Hello there, good people! I hope everyone’s doing well, as always.
So, this past Saturday, my friends and I decided to enjoy a double feature at the movies. We saw Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, both of which turned out to be really good. Which is saying something, I think, because I’m pretty sure most people thought both of these films were going to flunk, overall.
Seeing as though both of these franchises mean a lot to me—D&D has become a staple in my life in recent years, and I completely grew up on Mario (and Nintendo) games—I figured I owe it at least to myself to give everyone my quick two cents on these films, the key word there being “quick.”
Much as I enjoyed both of these films, I don’t actually think there’s so much to digest or breakdown with either of them, so my thoughts on them won’t be extensive. Plus, I was probably going to do quick reviews for these anyway during my next monthly recap blog, so doing it now just saves me some time later on, which is nice.
Anyway, let’s jump in.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
When Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was first announced, and the first few trailers dropped, I wasn’t immediately sold on it. It looked fun, sure, and I knew I’d see it anyway, but I wasn’t expecting much. I figured, “Oh, hey, cool, a proper D&D movie that I can go have a good time watching.” And that’s exactly what I got, and a little bit more to boot.
While D&D isn’t the next great action-comedy flick of the decade, it definitely does more than enough to stand on its own and make itself utterly enjoyable from front to back. The plot is straightforward but entertaining and paced very well, thanks in part to its endearing characters and expertly crafted action sequences. Plus, the whole thing is pretty damn funny, too.
Normally, I’m not overly thrilled when sincere dramatic moments in a story are undercut by mistimed humor. Thankfully, though, D&D somehow manages to do this without it ever feeling inappropriate. I think it’s because that’s kind of what happens all the time when people actually play a real game of D&D; in all of the games I play, it’s impossible for any of the players to take things seriously for more than a handful of minutes at a time, and that’s a good thing. The movie captures this and many other aspects of playing the game very well.
Talking more about the cast, featuring the likes of Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and Justice Smith, all of the characters are insanely fun to watch, thanks to everyone’s chemistry and wonderful performances, in addition to the witty writing. Regé-Jean Page’s character, Xenk Yendar, was a particular standout for me, as he perfectly encapsulated how one should play a lawful good paladin.
One bit of criticism I’ve heard that I can kind of agree with is that if you remove all of the 5th Edition D&D lore elements from this movie, like how all of the location and faction names are from the Forgotten Realms, and swap them with other content, this otherwise just becomes any other generic fantasy film. And while that’s definitely fair, I don’t really see it as a reason to detract points. I’m also not sure it’s totally valid, since the film uses much of the Forgotten Realms lore to great effect, especially in the case of the Red Wizards of Thay. And besides, interchanging pieces of lore like that is kind of the point of D&D. You can use what’s given to you, or you can make shit up.
Overall, I got pretty much exactly what I wanted out of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Given both its commercial and critical success, I should hope we’ll get another one of these sometime in the next few years. That’s especially true, as well, when you consider this film does leave a few loose ends open for future stories, as any good D&D campaign might do. And at the end of the day, that’s really why this movie succeeds in my book—it captures the spirit of the game. Other than that, there’s nothing more I really could have asked for.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Similar to D&D, I wasn’t utterly elated by the initial reveals for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, much like the rest of the internet, especially considering Nintendo aren’t always the best with marketing their content, and the voice cast reveal was…weird. But lo and behold, Illumination actually managed to make a film I enjoyed. And besides, as a longtime Super Mario fan, I knew I was bound to like this one in the end. It’s a Mario movie, the bar wasn’t set very high.
I will say, though, I’m a little surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. It’s incredibly bare bones, with a simplistic, predictable story, mixed voice acting, and pretty solid animation, but the overall direction is really clean and, like D&D, the action set pieces are an absolute treat, and it truly captures the spirit of the games. There’s even some decent character work, which isn’t something I exactly needed, but I’m glad they put some effort into Mario and his friends.
Speaking of characters, those portraying them mostly did a nice job, all things considered. I was abundantly surprised by how well Chris Pratt and Charlie Day did voicing Mario and Luigi, to the point that I’m glad they didn’t use forced Italian accents the whole time; I get the feeling that would have been really grating. Anya-Taylor Joy and Keegan-Michael Key fit perfectly as Princess Peach and Toad, respectively, and Jack Black utterly stole the show as Bowser. Seth Rogen also does the voice for Donkey Kong, and that’s about all I have to say for that one.
If there’s any one part of this movie that I specifically disliked, it was the egregious use of licensed music. Holy moly, there are some really poor musical choices here. Like, why the hell is “Take On Me” by a-ha playing while Mario, Peach, and Toad are riding through Donkey Kong’s kingdom? Makes zero sense to me.
Other than that though, I found myself smiling and laughing for pretty much this whole film. It basically revived the child in me who loved playing Super Mario Sunshine all day long when he was six. I can confidently say, as well, that critics really have their heads on backwards with this one. There’s no reason anyone should be looking over this movie with a hyper critical lens—that’s just stupid. Again, it’s an animated Super Mario movie. Nobody seeing this is looking for the next great cinematic masterpiece. Much like the D&D film, this movie does exactly what it needs to do, and that’s completely fine by me.
In Conclusion…
So, at the end of the day, I had a really great time seeing both of these films. If you haven’t already and you’re a fan of either or both of these franchises, I highly recommend you go see them pronto. And hell, even if neither of these are your cup of tea, I say give them a shot anyway. You might be surprised by how much fun you’ll have.