Michelle Rodriguez

In the prison opening of Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (2023), Chris Pine's Edgin does the talking while Michelle Rodriguez's Holga supplies the muscle. It is a familiar division of labour for her, yet the pleasure is in how easily the two belong together. Pine and Rodriguez make the friendship feel settled before the adventure has properly begun. We warmed to them because the script lets a man and a woman enjoy that closeness without preparing them for a romance.

She began in the independent drama Girlfight (2000), before The Fast and the Furious (2001) established her as Letty. Parts in Resident Evil (2002), the series Lost (2004) and Avatar (2009) followed, alongside repeated returns to the Fast & Furious films. The casting settled into a habit: the tough woman in action stories largely occupied by men. Her physical commitment makes that work, but it also gives filmmakers an excuse to ask for the same thing again.

Fast X (2023) gives her less to work with. The Rome set piece is effective, but Dan Mazeau and Lin's script scatters the cast, leaving Letty locked up while the others pursue separate strands. Each gets a chase, a fight and a conversation about loyalty, and the constant cutting makes it hard to care about the people involved. It is a frustrating use of an actor who can make a screen partnership feel so comfortable.

Daley and Goldstein make better use of that ability in Dungeons & Dragons. Their script with Michael Gilio gives Holga a place in a crew whose company is the main reason to stay. Rodriguez's toughness suits the job, and the friendship with Pine gives us something to enjoy between the fights. The film grows loud, grey and overlong when it leaves those smaller pleasures behind. Start there for a less routine use of her, with some patience for the spectacle.