Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Review

Dungeons & Dragons is one of the most recognisable fantasy franchises. Paramount and Hasbro bring the series to the big screen with Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine) is the leader of a crew of thieves that includes Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez) the barbarian, Simon Aumar (Justice Smith) the sorcerer, Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant) the conman, and Edgin’s young daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman). When the crew tries to steal a resurrection tablet, Edgin and Holga are captured and Forge takes care of Kira.

When Edgin and Holga escape prison, they discover Forge has betrayed them and brainwashed Kira to believe they had abandoned the girl. Edgin and Holga must organise a heist to save Kira and rob Forge of his ill-gotten gains.

Dungeons & Dragons has had a torrid time as a film property. It has been scared by the notorious 2000 film and the Sci-Fi Channel TV films. The brand’s reputation was dented for non-fans. Even Honor Among Thieves had a long road to the cinema because of directional and studio changes before this film was made.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves had much more going for it than its predecessors. The film had a massive budget of $150 million and it showed with the locations and special effects. The cast was a mix of established stars (Pine, Rodriguez, and Grant) and emerging talent (Sophia Lillis, Regé-Jean Page, and Coleman). While the directing pair, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley have a growing reputation as filmmakers. All of this worked out well for the film.

In an age of epic fantasy of Lord of the Rings and A Song of Ice and Fire, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Amongst Thieves was a throwback to fantasy films of the ‘80s. It was a smaller-scale adventure in a big fantasy world. It wasn’t about characters facing the threat of an ever-present evil or looking at the political danger within a kingdom. There was a malicious threat in the form of Sofina (Daisy Head), a powerful sorcerer but she wasn’t the main concern for the characters.

The small-scale, heist story made Honor Among Thieves made the film feel like a Dungeons & Dragons game. It was a simple quest that a group of players would come up with and that was fitting a film based on a role-playing game.

The filmmakers have stated that The Princess Bride was an influence on their film, along with Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail, Lord of the Rings, and Indiana Jones. The film did deliver since many of their films were light-hearted fantasies and like Indiana Jones, Honor Amongst Thieves was a treasure hunt. The tone and approach of Honor Amongst Thieves made it like the ‘80s cult classic Ladyhawke and Willow because they were also smaller-scale, standalone fantasy films.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves could also be compared to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This was due to the fantasy film sharing the MCU’s light, jokey tone, wise-cracking characters, and bright, colourful visuals. It felt like an MCU film back at its peak with entertaining action, humour, and excellent special effects.

Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley have been known for making comedy films. They also have a reputation for giving their films a dose of visual flair. They stepped up to blockbuster filmmaking with ease. My favourite sequence was when Doric (Lillis) was spying on Forge and Sofina and she has to make her escape by transforming into various animals. The camera followed Doric as she does it. It felt similar to the Egg Chase in their previous film, Game Night.

From an action and special effects standpoint, Honor Among Thieves was fantastic. All the characters had a chance to shine, like Doric’s aforementioned spying scene, Holga beating up soldiers with ease, and Xenik Yendar (Page) the Paladin getting to fight off a dragon. There was also some genuinely good comedy. My favourite comedic scene was when the crew needed to resurrect some dead warriors and ask them questions. It was darkly funny, but it does make the film ill-advised viewing for younger children.

The cast was playing to type. Pine was a charming, charismatic planner but also a bit of a goof. Rodriguez has played tough girl roles throughout her career, and it was easy for her to play Holga. Holga did have a softer side because of her relationship with Kira. Grant continues his trend to play sleazy villains with his role being similar to his performance in Paddington 2. The most surprising cast members were Page and Smith. Page was playing a near-perfect good guy who took what people said too literally. He was the Spock of the fantasy world. Whilst Smith performed with a convincing English accent.

On a final note, Honor Among Thieves did feature a few references to the franchise’s long history and lore. One I noticed was some background characters looked like the main cast in the 1980s animated series.

Honor Among Thieves offers something different in the modern landscape of fantasy. It was a delightfully simple and light adventure that provided a good time at the cinema.