Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine) was a lute-playing bard who also became a Harper, who engaged in fighting against tyranny and corruption. After a Red Wizard killed his wife and he struggled to raise his daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman), Edgin turned to a life of thievery along with his friends, the barbarian fighter Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), the half-elf sorcerer-in-training Simon (Justice Smith) and elder con artist Forge (Hugh Grant).
For attempting to steal the Tablet of Reanimation to bring his wife back to life, Edgin was arrested along with Holga, and they were thrown into prison. After two years, they stage a daring escape only for Edgin to find that Kira had been turned against him by the guardian under whose care whom she had been endorsed. Edgin and Holga set off on a magical adventure to turn the tables on their traitorous old friend and win Kira back.
At first, I thought that this film would not click with me. I knew about this role-playing game called "Dungeons & Dragons" which was very popular in the 1980s (the kids on "Stranger Things" were hooked on it). Despite this, I never got to play the game, nor watched the animated series. I thought I could not get into the lore of this film's characters. In addition, the trailer of this film was not too promising, with corny jokes and unpolished CG effects.
However, given the positive word of mouth (and my son's persistent coaxing to watch this with him), I eventually relented, reluctantly. It turned out that I did not really need to know the D&D game to enjoy this fantasy. As written and directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, as well as the likable performances of its main cast, particularly Chris Pine, the movie was actually funny, engaging and entertaining.
Part of this film's charms was that it never took itself too seriously. The asides of Edgin and Holga were so witty, especially those in their encounter with the perfect paladin Xenk Yendar (Rege-Jean Page). Druid Doric (Sofia Lillis) shape-shifting into various animals was thrilling. Edgin's interviews with the corpses were ghoulishly hilarious. Bradley Cooper's cameo and that unconventional red dragon Themberchaud made for surprising visual comedy. 7/10.
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