Review: ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Puts the Funny in Fantasy

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Chris Pine in a scene from "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves." (Paramount Pictures via AP)
This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Chris Pine in a scene from "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves." (Paramount Pictures via AP)
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Review: ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Puts the Funny in Fantasy

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Chris Pine in a scene from "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves." (Paramount Pictures via AP)
This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Chris Pine in a scene from "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves." (Paramount Pictures via AP)

“You’re not a lot of fun, are you,” notes barbarian Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) to brave fighter Xenk (Regé-Jean Page) in the new “Dungeons & Dragons” film, making two jokes at once.

The first is that Xenk, a paladin (or holy knight) in “D&D” lingo, is everything BUT fun — gorgeous, noble, heroic, smart, and did we mention gorgeous? He’s just REALLY not fun, or funny. He’s so not funny, it’s hilarious.

The second, broader joke is that “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” hotly awaited by devotees of the decades-old role-playing game, makes darned sure to be fun, and funny — enough to laugh at itself. And that’s the thing that makes it work.

At least, for a newbie like me. I’ve never played the game, I confess. But this is a movie, not a game, and I’m here to tell you how it works for over two hours at the multiplex. Which is to say, surprisingly, sometimes delightfully well — even if you have no clue what a paladin or Red Wizard or Harper is, or if the term “Dungeon Master” sends your mind straight to “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

The most obvious reason for this success, besides fleet-footed direction by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, is star Chris Pine, whose sunny charisma and smooth knack for comedy, plus an ability to seem like he’s both inside the movie and outside looking in, keeps everything bubbling.

He’s ably assisted by Rodriguez, plus young accomplices Justice Smith as a confidence-challenged (but sweet) wizard and Sophia Lillis as a shape-shifting druid. And then we have a graying Hugh Grant, playing the heck out of yet another comic villain role — a character almost as curmudgeonly as he was on the Oscar red carpet.

Plus there’s a cameo from another big star, but more on that in a minute. Because first we have to mention the pudgy dragon. Yes, pudgy. Whatever dragons eat, and we can only try to imagine, he’s had too many.

But back to Pine, aka the bard Edgin, whom we first meet in a dank, freezing prison cell. He’s — well, he’s knitting. Nearby sits Holga (Rodriguez), and her own hobby is eating. She’s not a cordial sort, especially when food supply is at risk.

An appearance in front of a judicial council, begging for a pardon, gives Edgin the chance to tell his backstory. Turns out he wasn’t always a criminal; he was a Harper, part of a spy guild acting for the greater good, but he attracted the ire of the Red Wizards of Thay, which led to the tragic murder of his wife.

Teaming with Holga, he sets out to find the magical Tablet of Reawakening that would return his wife to him and especially their baby daughter Kira (played by Chloe Coleman as a youngster). But they get captured, and their accomplice Forge (Grant), who somehow escapes, swears to take care of Kira.

Edgin, a master planner, devises a jailbreak right during the pardon hearing. They discover Kira is now living in a walled city with Forge, a con-man who turns out (gasp!) to have planned the whole thing, and has convinced her that Dad betrayed her for riches. And now he’s allied with Sofina, a terrifying sorceress (Daisy Head). Forge not only refuses to give Kira back but sends Edgin and Holga to their deaths. Holga, however, quickly dispatches all the soldiers meant to kill them — all while Edgin tries, and fails, to untie a rope.

Now they need that tablet, but first they need a magical helmet (bear with us.) The quest, upon which they’re joined by Simon (Smith) and Doric (Lillis), leads to the film’s most entertaining scenes. One of these is an impressive, fast-paced sequence where shape-shifter Doric infiltrates enemy lines and then, chased by Sofina, morphs seamlessly into various animal forms and back to herself again.

Another is a comic bit where Pine’s Edgin tries to elicit key information from a series of corpses. Summoned to life by an increasingly effective Simon, each corpse can answer five questions before returning to the grave forever. Edgin keeps wasting his chances with questions like “Did that count as a question?”

And a prime comic moment comes from none other than Bradley Cooper (see, worth the wait!). We’ll reveal nothing but the observation that this cameo is small, but packs a punch.

Finally we have Xenk (Page), perfectly cast as a paladin so, well, perfect that he delivers babies in between vanquishing enemies, and provides the crucial help Edgin needs. But for all sorts of reasons, Edgin can’t bring himself to like the guy. Most of all, he can’t deal with his lack of understanding of irony, sarcasm, and especially humor.

He’s probably right. Heroism is all well and good, but humor is crucial. That’s a lesson this film has, luckily, already figured out.



‘Superman’ Aims to Save Flagging Film Franchise, Not Just Humanity

 David Corenswet, left, and Rachel Brosnahan participate in the ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)
David Corenswet, left, and Rachel Brosnahan participate in the ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)
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‘Superman’ Aims to Save Flagging Film Franchise, Not Just Humanity

 David Corenswet, left, and Rachel Brosnahan participate in the ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)
David Corenswet, left, and Rachel Brosnahan participate in the ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)

Superman is often called upon to save the world from evildoers, but in his latest big-screen incarnation, he's also being asked to swoop in and save a franchise.

James Gunn's "Superman," which opened in theaters worldwide this week, is a reboot aimed at relaunching the so-called DC Universe of comic book-based superhero movies, which also features Wonder Woman and Batman.

The celluloid efforts of Warner Bros. and DC Studios have been widely eclipsed by Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe -- the world of Iron Man, Thor, Black Panther and the Fantastic Four, who are getting their own reboot later this month.

"Warner Bros. has invested a lot of energy and money in trying to refocus and renew DC Studios, and this is going to be the big release from that," analyst David A. Gross from Franchise Entertainment Research told AFP.

The heavy task falls on the shoulders of Gunn, the writer-director who won praise from fans of the genre with Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy.

The movie's rollout has already encountered several headwinds, including a right-wing backlash to Gunn's comments on Superman's role as an immigrant, and skepticism from fans of the previous Superman films helmed by director Zack Snyder.

Gunn has shrugged off the high stakes surrounding the movie's box office success.

"Is there something riding on it? Yeah, but it's not as big as people make it out to be," he told GQ Magazine.

"They hear these numbers that the movie's only going to be successful if it makes $700 million or something and it's just complete and utter nonsense."

The hype around the movie is real -- the White House even superimposed President Donald Trump onto one of the movie's official posters with the caption "THE SYMBOL OF HOPE. TRUTH. JUSTICE. THE AMERICAN WAY. SUPERMAN TRUMP."

- 'A diminished genre' -

Warner Bros. hopes the DC Universe can catch up with Marvel which -- after years of huge successes with the "Avengers" movies -- has seen more muted box office returns with the recent "Thunderbolts" and "Captain America: Brave New World."

Gross explained that superhero films hit a peak right before the Covid-19 pandemic, with box office earnings and audience enthusiasm waning ever since that time.

"It's really a diminished genre," Gross said.

However, the analyst said early buzz for "Superman" was "really good."

The film stars up-and-comer David Corenswet as the new Superman/Clark Kent, with "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" star Rachel Brosnahan playing love interest Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as arch-villain Lex Luthor.

The story follows the Man of Steel coming to terms with his alien identity as he finds his place in the human world.

The supporting cast boasts a selection of other DC Comics characters, from the peacekeeping Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) -- who is scheduled to reprise the role in upcoming TV series "Lanterns" -- to the mace-wielding Hawkgirl.

Gross noted that July "is the top moviegoing month of the year," leading tracking estimates to forecast a total of more than $100 million for the film's opening weekend in North America.

- 'The story of America' -

DC Studios however must shake off a reputation for producing mediocre films that did not score well with audiences.

The last round of "DC Extended Universe" films included the well-liked "Wonder Woman" (2017) starring Gal Gadot -- but also box office flops like "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" (2023) and the under-performing "Aquaman" sequel with Jason Momoa.

"The success was mixed, and they were spending a lot of money on some of the new spinoff characters who were not working particularly well," Gross said, pointing at 2021's "The Suicide Squad" -- directed by Gunn -- as an example.

The last films featuring Superman, starring Henry Cavill and directed by Snyder, were relatively successful for Warner Bros. until "Justice League" -- DC's effort at recreating the "Avengers" vibe -- which lost millions of dollars.

Fans of Snyder have stirred up negative buzz for the new "Superman" movie, voicing hope online that the reboot fails out of a sense of loyalty to the previous films.

The backlash was further widened after right-wing pundits groaned about Superman's specific characterization as an immigrant, lamenting the superhero had become "woke."

Gunn addressed the criticism, telling The Times newspaper that "Superman is the story of America," with the character reflecting those who "came from other places and populated the country."

"I'm telling a story about a guy who is uniquely good, and that feels needed now," he added.

Ultimately, time will soon tell if Corenswet's chiseled looks and Gunn's directorial vision will be the superpowers that DC Studios need -- or prove to be its Kryptonite.