Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves!

Original image located here. Accessed 7th March 2025

Well I've been putting this one off long enough. I was reluctant to see this one as I still have the scars from seeing the previous efforts that bore the DnD brand. But I did hear that this latest one was actually really good. Certainly that sounds like an against the odds victory but it was enough to grab my interest.

I guess comparisons with the Guardians of the Galaxy movies are hard to avoid: It's not just the idea of taking an IP that shouldn't work and actually making it work - it's also ramping up the comedy, presenting absurd situation after absurd situation, and having an group of personalities bouncing off one another. However it is the latter that should make this a natural fit as that's what a DnD session is: Multiple players working off on another as they build a narrative. 
And the makers behind this realised this and ran with it. And that I found myself enjoying this a lot confirms the wiseness of such a decision. Certainly I could see various instances that hint towards the mechanics and spirit of DnD but the whole thing was delivered with humour, cast interplay, creativity and action that anyone not familiar with this tentpole of geekiness could get on board. 
Also props to Hugh Grant who looks like he was having a lot of fun. 

The Suicide Squad

And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Suicide Squad!

Original image located here. Accessed 20th August 2021

I've never seen the original Suicide Squad - in all honesty, the backlash it received was enough to turn me off completely. But that places me in a position where I can judge this sequel/reboot on it's own terms and without any connection to it's predecessor.

Perhaps it is fitting that i should see James Gunn's earlier piece Super weeks prior because in a way, that movie is effectively a blueprint for this one. The only difference is, whereas Super is mean-spirited (even uncomfortably so) The Suicide Squad is less so. Sure it is loud, obnoxious, gory and has loads of profanity, but Gunn pulls the same trick he did with the Guardians of the Galaxy - that being taking characters that are lesser known, and hardly the type to be taken seriously, and making them work. And that certainly is a feat in itself. Sure Harley is the most recognizable face here (courtesy of the incomparable Margot Robbie) but the real stars are the rest of the Suicide Squad. Which is indeed saying something.
Obviously, the success of Guardians of the Galaxy netted Gunn the job of doing The Suicide Squad but for me, The Suicide Squad is clearly the work of someone who has been left off the leash and is going for it at full tilt.
So yeah, this movie was great and some truly demented fun.

So the big question now is what DC are going to do next. On one hand this movie, as well as Joker, proves that their movies can work well with the villains in mind - and that can't be underestimated.
But on the other hand, I have previously praised Shazam and Aquaman - and now, The Suicide Squad proves the notion that DC's movies can be successful if they take the characters that are either lesser known or not to be taken seriously and make them work.
Needless to say, it would be interesting to see what DC will take away from The Suicide Squad....

Guardians of the Galaxy vol.2

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Guardians of the Galaxy vol.2!

Original image located here. Accessed 5th May 2017

No way around it: This movie does face a challenge living up the original: A movie where Marvel took a risk dusting off a lesser-known property (among many other risks) and ending up striking gold. So how does the sequel hold up?
Well it may not have surprise of the original, but it still plays up to it's strengths: Witty dialogue, interesting locales and characters that play off each other.There certainly is plenty of room for some character development and, whilst this movie may certainly be buying some time until the Infinity War, one doesn't get that impression.
All in all, it's a decent film and a step up from previous Marvel sequels