Could Dungeons and Dragons movie actually be good? Early reviews are positive.

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It’s not just the star power that fuels Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, but also the care with which each character appears to have been cast. Pine, whose signature swagger as Captain Kirk vaulted him into the Hollywood Chris Big Leagues, is undeniable here—reliably game, earnest when needed, and charismatic beyond all reason.

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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ Review: The Role-Playing Fantasy Game Becomes an Irresistible Mash-Up of Everything It Inspired

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There’s an intricacy to the staging of “Honor Among Thieves” that helps balance out the roller-coaster derivativeness of the plot. We go with it, even as we know we’re gorging on a succulent overdose of fantasy dessert. The gladiatorial battle inside a maze at the climax is sensationally well done, from the panther with Venus-flytrap tentacles to the treasure boxes along the way to the giant cubes of Jell-O that help save the day. The monster at the end? To me that was one demon too many. But no matter. “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” should be a major hit, because it knows how to tap into our nostalgia — not just for a game, but for the entire fantasy culture it helped to spawn. It’s the movie itself that’s role-playing.

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In the spirit of the game, Goldstein and Daley revel in the specificities of their world. They round out the personalities of their characters, pack their screenplay (written with Michael Gilio) with zingy one-liners and cleverly timed asides, and calibrate the action sequences so they rarely feel auxiliary to the narrative. A sense of play pulses through the film, which, with its bracing special effects, detailed production design and propulsive music, seems determined to activate viewer imaginations.

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