Dungeons & Dragons: Men have never looked hotter LARPing

As an avid stan of ridiculous movie concepts (Cocaine Bear is still movie of the year), I didn’t waste any time taking myself to the theatre, raspberry Tango Ice Blast in hand, to see the new movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves. I know nothing about Dungeons and Dragons, and my interest in fantasy simulation starts and ends with the Sims 3 Supernatural expansion pack.

However, I do know that Chris Pine is the epitome of beekeeping age, and regency hunk Regé-Jean Page has my undying love and support. Those two cast members were reason enough to get me to the theatre, but the rest of the cast is stacked, too. There’s Hugh Grant, Michelle Rodriguez, and a dwarfed, multiple academy award nominee surprise cameo…

I hadn’t so much as watched a full trailer for this before seeing it, and honestly, I think that’s how I want to see all movies from now on. I thought the premise might be more Jumanji with legitimate gameplay and getting sucked into the game’s world, but it was a fully immersive adventure in the fantasy, Game Of Thrones-like world. And it wasn’t just a movie about any old dungeon or dragon – there were dungeon shenanigans and battles against the undead as well as an obese, wheezy dragon. I especially liked the absurd grave-digging game of 20 questions, but I won’t give away anything more about that.

The plot itself utilizes longstanding epic tropes of avenging the dead spouse, found families, and extreme betrayal but there are also new, subverted tropes: the strongman character is a stoic, potato-loving strongwoman, and the ultimate villain of power is a crazed lady demon. There’s the insecure, awkward sorcerer, a cool shapeshifting girl, and again, Chris Pine. I cannot express just how much Chris Pine we are treated to, and though I was disappointed that Regé-Jean was not as central a character as I’d have hoped, the ending works hard to make up for his absence in the latter half of the film.

I really enjoyed this movie. It was funny in every scene, fast-paced, and exciting. The banter was witty and fun, and the surprise A-list actor cameo was a cherry on top, it was the first thing I gushed about to the friend I’d seen it with afterwards. I don’t normally enjoy action movies (unless we’re talking about the 11 movies of the Fast & Furious universe), but the action scenes in this film were well-done, interesting, and not over-the-top.

The movie managed to touch on all the classic motifs of high-fantasy quest films without being boring, and I’d honestly love more Dungeons & Dragons movies, especially if they can promise more of the Duke of Hastings.

Beefcake in action

Any bright, vivid movie with a cast full of beefcakes is pretty much guaranteed to get my money, but this was a genuinely enjoyable film. Make sure to make time between essays and revision these next few weeks and get out to see it, if only for the cast (and some skittles!).

All images including featured image via YouTube. 

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