Not all films that are successful at the box office are good, and it would also be a mistake to dismiss those that do not perform as well as their production company expected. To this last group belongs ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor among thieves’, a sensational adventure film that played in theaters -it cost 150 million and only raised 208- and now has a second chance to recover the investment.
Since Thursday, June 22, various editions have been on sale in Spain in Physical format of ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ and now it’s time to review the most coveted of them all. I mean the steelbook which goes on sale with a recommended price of 31.99 euros and includes a copy of the film on blu-ray and another in UHD.
In the purely audiovisual, the 4K version is dazzling and knows how to take advantage of the strong investment made to make it look visually. It’s not a reference edition, but it does amply meet to leave the feeling of a job well done. Of course, in terms of sound, it may disappoint lovers of watching dubbed films a bit, since in Spanish it only includes a track in Dolby Digital 5.1, while in English they clearly raise the level to Dolby Atmos. Come on, the original version wins by a landslide.
the steelbook
For steelbook design the first promotional poster of the film has been used as a reference. A sober and elegant choice but one that perhaps suffers from a certain lack of visual force, since it is evident that the design of the cardboard box of the 4K collector’s edition is much more striking to the eye. All in all, I don’t have any problem with the chosen image, at least on the front, since the back cover does look a little duller.
That feeling is more evident when you open the steelbook and check the contrast between what we see in front and what appears behind.
For its part, the side, which is what will really be seen if you later store the steelbook on the shelf with the rest of the titles instead of giving it a special place in your collection, is exactly what I expected. The title with Dungeons & Dragons standing out above the restwhile the Paramount logo is included at the top.
Once you open them, the discs are included on the right side and it is appreciated that an image with the five heroes heading to the adventure is included for the background instead of leaving it empty, something that has happened with some steelbooks. It is also a design in line with the front image of this metal case.
additional content
Both the blu-ray disc and the UHD disc include additional content, all of which are presented in HD quality, but the 4k version includes three short documentaries exclusively:
- ‘Fantastic Enemies’ (7:03) focuses on the main villains of the series, more specifically Sofina, the red mage from Thay played by Daisy Head, and Forge, a character played by Hugh Grant that the actor himself defines here as “a disgusting pushover“.
- ‘the bestiary’ (9:21) is a review of all the creatures that appear in the film, commenting that ‘Jurassic Park’ was one of the sources of inspiration and how those most responsible for the film delved deeply into the mythology of this universe at the time to select which ones should appear yes or yes.
- ‘Forge of Forgotten Realms’ (8:07) investigates the sources of inspiration when creating the different scenarios that appear on the screen, also revealing that the same place that served as Hogwarts in the ‘Harry Potter’ saga was used but trying not to notice what most minimal.
Both the blu-ray and the UHD three other short documentaries titled ‘From dice to dragons’ (11:15), in which the directors and cast discuss the importance and hook of the Dungeons & Dragons universe, ‘Rogues Gallery: Heroes of Dungeons & Dragons’ (11:24), where the five heroes played by Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis and Regé-Jean Page are reviewed, and ‘Swords, axes and cool fights’ (8:40), where they talk about all the weapons used in the film -they comment that between 600 and 800 were created- and the great dedication shown by Rordriguez and Page in the combat scenes.
In addition, a fun video of Outtakes (6:51) in which it can be seen that the actors had a fabulous time shooting the film -a feeling that is also transmitted throughout the documentary pieces- and a selection of Deleted and extended scenes (10:35). In total there are six, five extended and only one, in which a group of idiots make fun of Holga, really new. Also, more than 6 minutes are dedicated to a single extended scene that ends up being a bit heavy.
final impressions
It’s not that the ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ steelbook is one of the best in my collection, but I am glad that it is attractive and that the film has had an edition to the height from the fact that it is one of the best titles to be released in theaters throughout 2023.
In addition, the extras are generous and are in line with the tone of the film itself, although it does I miss an audio commentary by writer-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein to delve even deeper into a film that was called to start a great film franchise but that, barring a miracle, I am very afraid that it would not happen from here. At least it is a closed adventure that can be perfectly enjoyed like this and will not leave you with the feeling that it is designed more to sell us what should come next than the great entertainment that is offered here.
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