Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (PG-13)
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Ah, DnD. Something I've never actually played and know little about. But I was a fan of the 1980s cartoon when I was a kid, and I didn't exactly hate the 2000 film (as many people do). But I heard nothing but good things when this movie came out, so I was really looking forward to it. And when I finally saw it, I wasn't disappointed. It's pretty funny and fun, I liked the main characters, the story was good, and despite never having played DnD myself, I could still tell it pretty much felt like a real campaign from the game. And I'm sure there must have been multiple Easter eggs for fans of the franchise, but the only one I caught was a nod to the cartoon, which I definitely liked. (Oh yeah, and I wanted to mention that well before I ever saw this, I saw an amusing Old Spice commercial with a couple of the characters from this movie.)
So, there's this bard-turned-thief named Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine), who at the start of the movie has been in prison for two years. He tells his story to a council that's going to determine whether or not to grant pardons to him and his partner-in-crime, a badass barbarian named Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez). Edgin was once a member of a group called Harpers, who were on the side of the law, until Thayan Red Wizards killed his wife, Zia, in retribution for having stolen a piece of treasure from them. Thus began his life of crime, along with a few partners, and his daughter, Kira, who had been a baby when her mother was killed. It was, I guess, about twelve years later that Edgin learned of a tablet of reawakening, which he wished to steal in order to resurrect Zia. In the course of that heist, Edgin and Holga were caught, while their accomplices got away. After he finished telling all this to the council, he and Holga made an escape.
They travel to Neverwinter, where they learn one of their former partners, a con artist named Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant), has become lord of that city, and has been taking care of Kira. Unfortunately, it turns out Forge has been lying to Kira about her father to turn her against him, and tries to have Edgin and Holga executed, though they make another escape. Then they track down another one of their old partners, a sorcerer named Simon Aumar (Justice Smith), who introduces them to a shapeshifting druid named Doric (Sophia Lillis). She agrees to help them break into Forge's castle to get Kira out and retrieve the tablet of reawakening. They also get help from a former Thayan named Xenk, who I guess agrees to help because Forge is working with a wizard named Sofina (who is secretly a Thayan). And... I guess I don't want to reveal any more of the plot, except to say that even after getting Kira and the tablet from Forge, the group decides to return to Neverwinter to foil an evil plot of Sofina's. And there's a mid-credits scene that I don't want to spoil.
So, yeah, it's all really fun. And Grant makes it easy to despise Forge. And I wish I could think of more to tell you, without spoiling anything.