I was really happy to be able to watch this movie some weeks before it was due to come out at the cinema, thanks to Cineworld putting on a secret unlimited showing that turned out to be this movie.
Having watched two of the previous live action Dungeons and Dragons movies, I was really excited to see this movie as well and on the whole, I really did enjoy it. The movie didn’t take itself too seriously and there were a lot of really good moments of humour in this…and there were serious aspects, too, along with a lot of good character growth.
I have to say, the storyline wasn’t entirely what I’d expected when I saw the trailer originally. I’d expected the movie to be more focused around Sofina and the threat from the Red Wizards of Thay, especially after Edgin reveals his own personal experience with the Red Wizards. However, the real plot revolved around the betrayal of someone who’d once been a friend and Edgin trying to get his daughter back from her ‘Uncle Forge’.
Getting to see different parts of the world and history of Dungeons & Dragons in this movie was really good. Thanks to Xenk’s character, I had the chance to learn a bit more about the people of Thay, who just about everyone claimed were the bad guys. I was disappointed that Xenk didn’t have more of a role to play in this movie, as I felt he would have had some really interesting interactions with the main characters…especially with Edgin, whose personal history with the Thay caused a lot of conflicts between them.
I really liked the character development and the interactions between the main group, but something about the history between Simon and Doric didn’t really ring true. Of course, it could have just been that Doric had a lot more on her mind than remembering someone who’d tried to court her once…especially as she apparently said that Simon made her feel sad.
Holga was a great character, but Michelle Rodriguez definitely gets type cast to the tough woman character. I did like her close relationship to Kira, though. It added a nice touch to her character, making her come across as more than the stereotypical fighter. She did have a romance prior to the events of the movie, but although I did get to see her interact with him, I don’t think it added nearly as much to her character as her relationship with Kira did.
I especially liked the scene where Simon has to make use of his coin to bring the dead back to life and the first attempt at asking five questions fails miserably, due to accidental wording. I honestly feel like I would have done something similar, wasting my five questions by asking questions I didn’t intend to ask. Then again, the coin could be used multiple times, so the failure didn’t really set the group back at all.
On the whole, this movie was a lot of fun to watch. There were some really nice moments in it and the characters worked really well together. It would have been good to have more of the wider threat shown, that had been indicated in the trailer, but the characters might not have had such strong development if that route had been taken.
This is a movie I’d enjoy watching again, as it was really good to see more of the wider world and there were some great moments of humour. If you enjoy fantasy that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but still has great character relationships and development, I would recommend this movie as one to watch.
Ink of Blood 