Dungeons And Dragons Takes Itself More Seriously Than The Trailers Let On
Contains spoilers for "Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves."
We all remember where we were when we first heard it.
The whirring of land speeders and the zap of lasers whizzing past Rey Skywalker and her fellow Resistance fighters as they rode across the sand, pursued by stormtroopers on sand bikes. The pursuers, without much preamble, suddenly launched themselves into the air. C-3P0 said it first; then Finn; then Poe Dameron: "They fly now!" "They fly now?" "They fly now!" Of all the thankless lines poor Oscar Isaac was forced to sell during his "Star Wars" tenure, those three words fall just slightly below "Somehow, Palpatine returned."
How did this moment end up not just in the film, but in a trailer designed to market it? The powers that be probably thought it was a fun scene — and they really wanted audiences to know "The Rise of Skywalker" would be fun. It wasn't.
It's worth recounting this moment in cinema history because arguably none other exists that so perfectly captures such a specific yet common feeling one gets from certain trailers. From Morbius claiming to be Venom as a weird joke to Barry Allen sputtering about brunch, these desperately cloying bits of comedy can all be joined and summarized under one phrase: "They fly now!"
As trailers began rolling in for "Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves," there was serious "They fly now!" energy — enough to make some fans afraid that the film would sacrifice the integrity of its source material and story in exchange for failed attempts at Twitter humor. However, we're here to tell you that despite the puzzling previews, "Honors Among Thieves" is surprisingly, thankfully earnest.
Honor Among Thieves balances humor and heart
In a delightful twist of fate that film historians will likely refer to as "The Reverse Quantumania," the humor-heavy "Honor Among Thieves" trailers hide a more serious movie. This isn't to say it takes itself as gravely as "Game of Thrones" or "Lord of the Rings," but that it isn't racing to point and laugh at itself in the way some may have expected. Early comparisons to "Guardians of the Galaxy" turned out to be well-founded, as both films manage to mine natural and successful comedy by wholeheartedly committing to their respective worlds.
The funniest moments of "Honor Among Thieves" don't appear in the trailers because they aren't one-liners or bits of banter that can be trimmed and shown out of context. Arguably, the best bit in the film involves Michelle Rodriguez's Holga and her estranged, halfling ex-boyfriend (played by an A-List actor we won't spoil here). There are moments in the scene that are uproariously funny, yet the characters are engaging in the interaction with the utmost sincerity. The end result is a bizarrely touching scene with a few great visual gags that also serve to deepen Holga's character.
For the most part, "Honor Among Thieves" maintains this relationship between comedy and fantasy drama, with the latter being a central priority. Suffice it to say, whether you're a hardcore "Dungeons & Dragons" fan hoping for a respectful adaptation or a newcomer just looking to have a good time in the theater, "Honor Among Thieves" is sure to please.