So many to choose as all of the main group members and side characters are so good but my favorites are Doric (as she can shape shift into any creature and animal), Holga (because it’s Michelle Rodriguez one of my favorite actresses), and Xenk (due to his backstory and being a temporary ally to our heroes).
"You guys are so dumb! It would have been fine if you had just done nothing!" Welcome to DnD Hayley. If your playgroup isn't trying to do something stupid, they're not even really playing the game.
I DMed a party that managed to burn down a freakin' _cave_ of all things (and quite by accident). OTOH, that did manage to drive out the goblins for them to pick off at a leisurely place from cover outside...
The reason why Xenk didn't stick around is because he's an NPC(non-player character). That's a character that's run by the DM/GM. The other four main characters(Ed, Holga, Simon, and Doric) are all PCs(player characters). NPCs are often introduced to get information to the players or to help them through a difficult side quest. A big reason the movie works is because it was written and directed by the team of Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. I believe they're both D&D players, and they ran a short campaign with the stars as prep for the movie. I don't know if it helped, but it sure didn't hurt. The Johns also worked together on Horrible Bosses, Game Night(worth reacting to), and Spider-Man Homecoming.
And John Francis Daily was Sweets in _Bones_ apparently he opted to focus on becoming a writer and director over an acting career and because he was directing _Vacation_ the producers of Bones decides to have Sweets be killed off.
I'd argue that Xenk is a DMPC (for the non-players out there, this is a PC created by the game master for themself to play), or a guest player. He steals the spotlight too much and is way OP compared to the other characters to be just a run of the mill NPC. To me, that feels like some DM's favorite PC from their pre-DM days, or a PC cooked up to maximize the fun of a person who's dropping in for one session. He's way too precious to die, whereas most NPCs are forgettable and expendable.
@EChacon technically he just asked for time off to Direct a film & the producers killed him because they worried he'd be gone too long if it led to more directing jobs. Not for the producers, JFD, probably would've been there till the end.
@@BlackGirlMarvel I know, that’s what I said earlier, because he was opting to direct a movie (Vacation) the producers from Bones decided to kill of Sweets. Also John Francis Dailey hasn’t done any acting after his character Sweets was killed off in _Bones_ so he’s behind the camera these days.
@@BoboftheOldeWays He's also there for the DM to get the players back on track. And the ass-pull of the Hither-thither staff. "Well crap, the players were supposed to figure out my cool bridge puzzle, but they immediately futzed it up. Hey guess what, that walking stick? It's actually this cool thing!" It's a perfect representation of how a D&D game goes.
As a longtime D&D DM: This movie is PERFECT. It captures the vibe of a tabletop campaign perfectly, and if you're familiar with the game you can immediately tell which game mechanic caused something to happen in the film. It's fantastic
No matter how meticulously the players plan a heist, the dice determine whether the soundtrack of that heist will be Mission: Impossible, The Pink Panther, or Benny Hill.
I’m not a D&D player, but this movie really accomplished what it set out to do, which is to be a fun fantasy heist adventure flick. The jokes worked well, the CGI and visual effects looks nice, and and the action scenes are tons of fun to watch. Very fun film. Whoever at Paramount decided to release this film a week before Mario dominated should be fired.
As a former D&D player, I can confirm that it's not simply a "fun fantasy adventure", but it is actually packed with tons of inside references to the D&D setting, lore and even gameplay mechanics.
Hay fellow players. I am over thinking this plot. I feel like they hid stuff in plain sight. First off how many players have tried to become a Harper? I know DM's that said many players were not Harper material but Darvis is? Feels like a set up. His wife encouraged him to be a Harper, why? She believed in him? See what I am saying. Something don't fit. The Red Wizards make very extensive plans like the Illithid. I know, I know I am over thinking this. 😅 But still..
@shampoovta Answers: A lot. Yes, but he failed at his first attempt and this film shows him becoming fully worthy of being a Harper. It's literally his arc. She believed in him, and this film shows him living up to that belief. Yes, she believed in him. I don't see what you're saying because everything does fit. 🙂
@@k338914as a 15 year dnd player yes you are right on what the movie is for us players. But it also is just a fun fantasy adventure especially for non dnd players
Edgin is always handing things to Simon because he has a D&D magical item called a Bag of Holding, which is like having a 10x10 storage unit hanging from your belt.
Chris Pine's character is a Bard, meaning he will be playing an instrument and his songs can alter moods up or down, his "encouragement" (see the scene when they get free from the guards about the execute them" is a special ability that gives bonus to all friendlies in melee. The Bard is usually the "face" of the party, representing them and making contacts and yes planning. The movie is quite clever and very subtle in its portrayal and the producers must have had a seasoned D&D player writing the script because they are faithful to the rules of the game. Mostly.
I love that since there were no plans to make a sequel to this story, They pretty much focused on making this one as perfect as possible. Making us (fan or not) WANT one, instead of NEED one.
And the nice thing is, they could just keep making D&D movies, always with a new story and a new cast/group, no need to milk the same recipe over and over.
As a life-long D&D player (since the 80s) I genuinely enjoyed this film! Nobu is absolutely correct, as is Hayley, this felt so much like a campaign you would play with friends. Even down to the botched puzzle bridge and the "convenient" hither thither staff the DM has to create to get the party across. So on point. Glad you all enjoyed this too! And as Stella said, it did a great job even for those that haven't played before.
@@riolkin I am totally seeing this scene so differently now, a player, either intentionally or unintentionally screws up their check, or maybe one of those as the DM is explaining it stops in the middle to ask where everyone is standing on the battle map (knowing ticking clock of thayan assasins behind them. Like maybe it was going to be a fight on the bridge, or before it or just after it or something... anyways the wild magic sorcerer, of course the wild mage, says oh im standing here.... thats one tile on to the map... the wrong tile, the whole thing falls make a dex check to not fall in. Now the DM has to come up with an idea of how they can still get across.... oh yeah that walking stick, Ill say its a magical dimension door stick.... and forgets to say only once per long rest And now they constantly use it to bypass all your carefully laid out puzzles and fights.
As a longtime D&D player, this movie was perfectly a translation of playing it tabletop with friends. Down to the DM's overpowered NPC Paladin trying to get them on the right path for the quest then bailing when they start relying on him too much lol.
The awkward reunion with his daughter was multifaceted but it wasn’t helped by the fact that he made her mittens and she has lived for 2 years in a city called “NeverWinter”. 😂
My main knowledge of Neverwinter came from the long time ago when I played Neverwinter Nights as a kid. Never knew mechanics, had my sister give me tons of XP through console commands. And I still struggled. Regardless, then I saw the cutscene with some snow and assumed it was a more northern city. Didn't help that at the time I didn't know English that well and never understood the meaning of the city's name...
@@garr_inc For me, Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 was my introduction to D&D and I spent so so many hours playing NWN2, so when I saw Neverwinter, I just got so happy and smiled so much! It made the city I love look so much better than I remembered back then.
That's what I thought... No way Portal invented this mechanic. Young people don't know much so they think modern things invented pretty much everything lol
@@GameDjeenie, each generation feels that they invented "sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll," rather than accept that their parents and grandparents dealt with those very things in their own adolescence.
@@GameDjeenie Yeah, but is that really their fault? If the wand's been a thing longer than the gun, and people know about the gun without ever having Portal (yours truly), then the earlier media lacks the exposure to be more widely acknowledged.
@@GameDjeenie It's not that deep at all. Don't put words in their mouths. They never said Portal invented the concept, they were just saying what it reminded them of. People like you are extremely exhausting. Get the hell out with your ageism, honestly.
Deep-Dive geekery: 1) The prison at the beginning is Revel's End, a notorious prison in Icewind Dale in the Forgotten Realms setting. 2) They de-magic'd the bard (Edgin), though he would normally be able to cast spells of his own - likely cause they didn't want to have too many casters mucking up the story, when most non-players couldn't tell the difference between a bard and a wizard casting spells. But that ironically led to the best-written bard ever, doing genuine bard-stuff of buffing and rallying party members and being the face and voice of the party. 3) They played fast and loose with Wild Shape, which normally only allows 2 different animals a day - she could have escaped the castle as a fly, but that would be less interesting visually than flitting through multiple forms. I don't hate it. 4) The intellect devourer joke was totally because all those classes usually treat intelligence as their dump stat, and I loved it. 5) Xenk is absolutely the competent NPC a DM has to bring in to get his dipshit party back on track. 6) The hither-thither staff is absolutely the McGuffin a DM has to introduce when a party hoses up his elaborately planned dungeon ("sigh - ok, that staff you found starts to let off a bluish glow ..."). 7) Love that the group from the old animated D&D series showed up in the High Sun Games. 8) Themberchaud the dragon is a real thing in the Forgotten Realms - he's famously so fat he can't fly and only breathes ignitable gas instead of actual fire. 9) Simon's ancestor is Elminster, about the most famous Wizard in D&D. 10) Yeah, Paladins like Xenk are generally thought of as "lawful boring" because - especially in classic D&D - they tend to be either uptight killjoys or self-important do-gooders. This was actually a great take on them that felt fresh but still got the point across. 11) Not actually geekery, but had to add that I both can't picture - and yet can't stop trying to picture - the whole barbarian woman / halfling man thing.
I'm a roundabout way, Revel's End was created for the movie. It was during script writing and pre-production that the film makers contacted the WotC creative team who was working on a few different big campaign modules for 5e. They asked if there was a remote gulag in Faerun because they needed one for the film. WotC said "Suuuure... There's an ice prison in Icewind Dale!" and put one into Rime of the Frost Maiden which was almost done and was published years before the movie was released.
They de-magicked the druid too, so a popular theory is that her player traded her spellcasting feature for Unlimited Wild Shape and access to the Owlbear. And she probably thought she'd be harder to find if she kept changing so that they were always looking for the wrong thing. She was wrong, but characters are allowed to be wrong about things.
What I truly loved about this movie is the fact, that of all the existing characters that exist in the lore of that setting, one of the few characters was Themberchaud the fat dragon. I loved it😂
Fun little bit that I noticed when I saw in the theatres. When you play D&D on tabletop, you usually use a battle grid where the 1-inch squares represent 5' for the characters. The blocks in the High Sun maze looked awfully close to 5' to me.
24:55 It's a black dragon. The breath attack of black dragons is acid. In D&D dragons don't all breath fire - depending on the exact species they have different breath attacks: Acid, poisonous clouds, fire, freezing cold, lightning bolts...
Since i havent seen it mentioned in the comments yet i feel obligated to point out that Xenk walking over the stone is improvised. There way i heard it is that the film crew wanted to find out what he would do when he got to the stone so they just kept rolling. and because the actor didnt heard cut he just kept walking.
I love how this movie is perfect for both fans of D&D and those who know nothing about it. It’s a fun fantasy movie for all! One cool thing about it is how accurately it reflects an actual campaign. Something can go quickly from everything going right to awful, to alright again in seconds depending on dice rolls. You can see it a lot in the movie like in the scene where they are trying to sneak into the vault. When the portal falls from the bottom of the cart, and Simon is barely hanging on, the people “playing” their characters roll really high numbers to save Simon and to make sure nobody notices them.
@@marcushankins8171 then you play the game wrong. look for example at wild shape. just study the rules. and look at what they did in the movie. look at how gelatinous cubes work in the game, and how they did it in the movie. look at how spellcasting works in the game, and how they did it in the movie. look at how talk to the dead works in the game and how they did it in the movie. look at how attunement works in the game and how they did it in the movie. if what you do is anything remotely like the movie you're playing something else very loosely based on dnd, but you arent playing dnd.
A very well done rewatchable film. It's almost funny and literally unfair how it flopped. The story, the humor, the VFX, the makeup and the lore behind it have been nothing but great. It doesnt really need a sequel but as an audience, i really want to see more of that world and the team again.
Glad to see you guys are going to be reacting to this movie. It really had no business being as genuinely good as it was (considering the game's dismal history of cinematic adaptations), and it was one of those well-written movies that had plenty of easter eggs for people who were familiar with the game, but none of them were critical for the layperson's enjoyment of the story. In fact, had the game's parent company not also been coming off one of its biggest PR disasters in years just prior to it coming out, this movie might have done even better at the time.
Literally this film blew my expectations for an Action-Fantasy comedy film and without a doubt one of the best "never judge a book by its cover” films. Even prior to the film’s release I initially had my reservations that critics we’re going to panned this film considering other films based on Hasbro gaming properties such as _Battleship_ and _Ouija_ got mixed to negative reception, but surprisingly enough, critics and audiences loved it. Just the chemistry from the main cast including Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis were incredibly well done and the writing and comedy were magnificent.
Edgin is the traditional D&D Bard, which is why he's always singing and encouraging the members of his party. Holga is a Barbarian and you can even see when her rage triggers. Simon is a Sorcerer (and not a Wizard) so his magic is innate rather than learned (and subject to chaotic bursts of Wild Magic as well). Doric is a Tiefling Druid, and while I love her Wildshape powers I'm very disappointed in how they handle her using a sling, by substituting a slingshot (which is impossible without some elastic/rubber cording). I might as well mention that Forge is a fast-talking Charlatan and Xenk Yendar is a classical Paladin (who doesn't change course even for a boulder in his way.
@@TheBlarggle nowhere in the movie do we see him performing any Bard magic, while we do see brawling from the Barbarian, magic from the Sorcerer, and shapeshifting from the Druid. and, the sheet was made AFTER the movie's release, with the image of the Bard already imprinted in the people.
Just a couple things, from a D&D nerd: - The paladin, Xenk, is pretty much the pinnacle of a DMPC, which is basically a mary sue created by the DM (narrator). Some groups have issues like that, and so they honored that in this. In addition a lot of DMs will have a guide for the players on long missions just to make sure they don't get sidetracked. The paladin is pretty much a combination of the two. In-universe, why does he not help? "Because its their journey to make!" AKA "you've finished my quest! Have fun you crazy kids LOLZ."
8:07 - One of the first things to note is that this movie takes place in the Forgotten Realms, one of the oldest D&D settings. It doesn't bare too much on the plot, but it does inform many of the easter eggs in the film. Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter are two of the realm's most infamous locations, as is Waterdeep. 28:59 - You'll find a lot of class stereotypes in this movie. Edgin is a bard: basically useless outside of his singing buffs. Holga's a Barbarian/Warrior: not too bright. Xenk is a Paladin: goody-two-shoes, humorless, hide-bound. In addition, Xenk is also an example of the Overpowered NPC Party Member trope. 30:11 - Where do you think RPG video games got their structure? There's an old Dungeons and Dragons magazine ad. The tagline reads 'We gave boss monsters their first job.' 49:09 - Midget Barbarian, an Amazon, a Mage, a Ranger, a redheaded Rouge, and a ponce in golden armor? Add an infant unicorn and you have the cast of the 80s D&D cartoon. (Seriously, it's an Easter Egg). 50:00 - It's a Displacer Beast. It casts illusions.
They pretended the time stop worked so that the red wizard would let her guard down and not have her senses fully activated, so then Kira could sneak up and but the anti magic bracelet on her. If they blatantly showed her the time stop didn't work, she would have started casting other crazy spells
Love the bridge scene, as a player and DM I can see what’s happening on the table. Dm: okay as Xenk starts to explain I need you all to place your marker’s on the map. Dm: Simon is that really where you’re going to stand? Simon: yeah, why? Dm: can you make a perception check? Simon, I rolled a 3 and I have a +1 for a 4? I don’t see anything do I? DM: can you make a dexterity check? Simon: ah that’s a nat one, I’m dead aren’t I? DM: in the middle of Xenk’s explaination you hear a loud rumbling and cracking noise as you see the bridge begin to collapse…
I heard they played a game of D&D to make it, and it doesn’t surprise me if it’s true. I do think some things were adjusted like trading a Druid’s other spells for a wider amount of options with Wild Shape (less rests needed for the chase and you can’t shift into an owlbear, but hey, it’s cool!) or taking away a bard’s spellcasting abilities, but it is a balanced team with it even poking fun at intelligence being the dump stat. It’s got the witty banter, the DM being exasperated at our stupidity and giving a Deus Ex Machina, and just fun all around. It showed off what a D&D campaign is all about: fun while being easy to understand for people like me who’ve played, but not experts. Solid movie overall, and diehard fans have called it a love letter to the franchise. As a casual, it’s great and good to see people got a glimpse of what these sessions feel like.
Wild Shape has a limited number of uses per day so you want to hold out using it until you must. When Doric infiltrated the castle I think that she pushed her ability to its limit.
Ive been playing dnd and other games like it for almost 40 years. This movie nails the vibe. It's fun and funny but also heartfelt and earnest. Love it.
No FREAKIN WAY you’re doing _Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves._ YES!! YES!!! ⚔️🧙🏼♂️🐉 Thank You so much for finally reacting to this long requested movie and worth mentioning this is your first non Science Fiction film reaction in 7-8 months which is a "palate cleanser” considering as much as I enjoy your Science Fiction reactions it’s always good to see you branch out and reacting to movies of other genres outside of Science Fiction such as those of the Action-Adventure genre, the Horror, Fantasy, Drama and Comedy genres just so the reactions can be new and fresh and looking forward on the next films you’ll be doing after _Dungeons & Dragons_
0:30 the "drama" was that Wizards Of The Coast (the firm that publishes D&D) wanted to tax/copyright/claim all the D&D-related fan productions running under their book. books and merch are sold as a finished product, and anything that stems from that is free (Open Game License, or OGL). In order to properly host a D&D game, you'd need the rule book, the monster manual, the player's handbook, character sheets, etc... all of which they sell, and also charge for usage of their website where players and GMs can keep their data of characters and stories. as buyers of these products, players and GMs will get updates on rules and storylines for free. WOTC wanted to cancel the OGL and charge revenue for usage of their product and any original creation OFF those products.... so, the same way you can't make a superhero movie featuring Superman or Spiderman because they're copyrighted, you couldn't make a D&D-based production set in the D&D realm, naming famous NPC, or featuring known locations. in short, a textbook grade-A dick move.
One of the things that I massively appreciate about this movie is that they actually ran the cast through a D&D game. Got them all together, and had them play D&D. One of the huge things that it did was to help them understand that, unlike Hollywood movies, no one is the hero who can do it all. A D&D party is all about each character having their own strengths and working together to accomplish the end goal. Yes, Chris Pine is the 'face man' of the group, but he's a bard. That's kind of what they do (though, they do also have spellcasting abilities). And yes, it's his mission that they are working towards, but... it's more like they're working to fix his huge mistake, which just... also happens to threaten the people of Neverwinter.
As Simon said he countered the time stop, they faked it to distract her ''so that Kira could slap that cuff on'' Edgin literally said it as you were saying it.
I really like the little detail of Xenk making the point that it was also bad for the wife to be brought back after so long. It's not just the Ed needs to let go or that his wife isn't Kyra's mother. She herself is better off this way.
For non players it’s worth noting enough people have come back to life and/or talked to gods to confirm that there is an afterlife for the soul. There is no mystery, nothing just on faith. The next world is fact.
@@kagato23 Added to that, a standard Resurrection (next to being very expensive) will flat out fail if the person resurrected doesn't want to come back.
That's not necessarily true, though. First of all, they don't know what kind of new life she's living. She might be over there missing her family. Xenk's assumption she's better off in the Outer Planes is just as baseless as Edgin's assumption she'd be better off in the Prime Material. Possibly _more_ baseless, since they do at least have evidence she was enjoying the Prime Material, whereas they have no evidence whatsoever about whether she enjoys the Outer Planes. Second of all, a Tablet of Reawakening just casts a more powerful version of True Resurrection. It can get past the Red Wizard's blade, but there is no indication that it bypasses the requirement that the soul must be _willing_ to return. So if she didn't want to come back, _she could just not come back._ And even if you assume the Tablet of Resurrection yanks people back whether they're willing or not, if they resurrected her and she decided she was better off in her afterlife after all - she could just die again. (I'm not clear on how suicide affects your afterlife options in D&D, but if necessary I'm sure she could figure out a way to do it that wouldn't count as suicide.) She would have a choice. Whereas she doesn't have a choice now. Xenk's argument and the "you have to let it go" flashback was nothing but a stupid cliché which shouldn't have been in the movie. (We didn't need it; the argument about how the quest was taking him away from his daughter, and how it was really for him and not for her, was more than enough, and a way better message!)
Between this and Baldur's Gate 3 DnD had a good year... Seriously tho this movie has the tone of a real tabletop session, where everyone is taking the plot serious but still talks like players do between themselves, if that makes sense.
D&D's Dimension Door spell (basically what the Hither Thither staff casts) has been around decades longer than Portal lol. They just based an entire game on the concept of a single D&D spell.
The part where Edgin give his daughter the mittens is even funnier when you realize the lore of Neverwinter. Just North East of the city is a volcano that's home to a population of Fire Elementals (you can actually see it at 8:56). Near said volcano is a river that's super heated by these Fire Elementals to a point where it never freezes over in the winter and carries that heated water all the way down through Neverwinter, keeping it warm all year long hence why it's called Neverwinter.
I've only played a little DnD, listened to a bunch of play. This movie feels like people playing through it. The bridge scene is exactly like when a DM spends weeks writing a complex puzzle only for the players to immediately mess it up. Yes, it's not the most in-depth, complex written story, but I feel if it was made with more intricacies, then it would lose the feeling of people playing the game.
It's nice that Simon needing confidence isn't even only a cliche at this point, it's also quite literally what he needs, Sorcerers spellcasting ability is Charisma, which includes self confidence, no charisma: sorc spells miss Also, another nice touch is the intellect devourers had a reason to ignore them too, jokes asides, none of the classes there use high int, barbarian (Strength), bard (charisma), sorcerer (charisma), druid (wisdom), paladin (charisma)
As a 40 yr DnD player, I love that I could see the call outs, name the spells, know the monsters. Yet I agree that they didn't hit you, as non players, over the head with things. I LOVED it! Also, seeing you're watching Warcraft soon, so many WoW players hated it...I'm a casual player since the beginning and I enjoyed it. Don't let the haters get you down if you end up enjoying it.
As a WoWhead I enjoyed Warcraft. I heard they changed some minor things, but I liked it for the MOVIE experience, while others were looking for the GAMING experience. Don't let the haters get you down.
I had no intention of going to see this movie. But my friends wanted to go and I thought “whatever” I’ll admit I actually had a great time and enjoyed the movie
This film blew my expectations and without a doubt one of the best "never judge a book by its cover” films. Even prior to the film’s release I initially had my reservations that critics we’re going to panned this film considering other films based on Hasbro gaming properties such as _Battleship_ and _Ouija_ got mixed to negative reception, but surprisingly enough, critics and audiences loved it. Just the chemistry from the main cast including Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis were incredibly well done and the writing and comedy were magnificent. Thanks for the reaction and if you plan on reacting to more fantasy films I recommend you react to _The Dark Crystal, Legend, Willow, Stardust,_ The _Percy Jackson_ films, _The BFG,_ and _The Witches (1990)._
Fun Fact: The other adventure party in the arena, the ones who make it to the cage are supposed to be the party from the 1980's Dungeons and Dragons cartoon
The prisoner who is brought in at the very beginning, and gets his knees broken backwards by Holga, isn't an orc. He was a Hobgoblin. Meanwhile, what I think made this movie so enjoyable was the same thing in Young Frankenstein and Princess Bride - you can TELL they had so much fun just making the movie.
I've never played D&D but I do enjoy this movie a lot! and when I read players' comment about this movie, the movie get even more cooler for me! They balance the content for both player and non-player really well
No one seems to have mentioned this, but one of the best Easter eggs was that one of the parties during the maze bit was the group from the 80's cartoon series Dungeons and Dragons. Have a watch of the cartoon, you'll find clips on RUclips, you'll see what I'm talking about. It's a totally casual reference that pretty much only old people and die hard DnD fans will get (I'm both 😅).
They are definitely based on stereotypes of d&d characters. Bards are music people who sing songs and basically cheer on the other members of the group. Barbarians are straight forward fighters who literally can make anything they want into a weapon. Paladins are goody goody dudes who are nicknamed "lawful boring" and they are exactly the way Xenk is portrayed in this movie. The movie does a really good job of paying respect to the game and history and lore of D&D. Also they faked being frozen so that she would monologue and let her guard down.
As a D&D player, the thing I loved most about this wasn't the references to the lore of D&D but to just the way people play. Things like 'Jarnathan' is 100% the kind of name someone would come up with when put on the spot, and the paladin showing up and giving all the mission critical information and just being way too amazing at everything then leaving is a DMPC(Character controlled by the guy running the game) is a trope for a reason. Even something like the bridge collapsing and suddenly an item that didn't matter before suddenly being a solution to get the players out of something stupid is perfect. You guys mentioned a sequel at your discussion at the end, I think my dream for it would be to be a different story with the same actors all playing different characters like it was the next campaign.
Even though it looks like Edgin contributed very little in combat, he is casting spells using his words. Him saying "we got 'em now" while trying to cut his bonds is a classic use of Bardic Inspiration. Viscious Mockery, Charm Person, Inspiring Leader... the list goes on.
Fun fact, in my current DnD game, it takes place in the Underdark and our party is poised to have a battle with Themberchaud himself at the behest of his handlers for the city he resides in, Gracklstug, as if he becomes too powerful without being culled and replaced, he will subjugate the city.
Fun fact: Xenk Yendar the Paladin kept walking in a straight line because the actor Regé-Jean Page couldn't hear the director say stop. The director thought it was so funny he kept walking that he decided to keep it in
I have never been a DnD fan, I played a few times with my husband. But this movie really I really enjoyed. The way they did the characters and setting for people who didn't know much about it was fantastic. And Chris Pine is hilarious.
it seems like it was made for people who dont like dnd. i'm an avid dnd player and i hated it. with all my heart. it shat on everything dnd is, and everything dnd should be.
It would be fun to see you guys have a campaign together. 24:46 Black Dragons, among the cruellest and most vicious of chromatic dragons, have an acidic breath weapon. Yes, the people behind this movie worked their asses off to get as much right as possible. Except the Owlbear thing. Pretty sure that was a marketing decision. 50:02 The signature ability of the Displacer Beast is to create a false image of its own whereabouts, making it very difficult to hit reliably. A magic cloak can be made from its hide that has these same properties. 50:24 If you hold onto a Mimic, it holds onto you. The surface of a Mimic's skin has a powerful adhesive to aid in catching its prey. A fun lore bit about the Gelatinous Cube is that, if it hasn't fed in a while, it's almost completely invisible. Hence the poor guy tripping right into it.
One of the qualities of the Beckoning Death is that you have to actually look at it to be affected by the area of effect it causes. So by dropping the gold on the opposite side from Sophina, the attention that would have been on Sophina was drawn away. The other effect of dropping the gold is that the people would have been drawn out of the thirty foot radius. The reason it was so effective in Thay was because Ssazz Tam was the Lich who created the horn and no one had ever seen it's like or knew how to escape or that they needed to escape. By the time anyone realised it was too late. That's why Xenk survived though, he both didn't look at the horn and he wasn't in the cloud.
As a DnD player, I thoroughly enjoy how accurate they are with the lore of the Forgotten Realms. The thing at the beginning is a Hobgoblin. Also, the pudgy dragon is a canon character.
As someone who plays dnd regularly this movie really did make me happy. It is so good and really is a good representation of what a dnd party is like. The Chaos and dumb choices, not everything working perfectly is just amazing. I would love a tv show like this. I just love the begining because acting before knowing the truth, like jumping out of a window before hearing that they were pardoned is so funny and realistic to dnd.
The Intellect Devourer part was genius. What we have here are a Sorceror, Druid, Bard, Warrior/Barbarian and a Paladin. Their job core attributes are Charisma, Wisdom, and Strength/Constitution amongst themselves. Intelligence is likely the dump-stat :D
One of the best fantasy adventures in a very long time. A fairly wholesome vibe, as you said, that was big without trying to be too epic. I took a friend who knew almost nothing about D&D, and he loved it and didn’t feel lost. As a long-time D&D player, there was even more to love here. It captured the vibe so well, while still telling a stand-alone story. Honestly I think the special effects are some of the best in this day and age, better than what Marvel has been giving us. The practical effects were complex and tactile, and I don’t mind a little stiffness because that just makes them seem more real than weightless CGI.
I adore this movie. You can even look at it like you were playing a game of D&D. People telling their lore and backstories while having fun and doing dumb things to save the world.
This movie was a great one in a long while. The humour, the feels, CGI and everything. My most favourite part was that 'one shot' where Druic was switching into different animals escaping. Also Xenk is the most NPC of all NPC characters ever giving the side quest
I'd forgotten that they had been filming locally at Alnwick Castle (where broomstick training and a few other Harry Potter scenes were filmed) until I saw this at the cinema and recognised it straight away 🙂
I had a blast watching this movie. It's just pure fun fantasy adventure, the likes of which you don't really get anymore at this scale. It sucks that it didn't make a lot of money at the box office as I would have loved another adventure with this cast and crew. You all looked like you had a lot of fun with it. Loved the reaction.
As an MD in France, I loved this version. What's more, the armour is useful !!!! when I see "historical" films with "paper" armour that even a dagger can pierce, I'm blown away!
7:48 that's my favorite bts i saw before watching the movie. A real Jarnathan head made to be worn by an actor, capable of blinking and opening/closing mouth, kinda like a puppet but as head.
I played D&D in the 70's before "advanced" D&D came out, aka 1st edition, and read a lot of the campaigns and even novels of the early D&D universe. It has changed a lot! There's always been a wink to the whole enterprise, or a sense of mischeviousness, if you will. But basically, now it is so vast you can find almost any story line imaginable within D&D.
Never played d&d, saw this movie by default one evening and it's still one of the happiest movie watching accidents I've experienced. Would love to watch a sequel to this movie.
I. Love. This movie! It’s very simple and cheesy but also complicated hilarious and heartfelt which is just the perfect encapsulation of playing the game with friends. You can feel they roll as the story goes on and I just love themmmm.
Baldur's Gate 3 is the new video game, based on 5th Edition D&D, no spoilers, but part of it's high popularity is that it is a "complete" D&D transfer of rules into the video game. Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 came out about 20 years ago and are fairly hard games based on previous rules sets. They are set in one of many D&D worlds, called Faerun, and a major city is called Baldur's Gate, another is Waterdeep, etc.
IMO this Movie was EXCELLENT! I'm not a D&D player, played some of it when I was about 11 years old. I think they did a great movie. Very underrated! Also I like your reactions!
An interesting thing is that if you run to the side, what is pursuing you simply shifts course and is not going to intercept you on the hypotenuse of a right triangle. That is why nobody runs to the side. If you run straight ahead, you do not have to be faster than your pursuer, you just have to be faster than any other prey.
Really enjoyed this movie and enjoyed your watching it. This was the D&D movie that fans and players of the game have been waiting for literally for decades! It was SO well done. Granted Wizards of the Coast's debacle just before this movie came out where they pretty much screwed over creators of content for the game, did not help its box office viewership as many were/are boycotting the game now. Interesting side note the group of characters in the arena that find the box of weapons and then get trapped in the cage, were real life representations of the beloved characters from the old Dungeons and Dragons cartoon series (might be worth doing a reaction review of at some point). Also loved that you reacted to this one with Stella and Hayley!
I'm a d&d nerd and went to see this with another d&d nerd. It missed no beats. PS, in our game, we call the sending stones either trackstones or istones depending on their quality.
Themberchaud is an actual dragon in D&D lore... created by Gary Gygax himself! He got the idea for it in a campaign he was running when he saw a fat cat - his or a friend's - trying to hop up on a table and not making it... hind feet dangling off!
You didn’t notice the Avengers homage Doric as owlbear smashing Sofina into the ground was reminiscent of Hulk basically doing the exact same thing to Loki!
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Who was your favoriet character?
So many to choose as all of the main group members and side characters are so good but my favorites are Doric (as she can shape shift into any creature and animal), Holga (because it’s Michelle Rodriguez one of my favorite actresses), and Xenk (due to his backstory and being a temporary ally to our heroes).
Definitely doric
HOLGA HOLGA HOLGA! with an honorable mention to Simon!
Themberchaud the Dragon, he's such a dork of a villain :>
So many but I like the girl who can transform into animals [I forgot her name]
"You guys are so dumb! It would have been fine if you had just done nothing!"
Welcome to DnD Hayley. If your playgroup isn't trying to do something stupid, they're not even really playing the game.
I DMed a party that managed to burn down a freakin' _cave_ of all things (and quite by accident). OTOH, that did manage to drive out the goblins for them to pick off at a leisurely place from cover outside...
The reason why Xenk didn't stick around is because he's an NPC(non-player character). That's a character that's run by the DM/GM. The other four main characters(Ed, Holga, Simon, and Doric) are all PCs(player characters). NPCs are often introduced to get information to the players or to help them through a difficult side quest.
A big reason the movie works is because it was written and directed by the team of Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. I believe they're both D&D players, and they ran a short campaign with the stars as prep for the movie. I don't know if it helped, but it sure didn't hurt. The Johns also worked together on Horrible Bosses, Game Night(worth reacting to), and Spider-Man Homecoming.
And John Francis Daily was Sweets in _Bones_ apparently he opted to focus on becoming a writer and director over an acting career and because he was directing _Vacation_ the producers of Bones decides to have Sweets be killed off.
I'd argue that Xenk is a DMPC (for the non-players out there, this is a PC created by the game master for themself to play), or a guest player. He steals the spotlight too much and is way OP compared to the other characters to be just a run of the mill NPC. To me, that feels like some DM's favorite PC from their pre-DM days, or a PC cooked up to maximize the fun of a person who's dropping in for one session. He's way too precious to die, whereas most NPCs are forgettable and expendable.
@EChacon technically he just asked for time off to Direct a film & the producers killed him because they worried he'd be gone too long if it led to more directing jobs. Not for the producers, JFD, probably would've been there till the end.
@@BlackGirlMarvel I know, that’s what I said earlier, because he was opting to direct a movie (Vacation) the producers from Bones decided to kill of Sweets.
Also John Francis Dailey hasn’t done any acting after his character Sweets was killed off in _Bones_ so he’s behind the camera these days.
@@BoboftheOldeWays He's also there for the DM to get the players back on track. And the ass-pull of the Hither-thither staff. "Well crap, the players were supposed to figure out my cool bridge puzzle, but they immediately futzed it up. Hey guess what, that walking stick? It's actually this cool thing!" It's a perfect representation of how a D&D game goes.
As a longtime D&D DM: This movie is PERFECT. It captures the vibe of a tabletop campaign perfectly, and if you're familiar with the game you can immediately tell which game mechanic caused something to happen in the film. It's fantastic
Even the homebrew, which is perfectly okay!
No matter how meticulously the players plan a heist, the dice determine whether the soundtrack of that heist will be Mission: Impossible, The Pink Panther, or Benny Hill.
When I saw the displacer beast, I almost expected a blink dog.
@@Xhalph ...or Snatch.
@@Xhalphand the harder you go for mission impossible, the louder the benny hill theme plays.
I’m not a D&D player, but this movie really accomplished what it set out to do, which is to be a fun fantasy heist adventure flick. The jokes worked well, the CGI and visual effects looks nice, and and the action scenes are tons of fun to watch. Very fun film. Whoever at Paramount decided to release this film a week before Mario dominated should be fired.
As a former D&D player, I can confirm that it's not simply a "fun fantasy adventure", but it is actually packed with tons of inside references to the D&D setting, lore and even gameplay mechanics.
Hay fellow players. I am over thinking this plot. I feel like they hid stuff in plain sight. First off how many players have tried to become a Harper? I know DM's that said many players were not Harper material but Darvis is? Feels like a set up. His wife encouraged him to be a Harper, why? She believed in him? See what I am saying. Something don't fit. The Red Wizards make very extensive plans like the Illithid. I know, I know I am over thinking this. 😅 But still..
@shampoovta Answers:
A lot.
Yes, but he failed at his first attempt and this film shows him becoming fully worthy of being a Harper. It's literally his arc.
She believed in him, and this film shows him living up to that belief.
Yes, she believed in him.
I don't see what you're saying because everything does fit. 🙂
@@shampoovtadefinitely overthinking it
@@k338914as a 15 year dnd player yes you are right on what the movie is for us players. But it also is just a fun fantasy adventure especially for non dnd players
Edgin is always handing things to Simon because he has a D&D magical item called a Bag of Holding, which is like having a 10x10 storage unit hanging from your belt.
Or the purse Hermione had in the last Harry Potter movies... well rather the other way round but I think most people would get the reference.
" *hold* this" 😅
Chris Pine's character is a Bard, meaning he will be playing an instrument and his songs can alter moods up or down, his "encouragement" (see the scene when they get free from the guards about the execute them" is a special ability that gives bonus to all friendlies in melee. The Bard is usually the "face" of the party, representing them and making contacts and yes planning. The movie is quite clever and very subtle in its portrayal and the producers must have had a seasoned D&D player writing the script because they are faithful to the rules of the game. Mostly.
I love that since there were no plans to make a sequel to this story,
They pretty much focused on making this one as perfect as possible.
Making us (fan or not) WANT one, instead of NEED one.
And the nice thing is, they could just keep making D&D movies, always with a new story and a new cast/group, no need to milk the same recipe over and over.
I would disagree. The main antagonist here wasn't the Big Bad, but one of his lieutenants. They left it open for the Big Bad to appear in a follow-up.
@@Metamorfeus Is Szas Tam even killable? I don't know much about the lore but he kinda seems on par with one of the gods.
@@Metamorfeus He's not even THE big bad, the next story could feature ANY other villain, even a new one not specific to Forgotten Realms.
@@devinwhite5064banishing him is possible tho
As a life-long D&D player (since the 80s) I genuinely enjoyed this film! Nobu is absolutely correct, as is Hayley, this felt so much like a campaign you would play with friends. Even down to the botched puzzle bridge and the "convenient" hither thither staff the DM has to create to get the party across. So on point. Glad you all enjoyed this too! And as Stella said, it did a great job even for those that haven't played before.
My opinion is still the "botched" bridge puzzle was completely intentional by the player. No way they were doing those skill checks.
@@avillegas8857 lol, okay I think you're probably right! That's gonna be my assumption as well from now on! Cheers.
Not sure if intentional because not wanting to do the checks or intentional for the lols, though...
When you create an item like the hither thither staff and then the party proceed to abuse the shit out of it for the rest of the campaign :D
@@riolkin I am totally seeing this scene so differently now, a player, either intentionally or unintentionally screws up their check, or maybe one of those as the DM is explaining it stops in the middle to ask where everyone is standing on the battle map (knowing ticking clock of thayan assasins behind them. Like maybe it was going to be a fight on the bridge, or before it or just after it or something... anyways the wild magic sorcerer, of course the wild mage, says oh im standing here.... thats one tile on to the map... the wrong tile, the whole thing falls make a dex check to not fall in.
Now the DM has to come up with an idea of how they can still get across.... oh yeah that walking stick, Ill say its a magical dimension door stick.... and forgets to say only once per long rest
And now they constantly use it to bypass all your carefully laid out puzzles and fights.
As a longtime D&D player, this movie was perfectly a translation of playing it tabletop with friends. Down to the DM's overpowered NPC Paladin trying to get them on the right path for the quest then bailing when they start relying on him too much lol.
The awkward reunion with his daughter was multifaceted but it wasn’t helped by the fact that he made her mittens and she has lived for 2 years in a city called “NeverWinter”. 😂
My main knowledge of Neverwinter came from the long time ago when I played Neverwinter Nights as a kid. Never knew mechanics, had my sister give me tons of XP through console commands. And I still struggled.
Regardless, then I saw the cutscene with some snow and assumed it was a more northern city. Didn't help that at the time I didn't know English that well and never understood the meaning of the city's name...
@@garr_inc For me, Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 was my introduction to D&D and I spent so so many hours playing NWN2, so when I saw Neverwinter, I just got so happy and smiled so much! It made the city I love look so much better than I remembered back then.
Well, we can't really blame him for that part, can we? He didn't *know* she was there until they saw the flyer with Forge on it...
The "portal gun" is a swipe from similar teleportation staves to the "Hither/Thither Wand" that has been in Dungeons & Dragons since the 1970s
That's what I thought... No way Portal invented this mechanic. Young people don't know much so they think modern things invented pretty much everything lol
@@GameDjeenie, each generation feels that they invented "sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll," rather than accept that their parents and grandparents dealt with those very things in their own adolescence.
@@GameDjeenie Yeah, but is that really their fault? If the wand's been a thing longer than the gun, and people know about the gun without ever having Portal (yours truly), then the earlier media lacks the exposure to be more widely acknowledged.
@@GameDjeenie It's not that deep at all. Don't put words in their mouths. They never said Portal invented the concept, they were just saying what it reminded them of. People like you are extremely exhausting. Get the hell out with your ageism, honestly.
@@LeeCarlson Not really, I knew from a young age that most things that were around in the 80's, my parents knew them and experienced them...
Deep-Dive geekery:
1) The prison at the beginning is Revel's End, a notorious prison in Icewind Dale in the Forgotten Realms setting.
2) They de-magic'd the bard (Edgin), though he would normally be able to cast spells of his own - likely cause they didn't want to have too many casters mucking up the story, when most non-players couldn't tell the difference between a bard and a wizard casting spells. But that ironically led to the best-written bard ever, doing genuine bard-stuff of buffing and rallying party members and being the face and voice of the party.
3) They played fast and loose with Wild Shape, which normally only allows 2 different animals a day - she could have escaped the castle as a fly, but that would be less interesting visually than flitting through multiple forms. I don't hate it.
4) The intellect devourer joke was totally because all those classes usually treat intelligence as their dump stat, and I loved it.
5) Xenk is absolutely the competent NPC a DM has to bring in to get his dipshit party back on track.
6) The hither-thither staff is absolutely the McGuffin a DM has to introduce when a party hoses up his elaborately planned dungeon ("sigh - ok, that staff you found starts to let off a bluish glow ...").
7) Love that the group from the old animated D&D series showed up in the High Sun Games.
8) Themberchaud the dragon is a real thing in the Forgotten Realms - he's famously so fat he can't fly and only breathes ignitable gas instead of actual fire.
9) Simon's ancestor is Elminster, about the most famous Wizard in D&D.
10) Yeah, Paladins like Xenk are generally thought of as "lawful boring" because - especially in classic D&D - they tend to be either uptight killjoys or self-important do-gooders. This was actually a great take on them that felt fresh but still got the point across.
11) Not actually geekery, but had to add that I both can't picture - and yet can't stop trying to picture - the whole barbarian woman / halfling man thing.
I'm a roundabout way, Revel's End was created for the movie. It was during script writing and pre-production that the film makers contacted the WotC creative team who was working on a few different big campaign modules for 5e. They asked if there was a remote gulag in Faerun because they needed one for the film. WotC said "Suuuure... There's an ice prison in Icewind Dale!" and put one into Rime of the Frost Maiden which was almost done and was published years before the movie was released.
They de-magicked the druid too, so a popular theory is that her player traded her spellcasting feature for Unlimited Wild Shape and access to the Owlbear.
And she probably thought she'd be harder to find if she kept changing so that they were always looking for the wrong thing. She was wrong, but characters are allowed to be wrong about things.
What I truly loved about this movie is the fact, that of all the existing characters that exist in the lore of that setting, one of the few characters was Themberchaud the fat dragon. I loved it😂
Fun little bit that I noticed when I saw in the theatres. When you play D&D on tabletop, you usually use a battle grid where the 1-inch squares represent 5' for the characters. The blocks in the High Sun maze looked awfully close to 5' to me.
All the action scenes mimic actual D&D. Within 6 seconds, everyone attacks, one after the other, which make it a round.
24:55 It's a black dragon. The breath attack of black dragons is acid. In D&D dragons don't all breath fire - depending on the exact species they have different breath attacks: Acid, poisonous clouds, fire, freezing cold, lightning bolts...
Other breaths include salt(yellow) sodium(orange dragons), and bubbles(pink), all from 2nd edition
@@amatueraceva1319 Wasn't there even one in AD&D 2e that had a breath that caused level drain?
I had SO MUCH FUN watching this. I do really hope it gets a sequel. It's just a fun time. 😊 Not every movie needs to reinvent the wheel.
Since i havent seen it mentioned in the comments yet i feel obligated to point out that Xenk walking over the stone is improvised. There way i heard it is that the film crew wanted to find out what he would do when he got to the stone so they just kept rolling. and because the actor didnt heard cut he just kept walking.
I love how this movie is perfect for both fans of D&D and those who know nothing about it. It’s a fun fantasy movie for all!
One cool thing about it is how accurately it reflects an actual campaign. Something can go quickly from everything going right to awful, to alright again in seconds depending on dice rolls. You can see it a lot in the movie like in the scene where they are trying to sneak into the vault. When the portal falls from the bottom of the cart, and Simon is barely hanging on, the people “playing” their characters roll really high numbers to save Simon and to make sure nobody notices them.
almost nothing in the movie works like it does in dnd.
it was a rather unpleasant experience for me as an avid dnd player.
@@sabin97don’t know how you play D&D but it was like watching my friends and I play.
@@marcushankins8171
then you play the game wrong.
look for example at wild shape.
just study the rules.
and look at what they did in the movie.
look at how gelatinous cubes work in the game, and how they did it in the movie.
look at how spellcasting works in the game, and how they did it in the movie.
look at how talk to the dead works in the game and how they did it in the movie.
look at how attunement works in the game and how they did it in the movie.
if what you do is anything remotely like the movie you're playing something else very loosely based on dnd, but you arent playing dnd.
A very well done rewatchable film. It's almost funny and literally unfair how it flopped. The story, the humor, the VFX, the makeup and the lore behind it have been nothing but great. It doesnt really need a sequel but as an audience, i really want to see more of that world and the team again.
I really liked this movie. As a DnD player I got to say, this is exactly what we see in our heads whenever we campaign
Glad to see you guys are going to be reacting to this movie. It really had no business being as genuinely good as it was (considering the game's dismal history of cinematic adaptations), and it was one of those well-written movies that had plenty of easter eggs for people who were familiar with the game, but none of them were critical for the layperson's enjoyment of the story. In fact, had the game's parent company not also been coming off one of its biggest PR disasters in years just prior to it coming out, this movie might have done even better at the time.
Literally this film blew my expectations for an Action-Fantasy comedy film and without a doubt one of the best "never judge a book by its cover” films. Even prior to the film’s release I initially had my reservations that critics we’re going to panned this film considering other films based on Hasbro gaming properties such as _Battleship_ and _Ouija_ got mixed to negative reception, but surprisingly enough, critics and audiences loved it. Just the chemistry from the main cast including Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis were incredibly well done and the writing and comedy were magnificent.
Simon’s illusion on Edgin playing the lute until it backfires resulting in the Edging’s face distortion had me in tears.🤣😂🫠
Love how Chris Pine's only real combat move in the entire movie is "hit it in the head with a lute."
Edgin is the traditional D&D Bard, which is why he's always singing and encouraging the members of his party. Holga is a Barbarian and you can even see when her rage triggers. Simon is a Sorcerer (and not a Wizard) so his magic is innate rather than learned (and subject to chaotic bursts of Wild Magic as well). Doric is a Tiefling Druid, and while I love her Wildshape powers I'm very disappointed in how they handle her using a sling, by substituting a slingshot (which is impossible without some elastic/rubber cording). I might as well mention that Forge is a fast-talking Charlatan and Xenk Yendar is a classical Paladin (who doesn't change course even for a boulder in his way.
Edgin is not a bard.
he's a fighter that happens to play the lute.
@@bcn1gh7h4wk, you are welcome to your opinion, however, that is not the position of the showrunners, cast, or the folks at WotC/Hasbro.
@@LeeCarlson showrunners? it's a movie, dumbass! fucking copy-paste answer without reading lol!
@@bcn1gh7h4wk His official character sheet has him as a Bard. So...
@@TheBlarggle nowhere in the movie do we see him performing any Bard magic, while we do see brawling from the Barbarian, magic from the Sorcerer, and shapeshifting from the Druid.
and, the sheet was made AFTER the movie's release, with the image of the Bard already imprinted in the people.
Just a couple things, from a D&D nerd:
- The paladin, Xenk, is pretty much the pinnacle of a DMPC, which is basically a mary sue created by the DM (narrator). Some groups have issues like that, and so they honored that in this. In addition a lot of DMs will have a guide for the players on long missions just to make sure they don't get sidetracked. The paladin is pretty much a combination of the two. In-universe, why does he not help? "Because its their journey to make!" AKA "you've finished my quest! Have fun you crazy kids LOLZ."
Love seeing the whole gang together. Whole channel feels stronger 💪
8:07 - One of the first things to note is that this movie takes place in the Forgotten Realms, one of the oldest D&D settings. It doesn't bare too much on the plot, but it does inform many of the easter eggs in the film. Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter are two of the realm's most infamous locations, as is Waterdeep.
28:59 - You'll find a lot of class stereotypes in this movie. Edgin is a bard: basically useless outside of his singing buffs. Holga's a Barbarian/Warrior: not too bright. Xenk is a Paladin: goody-two-shoes, humorless, hide-bound. In addition, Xenk is also an example of the Overpowered NPC Party Member trope.
30:11 - Where do you think RPG video games got their structure? There's an old Dungeons and Dragons magazine ad. The tagline reads 'We gave boss monsters their first job.'
49:09 - Midget Barbarian, an Amazon, a Mage, a Ranger, a redheaded Rouge, and a ponce in golden armor? Add an infant unicorn and you have the cast of the 80s D&D cartoon. (Seriously, it's an Easter Egg).
50:00 - It's a Displacer Beast. It casts illusions.
They pretended the time stop worked so that the red wizard would let her guard down and not have her senses fully activated, so then Kira could sneak up and but the anti magic bracelet on her. If they blatantly showed her the time stop didn't work, she would have started casting other crazy spells
I love the way they combined CGI and practical effects in this film. It's always nice to see practical effects in a modern film.
Love the bridge scene, as a player and DM I can see what’s happening on the table.
Dm: okay as Xenk starts to explain I need you all to place your marker’s on the map.
Dm: Simon is that really where you’re going to stand?
Simon: yeah, why?
Dm: can you make a perception check?
Simon, I rolled a 3 and I have a +1 for a 4? I don’t see anything do I?
DM: can you make a dexterity check?
Simon: ah that’s a nat one, I’m dead aren’t I?
DM: in the middle of Xenk’s explaination you hear a loud rumbling and cracking noise as you see the bridge begin to collapse…
I heard they played a game of D&D to make it, and it doesn’t surprise me if it’s true. I do think some things were adjusted like trading a Druid’s other spells for a wider amount of options with Wild Shape (less rests needed for the chase and you can’t shift into an owlbear, but hey, it’s cool!) or taking away a bard’s spellcasting abilities, but it is a balanced team with it even poking fun at intelligence being the dump stat. It’s got the witty banter, the DM being exasperated at our stupidity and giving a Deus Ex Machina, and just fun all around. It showed off what a D&D campaign is all about: fun while being easy to understand for people like me who’ve played, but not experts.
Solid movie overall, and diehard fans have called it a love letter to the franchise. As a casual, it’s great and good to see people got a glimpse of what these sessions feel like.
Wild Shape has a limited number of uses per day so you want to hold out using it until you must. When Doric infiltrated the castle I think that she pushed her ability to its limit.
Since we don’t see her casting spells, I feel like the “DM” allowed her to burn spell slots for Wild Shapes, kind of like Paladin Smites.
@@Herpestidae She has 5/day use of wildshape on her official stat block. So i a asume it is by burning spell slots
such an underrated film for 2023 , needs to be talked about more
Dungeons and Dragons very amazing movie.
Ive been playing dnd and other games like it for almost 40 years. This movie nails the vibe. It's fun and funny but also heartfelt and earnest. Love it.
No FREAKIN WAY you’re doing _Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves._ YES!! YES!!! ⚔️🧙🏼♂️🐉
Thank You so much for finally reacting to this long requested movie and worth mentioning this is your first non Science Fiction film reaction in 7-8 months which is a "palate cleanser” considering as much as I enjoy your Science Fiction reactions it’s always good to see you branch out and reacting to movies of other genres outside of Science Fiction such as those of the Action-Adventure genre, the Horror, Fantasy, Drama and Comedy genres just so the reactions can be new and fresh and looking forward on the next films you’ll be doing after _Dungeons & Dragons_
0:30
the "drama" was that Wizards Of The Coast (the firm that publishes D&D) wanted to tax/copyright/claim all the D&D-related fan productions running under their book.
books and merch are sold as a finished product, and anything that stems from that is free (Open Game License, or OGL). In order to properly host a D&D game, you'd need the rule book, the monster manual, the player's handbook, character sheets, etc... all of which they sell, and also charge for usage of their website where players and GMs can keep their data of characters and stories.
as buyers of these products, players and GMs will get updates on rules and storylines for free.
WOTC wanted to cancel the OGL and charge revenue for usage of their product and any original creation OFF those products.... so, the same way you can't make a superhero movie featuring Superman or Spiderman because they're copyrighted, you couldn't make a D&D-based production set in the D&D realm, naming famous NPC, or featuring known locations.
in short, a textbook grade-A dick move.
One of the things that I massively appreciate about this movie is that they actually ran the cast through a D&D game. Got them all together, and had them play D&D. One of the huge things that it did was to help them understand that, unlike Hollywood movies, no one is the hero who can do it all. A D&D party is all about each character having their own strengths and working together to accomplish the end goal. Yes, Chris Pine is the 'face man' of the group, but he's a bard. That's kind of what they do (though, they do also have spellcasting abilities). And yes, it's his mission that they are working towards, but... it's more like they're working to fix his huge mistake, which just... also happens to threaten the people of Neverwinter.
As Simon said he countered the time stop, they faked it to distract her ''so that Kira could slap that cuff on'' Edgin literally said it as you were saying it.
I really like the little detail of Xenk making the point that it was also bad for the wife to be brought back after so long. It's not just the Ed needs to let go or that his wife isn't Kyra's mother. She herself is better off this way.
For non players it’s worth noting enough people have come back to life and/or talked to gods to confirm that there is an afterlife for the soul. There is no mystery, nothing just on faith. The next world is fact.
@@kagato23 Added to that, a standard Resurrection (next to being very expensive) will flat out fail if the person resurrected doesn't want to come back.
That's not necessarily true, though. First of all, they don't know what kind of new life she's living. She might be over there missing her family. Xenk's assumption she's better off in the Outer Planes is just as baseless as Edgin's assumption she'd be better off in the Prime Material. Possibly _more_ baseless, since they do at least have evidence she was enjoying the Prime Material, whereas they have no evidence whatsoever about whether she enjoys the Outer Planes.
Second of all, a Tablet of Reawakening just casts a more powerful version of True Resurrection. It can get past the Red Wizard's blade, but there is no indication that it bypasses the requirement that the soul must be _willing_ to return. So if she didn't want to come back, _she could just not come back._
And even if you assume the Tablet of Resurrection yanks people back whether they're willing or not, if they resurrected her and she decided she was better off in her afterlife after all - she could just die again. (I'm not clear on how suicide affects your afterlife options in D&D, but if necessary I'm sure she could figure out a way to do it that wouldn't count as suicide.) She would have a choice. Whereas she doesn't have a choice now.
Xenk's argument and the "you have to let it go" flashback was nothing but a stupid cliché which shouldn't have been in the movie. (We didn't need it; the argument about how the quest was taking him away from his daughter, and how it was really for him and not for her, was more than enough, and a way better message!)
Between this and Baldur's Gate 3 DnD had a good year... Seriously tho this movie has the tone of a real tabletop session, where everyone is taking the plot serious but still talks like players do between themselves, if that makes sense.
D&D's Dimension Door spell (basically what the Hither Thither staff casts) has been around decades longer than Portal lol. They just based an entire game on the concept of a single D&D spell.
The part where Edgin give his daughter the mittens is even funnier when you realize the lore of Neverwinter. Just North East of the city is a volcano that's home to a population of Fire Elementals (you can actually see it at 8:56). Near said volcano is a river that's super heated by these Fire Elementals to a point where it never freezes over in the winter and carries that heated water all the way down through Neverwinter, keeping it warm all year long hence why it's called Neverwinter.
I've only played a little DnD, listened to a bunch of play. This movie feels like people playing through it. The bridge scene is exactly like when a DM spends weeks writing a complex puzzle only for the players to immediately mess it up. Yes, it's not the most in-depth, complex written story, but I feel if it was made with more intricacies, then it would lose the feeling of people playing the game.
That’s awesome!!
It's nice that Simon needing confidence isn't even only a cliche at this point, it's also quite literally what he needs, Sorcerers spellcasting ability is Charisma, which includes self confidence, no charisma: sorc spells miss
Also, another nice touch is the intellect devourers had a reason to ignore them too, jokes asides, none of the classes there use high int, barbarian (Strength), bard (charisma), sorcerer (charisma), druid (wisdom), paladin (charisma)
As a 40 yr DnD player, I love that I could see the call outs, name the spells, know the monsters. Yet I agree that they didn't hit you, as non players, over the head with things. I LOVED it! Also, seeing you're watching Warcraft soon, so many WoW players hated it...I'm a casual player since the beginning and I enjoyed it. Don't let the haters get you down if you end up enjoying it.
As a WoWhead I enjoyed Warcraft. I heard they changed some minor things, but I liked it for the MOVIE experience, while others were looking for the GAMING experience. Don't let the haters get you down.
They faked the time stop so Kira could slip on the cuff when Sofina thought she had won.
They literally spell it out.
Simon *specifically* says he countered her time stop and smirkingly remarks “ I got better” . 😂
I had no intention of going to see this movie. But my friends wanted to go and I thought “whatever”
I’ll admit I actually had a great time and enjoyed the movie
"He doesn't have a nose. Of course he's bad"
Meanwhile Voldemort watching like
"MAH MAN!!!"
This film blew my expectations and without a doubt one of the best "never judge a book by its cover” films. Even prior to the film’s release I initially had my reservations that critics we’re going to panned this film considering other films based on Hasbro gaming properties such as _Battleship_ and _Ouija_ got mixed to negative reception, but surprisingly enough, critics and audiences loved it. Just the chemistry from the main cast including Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis were incredibly well done and the writing and comedy were magnificent.
Thanks for the reaction and if you plan on reacting to more fantasy films I recommend you react to _The Dark Crystal, Legend, Willow, Stardust,_ The _Percy Jackson_ films, _The BFG,_ and _The Witches (1990)._
Love me some Ill goten booty! That ensemble is awesome. Just a good group of characters.
Fun Fact: The other adventure party in the arena, the ones who make it to the cage are supposed to be the party from the 1980's Dungeons and Dragons cartoon
The prisoner who is brought in at the very beginning, and gets his knees broken backwards by Holga, isn't an orc. He was a Hobgoblin.
Meanwhile, what I think made this movie so enjoyable was the same thing in Young Frankenstein and Princess Bride - you can TELL they had so much fun just making the movie.
I've never played D&D but I do enjoy this movie a lot! and when I read players' comment about this movie, the movie get even more cooler for me! They balance the content for both player and non-player really well
DM's script during the Themberchaud encounter:
"OH LAWD HE COMIN'!"
No one seems to have mentioned this, but one of the best Easter eggs was that one of the parties during the maze bit was the group from the 80's cartoon series Dungeons and Dragons. Have a watch of the cartoon, you'll find clips on RUclips, you'll see what I'm talking about. It's a totally casual reference that pretty much only old people and die hard DnD fans will get (I'm both 😅).
Paramount even showcased the connection with a short trailer on their RUclips channel.
I don’t play D&D but this was one of the biggest surprises of this year and I wasn’t expecting it to be good.
They are definitely based on stereotypes of d&d characters. Bards are music people who sing songs and basically cheer on the other members of the group. Barbarians are straight forward fighters who literally can make anything they want into a weapon. Paladins are goody goody dudes who are nicknamed "lawful boring" and they are exactly the way Xenk is portrayed in this movie. The movie does a really good job of paying respect to the game and history and lore of D&D. Also they faked being frozen so that she would monologue and let her guard down.
As a D&D player, the thing I loved most about this wasn't the references to the lore of D&D but to just the way people play. Things like 'Jarnathan' is 100% the kind of name someone would come up with when put on the spot, and the paladin showing up and giving all the mission critical information and just being way too amazing at everything then leaving is a DMPC(Character controlled by the guy running the game) is a trope for a reason. Even something like the bridge collapsing and suddenly an item that didn't matter before suddenly being a solution to get the players out of something stupid is perfect.
You guys mentioned a sequel at your discussion at the end, I think my dream for it would be to be a different story with the same actors all playing different characters like it was the next campaign.
That sequel idea is so fun!
Even though it looks like Edgin contributed very little in combat, he is casting spells using his words. Him saying "we got 'em now" while trying to cut his bonds is a classic use of Bardic Inspiration. Viscious Mockery, Charm Person, Inspiring Leader... the list goes on.
Fun fact, in my current DnD game, it takes place in the Underdark and our party is poised to have a battle with Themberchaud himself at the behest of his handlers for the city he resides in, Gracklstug, as if he becomes too powerful without being culled and replaced, he will subjugate the city.
Fun fact: Xenk Yendar the Paladin kept walking in a straight line because the actor Regé-Jean Page couldn't hear the director say stop. The director thought it was so funny he kept walking that he decided to keep it in
I have never been a DnD fan, I played a few times with my husband. But this movie really I really enjoyed. The way they did the characters and setting for people who didn't know much about it was fantastic. And Chris Pine is hilarious.
it seems like it was made for people who dont like dnd.
i'm an avid dnd player and i hated it. with all my heart.
it shat on everything dnd is, and everything dnd should be.
The funniest part about Edgin (Chris Pine) making mittens for Kira is that she lives in Neverwinter, she would never need them
It would be fun to see you guys have a campaign together.
24:46 Black Dragons, among the cruellest and most vicious of chromatic dragons, have an acidic breath weapon.
Yes, the people behind this movie worked their asses off to get as much right as possible. Except the Owlbear thing. Pretty sure that was a marketing decision.
50:02 The signature ability of the Displacer Beast is to create a false image of its own whereabouts, making it very difficult to hit reliably. A magic cloak can be made from its hide that has these same properties.
50:24 If you hold onto a Mimic, it holds onto you. The surface of a Mimic's skin has a powerful adhesive to aid in catching its prey.
A fun lore bit about the Gelatinous Cube is that, if it hasn't fed in a while, it's almost completely invisible. Hence the poor guy tripping right into it.
One of the qualities of the Beckoning Death is that you have to actually look at it to be affected by the area of effect it causes. So by dropping the gold on the opposite side from Sophina, the attention that would have been on Sophina was drawn away. The other effect of dropping the gold is that the people would have been drawn out of the thirty foot radius. The reason it was so effective in Thay was because Ssazz Tam was the Lich who created the horn and no one had ever seen it's like or knew how to escape or that they needed to escape. By the time anyone realised it was too late. That's why Xenk survived though, he both didn't look at the horn and he wasn't in the cloud.
As a DnD player, I thoroughly enjoy how accurate they are with the lore of the Forgotten Realms. The thing at the beginning is a Hobgoblin.
Also, the pudgy dragon is a canon character.
“Rockie Talkies!” just made my day, thanks
As someone who plays dnd regularly this movie really did make me happy. It is so good and really is a good representation of what a dnd party is like. The Chaos and dumb choices, not everything working perfectly is just amazing. I would love a tv show like this. I just love the begining because acting before knowing the truth, like jumping out of a window before hearing that they were pardoned is so funny and realistic to dnd.
Rocky-talkies. Another "Deus Rex Machina" moment brought to you by Stella.
1000%
@@whitenoisereacts Though I have to express my disappointment that no said "Mini Cooper!" during the scene when Holga went to see her ex.
I have been playing D&D for over 20 years and this movie felt like a game with friends, around the table with snacks, drinks and jokes.
The Intellect Devourer part was genius. What we have here are a Sorceror, Druid, Bard, Warrior/Barbarian and a Paladin. Their job core attributes are Charisma, Wisdom, and Strength/Constitution amongst themselves. Intelligence is likely the dump-stat :D
One of the best fantasy adventures in a very long time. A fairly wholesome vibe, as you said, that was big without trying to be too epic. I took a friend who knew almost nothing about D&D, and he loved it and didn’t feel lost. As a long-time D&D player, there was even more to love here. It captured the vibe so well, while still telling a stand-alone story.
Honestly I think the special effects are some of the best in this day and age, better than what Marvel has been giving us. The practical effects were complex and tactile, and I don’t mind a little stiffness because that just makes them seem more real than weightless CGI.
I adore this movie. You can even look at it like you were playing a game of D&D.
People telling their lore and backstories while having fun and doing dumb things to save the world.
This movie was a great one in a long while. The humour, the feels, CGI and everything. My most favourite part was that 'one shot' where Druic was switching into different animals escaping.
Also Xenk is the most NPC of all NPC characters ever giving the side quest
loved how they added the original cartoon characters in the maze scene
me too !!
I'd forgotten that they had been filming locally at Alnwick Castle (where broomstick training and a few other Harry Potter scenes were filmed) until I saw this at the cinema and recognised it straight away 🙂
I had a blast watching this movie. It's just pure fun fantasy adventure, the likes of which you don't really get anymore at this scale. It sucks that it didn't make a lot of money at the box office as I would have loved another adventure with this cast and crew.
You all looked like you had a lot of fun with it. Loved the reaction.
As an MD in France, I loved this version. What's more, the armour is useful !!!! when I see "historical" films with "paper" armour that even a dagger can pierce, I'm blown away!
7:48 that's my favorite bts i saw before watching the movie. A real Jarnathan head made to be worn by an actor, capable of blinking and opening/closing mouth, kinda like a puppet but as head.
Zenk is my favourite because he’s almost exactly the same type of classic unwaveringly lawful good paladin I can’t help but love
I played D&D in the 70's before "advanced" D&D came out, aka 1st edition, and read a lot of the campaigns and even novels of the early D&D universe. It has changed a lot! There's always been a wink to the whole enterprise, or a sense of mischeviousness, if you will. But basically, now it is so vast you can find almost any story line imaginable within D&D.
Never played d&d, saw this movie by default one evening and it's still one of the happiest movie watching accidents I've experienced. Would love to watch a sequel to this movie.
Looove the reaction! But here to comment that Stella's bangs are AMAZING!!!! It suits you so well! And Haley's lipstick???? yes.
I. Love. This movie! It’s very simple and cheesy but also complicated hilarious and heartfelt which is just the perfect encapsulation of playing the game with friends. You can feel they roll as the story goes on and I just love themmmm.
Baldur's Gate 3 is the new video game, based on 5th Edition D&D, no spoilers, but part of it's high popularity is that it is a "complete" D&D transfer of rules into the video game. Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 came out about 20 years ago and are fairly hard games based on previous rules sets. They are set in one of many D&D worlds, called Faerun, and a major city is called Baldur's Gate, another is Waterdeep, etc.
Y’all need to see the bloopers to this movie. Just great stuff :)
IMO this Movie was EXCELLENT! I'm not a D&D player, played some of it when I was about 11 years old. I think they did a great movie. Very underrated! Also I like your reactions!
1:30 dude - friendship is amazing lmao 😂❤ I miss the Discord chats with mine
As a D&D player this is how our games usually went half lord of the rings and half monty pythons holy grail
Remember: Boobytrap spelled Backwatds is... *PARTYBOOB!*
An interesting thing is that if you run to the side, what is pursuing you simply shifts course and is not going to intercept you on the hypotenuse of a right triangle. That is why nobody runs to the side. If you run straight ahead, you do not have to be faster than your pursuer, you just have to be faster than any other prey.
Am I the only one who would love to see these 4 play a DnD campaign. I think they'd have so much fun, and be so entertaining
One of the teams in the tournament was a call back to the original 1980s cartoon of Dungeons & Dragons, all the characters are there
Really enjoyed this movie and enjoyed your watching it. This was the D&D movie that fans and players of the game have been waiting for literally for decades! It was SO well done. Granted Wizards of the Coast's debacle just before this movie came out where they pretty much screwed over creators of content for the game, did not help its box office viewership as many were/are boycotting the game now. Interesting side note the group of characters in the arena that find the box of weapons and then get trapped in the cage, were real life representations of the beloved characters from the old Dungeons and Dragons cartoon series (might be worth doing a reaction review of at some point). Also loved that you reacted to this one with Stella and Hayley!
I'm a d&d nerd and went to see this with another d&d nerd. It missed no beats. PS, in our game, we call the sending stones either trackstones or istones depending on their quality.
Themberchaud is an actual dragon in D&D lore... created by Gary Gygax himself! He got the idea for it in a campaign he was running when he saw a fat cat - his or a friend's - trying to hop up on a table and not making it... hind feet dangling off!
You didn’t notice the Avengers homage Doric as owlbear smashing Sofina into the ground was reminiscent of Hulk basically doing the exact same thing to Loki!