7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers embark on an epic quest to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.
Starring: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia LillisAction | 100% |
Adventure | 97% |
Fantasy | 68% |
Comic book | 54% |
Heist | 5% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
I have never seen Dungeons & Dragons played, but I have a good friend who is obsessive about the game. He spent untold amounts of money converting part of a shop next to his house into a full-fledged play area. He crafted walls made of stone, hung electric lanterns that give the appearance of flame, lit the play area from above, built a massive wooden table that looks straight of the Middle Ages, and has committed countless hours of his life to building play area models, painstakingly painting figures, and of course gathering friends and fellow Dungeons & Dragons players for lengthy sessions of the narrative-driven adventure. Indeed, Dungeons & Dragons fans take their gaming very seriously, which makes it something of a surprise that this 2023 film adaptation takes a decidedly lighter tone and approach to the material. From Directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, Dungeons & Dragons builds an adventure worthy of the name, though whether it will completely satisfy longtime payers of the ever-popular game I cannot say. As escapist cinema, however, it's not at all bad, even if it's overlong.
Paramount releases Dungeons & Dragons to Blu-ray with a highly efficient and very satisfying 1080p transfer. The picture quality is just about perfect, with obvious noise near zero and distracting noise at zero. The image also free of any compression blemishes, making for a clean, clear, and oftentimes radiant transfer. Details are precise and pristine, offering complexities to faces and period attire with significant clarity and resounding tactile efficiency. Locations, both natural and manmade, provide plenty of opportunity for visual immersion. Viewers will never be left wanting greater definition any part of the movie, and even various digitally crafted creatures and corpses present with striking clarity and seamless integration into the screen. Colors are vivid and robust throughout a naturally inclined palette. Temperature and contrast appear neutral, offering exceptional lifelike realism to natural greens, skin tones, and other assorted hues throughout the film. Black level depth is first-rate and whites are satisfyingly brilliant. This is just about as good as 1080p Blu-ray gets in 2023.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves features a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, the same that is found on the corresponding UHD release. The track is solid, if not a bit unremarkable. It's certainly not a thunderous, bass-y track, favoring more subtle low-end cues rather than overpowering boom and depth. The same may be said of overhead and surround content: present, but at reference volume not presenting with the sort of prominent swoosh and swish one might expect. Still, clarity is very good to all elements, and surrounds are utilized extensively, just not with high intensity or volume. Musical definition is first-rate, action elements are clear and discrete, and dialogue is front-centered and well prioritized for the duration. The track commendably handles the material, but listeners might find it just a bit lacking in overall high-volume intensity for this style of movie.
This Blu-ray release of Dungeons & Dragons includes several extras. No DVD copy is included, but Paramount has bundled in a digital copy
code.
Dungeons & Dragons isn't going to capture the imagination and create a new generation of rapid Fantasy fans, and probably not do much for sales of the classic tabletop game on which it is based, but it should satisfy genre moviegoers in search of the latest and, visually, one of the greatest of these types of films. It's enthusiastically made on both sides of the camera and overcomes overlength with confidence and zeal for the material. Paramount's Blu-ray features tip-top 1080p video, solid Atmos audio, and a decent smattering of bonuses. Recommended.
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