tough time with the "bard" insofar as he didn't really seem to have a class. If they hadn't given him a lute I wouldn't have guessed he was a bard.

That said I kind of liked the fact that he was just a non-magical human. Makes his character more interesting.

to be fair, I think D&D Bards are almost impossible to portray on screen. One can easily suspend disbelief for the bearded guy hurling fireballs, but some guy standing on the side of battle pounding the lute... that is just strange

[SWCarter]

I thought it was solid, and for the most part, was pleasantly surprised. My main issue is that the movie (and DDO in recent years) focused too much on humor. Well-placed jokes are fine, but when entire encounters/sequences are designed around comedy, the sense of danger and heroism tends to be lost.

More Strahd/Suulomades and less Gingerbread Golems/Nibbles for me, please.

[Varr]

D&D has been with me my whole thinking life. So I'm the target audience. I want a Marvel like run for D&D on the big or small screen...............but this felt like it was mandated to jam to much into 2 hours. I agree with an earlier poster, it was like a 4 out of 10. Now I'm glad I saw it, but have not drive to see it a second time. It got the actors and budget and special effects previous movies were not afforded, but didn't do much more for me personally.

Honestly, I like a dirtier, less metropolis/sky scrapper type of D&D. And to be fair, probably need like a 20 episode per year 6 year run to meet my desires. Everything felt like the Displacer Beasts..........just jammed in.

I did like the time stop spells, and the acting, and the feel of doom and execution of the red death and really enjoyed the graveyard questioning..............hated the prison, the dragonborn, the underdark, the pace.....

Anyway, its worth one watch in the theater, there just is no time in the movie to develop any depth which is more a me problem I suppose.

Actually, makes me think more fondly of the execution of the Lord of the Rings movies. Thats actually want I wanted with a D&D story/setting the more I think about it.

[TPICKRELL]

I've read the posts here, and If you went in looking for things to pick apart, you obviously could find them.

If you went to the movie to enjoy a D&D story mapped to a different medium, you got what you were looking for.

Yes, the foot stuck in the cobblestones felt contrived... But most movie stories have a few holes. This one is no different.

That being said, it was a very good movie, a decent D&D story and my wife and I enjoyed it. Its the first movie I've gone out to see in a few years, and it was well worth it.

For those of you who liked it, heres some good news:

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is now playing in theaters. An eight-episode spinoff TV series is also in development, intended to be the cornerstone of several projects that complement the film.

This was copied from the end of the review at:

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/...e-classic-rpg/

[Uska]

I thought it was ok the casting for the barbarian was lame she’s not big enough and a terrible actress to boot. The special effects weren’t that special but it’s worth a watch

[Eantarus]

And to be fair, probably need like a 20 episode per year 6 year run to meet my desires.

Except that we don't get 20 episode shows anymore. We get 6 episodes. 8, if we are very, very lucky.

Which means that with the way they make TV shows, today, you need 15 years to get as much plot advancement as you'd get out of a 20 episode show. And it stinks. I don't even bother getting invested in most new shows since I know I'll have to wait YEARS for any kind of plot advancement and the show will probably get canned before it even gets that far.

So while the movie did feel rushed, I'd actually much rather watch a rushed movie and see the plot completed than watch 1/3rd of a plot, wait 4 years, and then see it get canceled with a massive cliff-hanger.

[Nebless]

For what it's worth, I saw this book at my local bookstore yesterday: "Honor Among Thieves: The Road to Neverwinter by Jaleigh Johnson". It's one of the two prequel novels for the Honor Among Thieves movie. I checked and my local library will be getting it in in a couple of months so I put it on hold.

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/w...to_Neverwinter

[RictrasShard]

according to this, there would be no serious (as in not of comedic tone) movies in the cinema. That seems unlikely, looking at the mixed most watched lists in recent years... or movie history. And people did not give GoT e.g. "a try", it was one of the biggest small screen hypes. Daredevil and Punisher also had a huge following, to bring up some Marvel formats beyond "tehe, Thor's nekkid".

Not all movies need to hook audiences, but one that is based off a game that is not a hot property does. GoT built its audience by word of mouth. Daredevil and Punisher were part of an already hugely successful franchise.

[Aelonwy]

according to this, there would be no serious (as in not of comedic tone) movies in the cinema. That seems unlikely, looking at the mixed most watched lists in recent years... or movie history. And people did not give GoT e.g. "a try", it was one of the biggest small screen hypes. Daredevil and Punisher also had a huge following, to bring up some Marvel formats beyond "tehe, Thor's nekkid".

I just do NOT understand wanting a D&D movie to be anything like GoT. But I loathed GoT. One season, just one campaign of tabletop I played with a guy that sexually harassed me through my PnP character. Even the DM couldn't make him stop. So I took 2 years break from playing PnP. GoT to me was like trauma-p*orn for people that wanted to vicariously experience or watch that junk. I really don't want that anywhere near my experience of D&D and had the movie been as gritty and as nasty as GoT I for one would have hated it.

More like LotR would have been fine though.

[Martininice]

I just do NOT understand wanting a D&D movie to be anything like GoT. But I loathed GoT. One season, just one campaign of tabletop I played with a guy that sexually harassed me through my PnP character. Even the DM couldn't make him stop. So I took 2 years break from playing PnP. GoT to me was like trauma-p*orn for people that wanted to vicariously experience or watch that junk. I really don't want that anywhere near my experience of D&D and had the movie been as gritty and as nasty as GoT I for one would have hated it.

More like LotR would have been fine though.

Oh, not a GoT fan myself at all - it just was brought up as an example earlier in this thread. And not against action comedy per se either, just feel cinema had a bit much of that particular MCUesque style in recent years.

[Eantarus]

Oh, not a GoT fan myself at all - it just was brought up as an example earlier in this thread. And not against action comedy per se either, just feel cinema had a bit much of that particular MCUesque style in recent years.

See, personally I never watched any of the MCU garbage. Not a fan of all this comic book/super hero junk. So for me there aren't enough watchable movies PERIOD in recent years. I love the action/comedy style, so this is among the few good movies I've gotten to watch in theaters in the past 10 years.