Dungeons and Dragons : The Curse of Commerciality Spoilers

Given Dungeons & Dragons' increase in popularity during the pandemic, it was only a matter of time before someone tried to cash in its potential by making a movie. Although it had been tried before with quite tragic results, given the recent success of Dungeons and Dragons actual play content, such as Dimension 20 and Critical Role, it seemed that it might be time to give the idea a second chance - and indeed, the 2023 film starring Chris Pine ended up getting good reviews from both critics and audiences and doing great at the box office. By all measures, it was a success.

But why, then, did I leave the theatre with a hollow, empty feeling that can only be compared to the experience of eating a rice cake - dry, bland, and without substance? Even though I’m a big fan of Dungeons and Dragons, my initial reaction upon leaving the theatre was that the movie was… Fine? Not bad, at least. After gathering my thoughts for a few more minutes, I finally realised what had left me so dissatisfied. To sum it up : It was too commercially viable.

Can a Movie Be Too Popular?

If you haven’t been following the recent rise of Dungeons and Dragons content, it might be hard to understand the emotional essense of the game. Created in the 1970s, Dungeons and Dragons has long since been a staple of geek culture, inherently underground and counterculture to the point that it was a target of the “Satanic Panic” of the 1980s. The game itself is incredibly creative; while there are rules and guidebooks that can be followed, players often invent their own rules and design everything from characters to storylines to even the world they inhabit. In many ways, the game can be described as a form of collaborative storytelling with die rolls acting as a force of fate. In the best Dungeons and Dragons liveplay content, there is ridiculous absurdism, heart-stopping suspense, deeply emotional moments and more.

Which is exactly why it was so deeply disappointing to get such a cookie-cutter story in the recent film adaptation. The story beats were predictable, the pacing either too fast or too slow, the emotional payoffs cheap, and the villain so forgettable that I had forgotten about her until I saw the poster again. The main antagonist defeated, only for the second, bigger baddie to act? Seen it before. The protagonist giving up the magic item they’ve pursued for so long because of the lessons they learned along the way? Old news. To put it simply, this film suffers from the Marvel formula curse : sacrificing creativity and innovation for the sake of mass-appeal by reusing the same popular tropes over and over again. Not to say capitalism is the root of all evil, but creating films for the sake of maximising profit rather than for the sake of the art itself is pretty grim. Can I say for sure if that’s what happened with this movie? No. But I do know that that was the vibe it gave off.

A Few High Rolls

Despite everything, though, I want to be clear that the movie was, at its core, fine. It’s not surprising that the movie got such a high score on Peliplat - here it has a 7.5/10, and I would say the film deserves around 6.5/10 as a picky fan. There were some unique moments, especially the character introductions and formation of the team of heroes which gave off the exposition-heavy, slightly stilted, yet somehow charming atmosphere that Dungeons and Dragons games tend to have at their start. The creative team behind the movie also clearly had some affection for the source material, including many of the game’s iconic monsters for diehard fans, most notably for me the Tabaxi baby that will haunt my dreams for many nights to come.

The actors deserve recognition as well for putting up a good fight in light of the rather plain material they were given, though it was somewhat disappointing that Regé-Jean Page’s scene-stealing paladin was given so little screen time, especially since his backstory was the most compelling of the crew. Further, despite the characters’ stories not quite tugging on heartstrings as they were intended to, there were some fun plot moments which managed bring some of the spirit of the game into the movie, including creative uses of teleportation spells, dense side characters who wouldn’t share intel without significant bumbling effort, and an endless list of plans that are doomed fail but lead to entertaining tangents nonetheless. Sure, the movie might not have gotten even close to the creative potential of its inspiration, but it was a fine way to pass an afternoon nonetheless.

Now : The Death Save

It’s clear enough, then, that the movie failed to live up to at least this reviewer’s hopes and dreams. Still, one of the most exciting moments in Dungeons and Dragons is when a character rolls “death saves” to see if they will live or die - and that’s where Dungeons and Dragons : Honour Among Thieves finds itself now. Just like so many other pieces of nerd media that have been turned into movies, there’s a distinct hint of franchise in the air. The question the producers must ask themselves, then, is whether they want to create a franchise that will make money at the cost of being formulaic and boring, or if they want to create a classic that takes risks and allows itself to alienate its audience occasionally for the sake of creating something unique. Dungeons and Dragons is a game that lends itself to so much creativity and weirdness; it would be a pity to see the material wasted for the sake of a cash grab. But unfortunately, it's out of my hands - I have as much control over it as I do over the roll of the dice.