Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

Edgin (Chris Pine) and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), incarcerated in a prison in the icy wastes of the Forgotten Realms, have a parole hearing.  Edgin spins a tale of how the pair arrived and why they should be released.  However, before a decision is made, he and Holga make good their escape.  The fugitives make their way to the city of Neverwinter to reconnect with Forge (Hugh Grant) and Kira, Edgin's teenaged daughter.  Not only does it turn out that Forge arranged their capture in the failed heist, he has also turned Kira against her father.  Edgin and Holga narrowly escape Neverwinter and must now plot how to turn the tables on Forge.  This involves a series of overcomplex plans and a variety of new allies and wondrous magic items.  Firstly, there is Simon (Justice Smith) the self-doubting sorcerer who, though immensely powerful, repeatedly fumbles his magic in embarrassing ways.  Then there is Doric the tiefling druid (Sophia Lillis), who has joined the cause of the elves against those who seek to chop down their forests.  Xenk Yendar (Rege-Jean Page) is a paladin who briefly joins the heroes on a quest through the underdark where they battle the undead, countless traps, and the most rotund dragon one can imagine.

Entertaining in its parts, it is too ambitious in its story.  Rather than establishing a setting and introducing a few characters, the movie never misses an opportunity to always expand the scope.  Oh, look at the pair of rust monsters fighting over a piece of metal.  Look at the intellect devourers.  Hey, there are some cat people.  Let's not forget to include some half-dragons.  Wouldn't it be funny if the barbarian woman had a halfling boyfriend?  Let's do that and make him hilariously small.  The 'hero' of the story, Edgin, is mostly hapless.  Though often in the center of the action, he is never the one who saves the day or defeats the villain.  Simon's spells, Doric's wildshape, or Holga's axe does all the work, while Edgin blathers.

The character classes are not what one expects.  Clearly, Edgin is meant to be a bard.  He was a member of the Harpers' Guild and carries a lute.  However, he has no magic.  The closest he gets to the typical bard role is when he declares his confidence that Simon can do what needs to be done.  Yeah, look at that morale boosting!  Doric is a druid who has only wildshape, but no spells.  Her wildshape is that of a very high level druid, but she never tries an entangle spell or summon nature's ally.  It's all wildshape or her ludicrous wrist-mounted slingshot.  Holga has the look of a barbarian, but she never loses her temper to trigger a berserk rage.

It's a lot of fun and generally a good movie.  There was a lot of room for improvement, but it is still recommended.  Good popcorn fun!

The Gentleman (2019)

Guy Ritchie's latest movie is a return to form, fitting with such great films as Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.  Mickey (Matthew McConaughey) is an American who came to England as a Rhodes Scholar.  While attending university, he found he had a talent for selling marijuana and turned it into a business.  Thanks to his high-end education, he has connections among the gentry.  However, at this late date, he is ready to leave the business, sellout and retire with his lovely wife, Rosalind (Michelle Dockery).  However, his plans to sell, interpreted as weakness, draw competitors to challenge him.

Much of the story is shown as a narration from Fletcher (Hugh Grant) as he spends the evening with Ray (Charlie Hunnam).  Fletcher is a reporter while Ray is Mickey's top fixer.  Fletcher has been following Mickey and discovering all sorts of secrets, which he reveals to Ray.  He wants to be bought off.  Failure to pay will mean he publishes a disastrous expose.  It looks very bad for Mickey.

The casting is terrific.  McConaughey is much more hard edged than his usual.  There is very little of his usual easy-going charm.  Michelle Dockery is very different from her most famous role as Lady Mary of Downton Abbey.  She curses like a sailor and speaks with a more working class accent.  Charlie Hunnam, who has had a rocky career in movies, is a perfect sidekick.  He's a straight man to Hugh Grant.  Hugh is very cheeky and full of himself.  Though he knows the doings of everyone, he only interacts with Hunnam and the banter is great fun.  Henry Golding, who I've only seen as a romantic lead (e.g. Crazy Rich Asians, A Simple Favor), offers a very different character.  He's an up and comer with delusions of grandeur.  A supremely confident naif.  Although I don't generally like Colin Farrell, he proves to be a great side character.  Having abandoned his pretty-boy looks, he is a good man who finds himself indebted to criminals but never corrupted by them.  He is the most admirable character in the movie though that is a low bar among this crowd.

As Fletcher is not always a reliable narrator, the story is sometime not quite true to the events.  Also, the story is often told out of order.  This is standard Ritchie and done well.  Great movie.  Go see it.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E

Our story opens with Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) crossing from West Berlin to East Berlin in 1963.  He seeks to convince Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander) to defect and help him locate her missing father, a Nazi scientist who had been working for the United States until his disappearance two years ago.  Though she agrees, the pair are immediately pursued by Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer), a top KGB agent.  The two prove well-matched but it is Solo who wins by getting Gaby to West Berlin.  The following day, Solo and Kuryakin are shocked to discover that they have been made partners in order to prevent a nuclear weapon from being developed by a criminal organization.  Gaby's missing father is believed to be involved, so Gaby will go with them to help ferret him out.  The original series never explained how it was formed or the first meeting between Napoleon and Illya; this movie fills that gap.

 

I only saw one episode of the original series and it was no where near as funny as this.  Solo and Kuryakin have a very adversarial relationship that provides many opportunities for laughs.  However, as the movie progresses, the two clearly develop respect for each other.  The movie often plays for laughs in other ways too.  Solo is clearly the suave agent with gift for seduction and Gaby has already started to like him.  Thus, it is funny when she is instead paired with Illya, who will play her fiancée.  Illya is much less comfortable around women and such is played to the hilt with Gaby.

 

The movie ends with Alexander Waverley (Hugh Grant) of British Intelligence putting together a special team for a new agency, the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement (UNCLE).  There is clearly room for a sequel.  Though I liked the movie and give it a thumbs up, the box office looks insufficient to deserve a sequel.