Famous Roots
Almost all fantasy films and series have some literary source, which makes quite a lot of sense. Screenwriters don't have to invent new complicated worlds. In addition, book fantasy is quite a popular genre and some works have almost a cult status.
This makes it possible to attract many more fans to the cinemas than in the case of a hastily invented story.
Dungeons & Dragons also has a strong brand behind it, but not literary, but gaming. It's a tabletop game of heroes, where players together create a fictional world according to fixed rules, in which they then experience all sorts of adventures.
The story and everything around it are generated by so-called Dungeon Masters, while regular players create their own characters. They have certain initial characteristics, such as charisma, strength, or intelligence.
Almost all game situations are solved by special dice, which decide on the success or failure of a given action.
However, the film Dungeons & Dragons does not talk about how a bunch of nerds play D&D in the evenings, but offers viewers the opportunity to peek into the world created by the Dungeon Master, in this case in the form of a screenwriter.
Fresh and Funny Piece
Unlike The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones, the latest film from the world of Dungeons & Dragons does not take itself too seriously. It's not outright comedy, but it's not far from it. The important thing is that the film runs at a pleasant pace and has very few dull moments.
The story somewhat unsurprisingly tells of a group of diverse heroes who have joined forces due to events to defeat the evil threatening the world.
The plot is quite simple, which is not at all detrimental. At least everything rushes at a frantic pace, at least from the second half of the film. The first one is also quite action-packed, but it would definitely stand a few more days in the editing room.
The main and secondary characters are written very well, especially their mutual dialogues.
The central role here was taken by Chris Pine, who we could see for example in the new Star Trek and it is definitely one of the big pluses of this film. In general, the casting in this case was quite successful. The only major flaw is the villain played by Hugh Grant, who is a bit annoying.