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Last year's DnD movie is the best film of the last ten or so years. It succeeded on every level, except in the box office.
My hypothesis is that Hasbro insisted on branding it "Dungeons & Dragons" to push the brand, and non-gamers figured it wasn't for them. If they'd have made the main title "Honor among Thieves", all the game nerds would have seen the DnD logo, and others wouldn't have been turned off *. As it stands, people will find it and it'll become the new "Starship Troopers" that bombed but shines forever in retrospect.
* See "Arcane".
I only watched DnD recently, mostly just accidentally at a friend's place. Also thought it was really good, well made, funny, a really pleasant surprise all around. For me, it reminded me of what I felt about some 90s movies - a movie made to be fun, not to make you feel deep feels, think deep thoughts, or shock in the shockingest way of all. Just fun. That is not a bad thing...
I wouldn’t give it that high of praise, but I went into Honor Among Thieves not expecting anything and thought that it was a lot of fun. It doesn’t do anything exciting but it’s just a fun little flick. I’m not a DnD person, but I also enjoyed the references that I did get (which purely come from being a casual Magic: The Gathering player, so I knew some things from the DnD set that came out the other year).
This wasn't an art film... but it had an original plot, was genuinely unpredictable throughout, awesome, imaginative action sequences, epic high fantasy, great comedy (I laughed my ass off), and real emotional tenderness (well, I cried). Often weaving these together in the same scene. I think you have to judge a movie based on what it's meant to be, and for a fun high fantasy jaunt, this was a monumental achievement. IMHO.
I think more people need to understand this.
Very well said.
Meh, not an unpopular opinion.
I hope so. I'd just like them to make another one.
I think it deserved to do better at the box office but I disagree calling it that good, primarily by counterexample (which I'll get to). It had an entertaining cast, an entertaining plot and some good twists but it wasn't unpredictable and the audience it was best for was the audience who recognised the constant homages to the experience of playing DnD - my primary example is the scene of the main character breaking out of prison completely unnecessarily.
The movie was made by Hasbro to sell dungeons and dragons (which, to be fair, you do mention) and I think as a fan of the ttrpg it did a great job of capturing that experience as a movie. I can't call it the film of the year though, let alone the decade.
What makes you say it's better than, for example, Blade Runner 2049 or Avengers Endgame, both being movies similarly sprouting from established brands? I would argue Dune is significantly better (talking about movies with a brand) also.
Outside the established brand space, you see movies like JoJo Rabbit, Marriage Story and Power of the Dog. All of my examples have been off arbitrary top 10/top 50 lists of the last 5 or last 10 years and I'm honestly curious about why you think the DnD movie beats all of them?
Edit: in saying that, upvoting because this is almost certainly an unpopular opinion
Bladerunner was pretentious film school drivel. It's a montage of poetic, symbolic imagery that makes no sense as an actual narrative. Dune was far, far superior because the mythic reality is tied together into a classic hero story, and the whole thing is fantastical enough for Villaneuve's whole thing to work. I can't wait for the second one.
Avengers Endgame was just more of the same MCU formula, trotting out the usual tropes on an ever-increasing scale. Pretty good, as far as all that goes, but really devoid of any tension or depth, IMHO. Guardians 1 is a far better film.
As for those others, I haven't seen them, though they're all on my list. I'm open to any of them being better... of course my opinion will be limited to movies I've actually seen. But aside from glib hot takes, there's not much meaning in comparing completely different films. My essential point is that DnD is an utterly superb movie, and I'll maintain that in its freshness, surprising depth, and comedic sparkle, it's at least the best movie of its kind in a long time.
Completely agree with your last two sentences, mostly. I can't personally call it the best movie of its kind just because I don't watch a lot of movies in the same vein. But you're right that it's hard to compare across genres, and the movie was definitely far better than I expected. I think the last couple of years have generally had some great releases.
It's kind of a golden age for cinema, and especially for TV (episodic long format video). Good times!