I have no idea how to play the role-playing game this is based on. But I sure know how to watch a movie, and this movie is so much fun. I watched a movie where I laughed, bit my nails, dropped my jaw, and laughed some more. The world feels Lord of the Rings-ish but is still unique enough to standout. The imaginary creatures are intriguing to see, there was a few I really liked in particular. The acting is great from everybody all around. Chris Pine is the comedic element, Hugh Grant doesn't feel out of place like I thought he would be. Justice Smith showed some talent. Sophia Lillis holds her own, and Daisy Head is menacing. The comedy is this is one of the main reasons why I love this movie so much. Thanks to the directors of this movie who each have comedy backgrounds. John Francis Daley, and Jonathan Goldstein are their names, and they craft this thing like a fine painting. One comedic scene in particular is one I'll remember for a long time. The action scenes are a mixed bag, some are nail-biting and entertaining, while some are either too short, convenient, or leave little impact, sometimes both sides occur in the same scene. The music by Lorne Balfe is different from your typical fantasy score and goes more along the lines of what Howard Shore did with the Lord of the Rings trilogies than what John Williams did with Harry Potter. It's not in your face, and the music does take a back seat in a lot of the movie, but has some scores that do get noticed especially the opening theme, one that is short but effective. The camera work is also beautiful, I love panning shots of massive landscapes and this film has a few of those and it pulls me in making me feel engaged. In the end, aside from some weak action scenes, this film is darn near perfect. The direction, acting, cameras, visuals, and mixture of effect modules such as animatronics, costuming, puppetry, and others; which is something I majorly respect the filmmakers for doing. It just really shows the amount of love that was put into this. I noticed it, and it makes me want to watch this again and again. Good job to all who were involved. This is how you get people back into theaters. I'm glad not all of movies are good because it allows us to fully appreciate it when they are good. Never take a film for granted.
