Well, it kind of is a Marvel movie clone, mostly taking after Guardians of the Galaxy. The good news is that... well, the Guardians movies are not a bad thing to crib off. This is, like last year's Top Gun: Maverik, a fine example of a crowd-pleasing blockbuster done exactly right, with so much love and care lavished on everything from the script on up that it's all but impossible to begrudge it anything. It's about as light as an entertainment as it could be, studiously avoiding anything that may possibly cause anyone offense, but that's hard to fault when the result is so effortlessly charming.
Directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who also wrote the script (along with Michael Gilio,) have a deep love for the game, and it shows; The story they crafted may be a bit too good, too clever, too scripted to accurately portray a standard roleplaying scenario, but it showcases the appeal of these sort of stories extremely well. You can tell that they didn't just think about the characters in the story- I'm willing to bet they also have a pretty clear image of the fictional people who are playing those characters. It's also full of the sort of improvisation and weird tangents that make playing the game a joy.
But there are no metafiction shenanigans whatsoever here, unless you go looking for them. The movie tells the story of a band of rogues: charming bard Edgin (Chris Pine), burly barbarian Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), Simon the Sorcerer* (Justice Smith, who between this and the Jurassic Worlds is kind of getting typecast as an ineffectual nerd) and finally Doric the half-demon druid (Sophia Lillis).
Edgin and Holga start the movie imprisoned in the Forgotten Realm's northern reaches, D&D's most popular setting, and we get treated to some exposition as Edgin recounts how they were captured in a botched heist, betrayed by the person who hired them.
After a very funny escape they go back to their hometown and find that another previous companion has hit it big in a nearby city, and is now the guardian to Edgin's daughter. This companion, Forge, is played by none other than Hugh Grant, and... is it a spoiler to say he'll betray them and become one of the film's main villains? If so, spoiler warning! He'll betray them and become one of the film's main villains. Seriously, it's pretty obvious, since Grant is basically reprising his character from Paddington 2 (minus the acting fetish). He's in cahoots with the wizard that got Holga and Edgin imprisoned in the first place, and wants to keep Edgin's daughter, as (in a fantastic bit of petty villainy) he's grown a bit fond of her himself.
So that's where the film's central heist comes in, and before you can say 'you look like a trustworthy fellow!' Edgin fills out the party so he can steal his daughter back. What follows is... not necessarily predictable, as plans go awry and new complications are introduced.
The story zigs and zags, baking in a lot of comedy into the mix, but what impressed me the most was just how clever and varied the action is (which includes a little, but not much actual combat; another way the movie differs from your standard D&D session.)
It does have some really corny jokes (part and parcel of the Marvel style it perpetuates), but even when it, for example, makes the obvious joke of huge Holga being really into little people (hobbits, basically), it quickly moves past that obvious bit of silliness to find a softer, more humanistic thing to say about her character. This is way better written and conceptualized than its most obvious inspirations - much as I like James Gunn's creations, their plots are not this intricate or well formed.
The action -both combat and otherwise- is great- fun, funny, and clearly shot. The movie won't win any awards for visual excellence (other than the effects, which are varied, pretty damn good, and with a great eye towards the ridiculous), but it conveys its outlandish and often complex ideas effortlessly and has the time to drop in a lot of cool little flourishes: the movie is fond of overhead shots, for example, making the characters seem like miniatures on a battle map. There's a ton of fan-service, but it's all in service of jokes or the story, so it doesn't stick out. And as a fan of monsters in general, and D&D's monster manuals in particular, I couldn't find it in me to resent it anyhow; So many beasties.
The characters are all great and fun to hang around. Everyone is game, playing pretty much to type but doing it well, and supporting the tone expertly. It's... it's just an all-round ludicrously entertaining movie, a cotton-candy confection that's a tiny bit insubstantial but sweet as all hell and fills its two hours and something with an amazing amount of fantastic locales, beasts, and story.
I have no idea what the film's (deserved!) success bodes. A Forgotten Realms cinematic universe? A Dark Sun or Ravenloft series on HBO? Shadowrun or Exalted getting their own movies? There may come a time to bemoan the long tail this movie is sure to have. But for now, let's celebrate its unlikely brilliance.
*: Yes, seriously.
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