After raking in $38.5 million in its opening weekend of March 31, the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) movie showed up ready to fight for table-top game lovers everywhere. The movie “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” has currently made a total of $123.5 million at the box office. 

The film has a cast of characters including Chris Pine as Edgin Darvis, the fast talking charismatic bard of the group. He is played off of by Michelle Rodriguez who plays Holga Gilgore the brawn barbarian. They are joined by druid Doric played by Sophia Lillis and sorcerer Simon Aumar played by Justice Smith. Other characters include the rogue Forge Fitzwilliam played by Hugh Grant, paladin Xenk Yendar played by Regé-Jean Page and wizard Sofina played by Daisy Head.

All these characters might seem like a lot for a first movie into the universe of D&D, but the movie does a great job of dropping the audience into the world. The movie is a bit exposition heavy as an attempt to not leave those who are unfamiliar with the world behind. A great feature of the movie would be the practical effects. Multiple characters, sets and shots were done without computer-generated imagery (CGI). The lack of CGI gives the movie a feeling of reality in contrast to the fantastical setting.

Fans of table-top games and fantasy movies alike can enjoy a movie of adventure, humor and surprisingly, heart. As most D&D players know, there are a lot of goofs and gafs that can quickly turn very serious and dramatic in seconds when playing the game. One second is spent discussing the smell of fresh cut grass or an obsession over an aarakocra, bird person, named Jarnathan. Then, the next second the whole group is solemn over the death of a character, or revealed character trauma. This movie balances both elements of D&D, the action and hilarity versus the emotional and dramatic.