In recent years there’s been one question that film fans across the globe have found themselves debating over and over again. Which is the best Hollywood Chris? The competitors being Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Chris Pratt and Chris Pine.
Each has undeniable qualities that have made them so appealing to millions of viewers worldwide. But Dungeons And Dragons: Honor Among Thieves might just be the confirmation that the only correct answer to this quandary is Christopher Whitelaw Pine.
Warning: this review contains spoilers
Based on the beloved role-playing game, Pine stars as Edgin Davis, who after the murder of his wife raises his daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman) with his best friend Holga (Michelle Rodriguez). Alongside sorcerer Simon (Justice Smith) and con artist Forge (Hugh Grant), the group turn to a life of petty thievery.
When Forge turns on them, Edgin and Holga are sent to prison for two years. After they break free, they discover that Forge has become the Lord Of Neverwinter, thanks to the counsel of the evil Red Wizard Sofina (Daisy Head), and he’s decided to raise Kira as his own daughter.
To bring down Forge and get back his daughter, Edgin conjures up a plan to retrieve a lost relic that’ll revive his dead wife, but he needs the help of shape-shifting Doric (Sophia Lillis) and holy knight Xenk (Rege-Jean Page) to get it.
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Dungeons And Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is incredibly fun and enjoyable, and Pine is the key to everything that’s great about it. With him, pretty much every joke provokes a laugh, while he’s able to powerfully land every emotional beat, too. There are even occasions when Pine goes from being hilarious to heartfelt in the same sentence, which is a very rare and impressive skill.
It’s not just Pine that flourishes, though. Dungeons And Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is so hugely enjoyable mostly because of the rest of its perfect casting. The stoic and stern Rodriguez is the ideal foil for Pine’s effervescence and enthusiasm. Grant is at his cunning best as the villainous Forge, mixing charm with cowardice to a delightful degree.
After a few misfires, it’s great to see Page as a character that fits his overly serious presence, while Smith is also a revelation as the inept sorcerer trying to finally prove his worth to the gang.
It also helps that the ensemble are given plenty of genuinely funny quips and amusing scenes to work with. The writing and directing team of Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley — who previously wrote Horrible Bosses and Spider-Man: Homecoming, as well as directing Game Night — are always well aware that, in order for the film to be a success, it can’t take itself too seriously. They tow this line impeccably.
Sure, Dungeons And Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is far from perfect. Its visual effects leave a lot to be desired and its plot doesn’t always make complete sense. In fact, at certain points of the movie you won’t be entirely sure what they’re doing and for what reason. But then a dragon arrives and you’re immediately captivated again.
Plus, that doesn’t matter when each scene is so utterly joyful and fun to watch unfold. Its opening scene and their repeated interrogations in a cemetery in particular are two of the funniest sequences in a movie this year.
Ultimately, Dungeons And Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is not a film that you’ll be thinking about for hours afterwards. But it is incredible entertainment that all the family can enjoy.
Dungeons And Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is out now in UAE cinemas.
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF Al Moreeb, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF Makerah, Adrie de Vries, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap | Dh80,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Hazeme, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Handicap | Dh85,000 | 2,200m
Winner: AF Yatroq, Brett Doyle, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Shadwell Farm for Private Owners Handicap | Dh70,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Nawwaf KB, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh100,000 | 1,600m
Winner: Treasured Times, Bernardo Pinheiro, Rashed Bouresly
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James Mustich, Workman
Dr Graham's three goals
Short term
Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines
Intermediate term
Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations
Long term
A prototype pathogen approach for pandemic preparedness
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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