‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ brings new life to a fantasy institution

‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ has enough charm to thrill existing fans and woo new adventurers

The story follows a group of thieves – Edgin, a bard (a delightful Chris Pine), Holga, a barbarian (a sharp Michelle Rodriguez), and Simon, a sorcerer (Justice Smith) – whose heist is foiled when they are betrayed by two of their crew – the deceitful Forge Fitzwilliam (a daft Hugh Grant), and Sofina, a wizard (a surprisingly intimidating Daisy Head). Reunited after prison, the trio team up with a shapeshifting druid (Sophia Lilis) and a paladin (Regé-Jean Page) to rescue Edgin’s daughter Kira, and get back the loot Forge stole from them.

What really works for the movie is the tone. As anyone who’s played a bit of D&D can tell you, when friends gather around a table jokes are inevitable, even in the most severe circumstances. True to that spirit, the movie keeps things light and breezy with an unforced sense of comedy that hinges as much on the delivery as the dialogue. The humour is genuine and witty, and while it can veer into the self-referential, it’s never too obvious. A scene where the party has to question a graveyard of unhelpful corpses is a particular highlight. It’s a lot like the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, putting together a team of likeable misfits through serious and silly situations.  

Chris Pine brings his natural charisma to the lead role, as if he was born to play a bard-turned thief whose more selfish tendencies have led him to ruin his own life. Rodriguez is great in her usual tough badass persona from the Fast and the Furious movies but gets to play with a bit more range. Grant is also fun as a babbling huckster with a vicious streak. Smith and Lilis get a bit less to do character-wise, but their powers work well in the story to show how cool pulling something off in D&D can be.

Speaking of those powers, Honor Among Thieves is very smart with its action setpieces. Whether it’s a well-choreographed chase through a castle town with a shapeshifter, or a magic item that transforms a simple escape through teleportation, the movie develops novel and interesting ways to keep the action fresh. These scenes also advance the plot brilliantly while keeping up the intensity. The special effects also deserve some mention, with a mix of practical costumes and over-the-top CG, giving a range of exciting visuals throughout. Money was put into this film, and it shows.

And, for such a breezy movie, it lands an emotional beat towards the end pretty well. It’s not heavy enough to distract the audience, but it adds just enough depth to make it feel like a bit more than a filling but slightly overwhelming tub of movie theatre popcorn.

In terms of influence on fantasy media, Dungeons & Dragons is second only to The Lord of the Rings in impact. The pen-and-paper tabletop role-playing game, which allows groups of friends to go on epic quests through the power of their imaginations, has influenced everything from fantasy books, video games, and movies. The past few years have seen a resurgence in D&D interest through references in Stranger Things, actual play shows like Critical Role and Dimension 20, and TV shows based on the game, like The Legend of Vox Machina (adapted from a season of Critical Role).

Despite this and the general rise of nerd culture, D&D has remained a niche part of geekdom. Maybe it’s because it’s more involved. As a beginner, you need friends, time, and patience to parse the slightly obtuse and off-putting world of tabletop RPGs. If only there was something big and accessible for people to taste the D&D world. Something like a movie.

Sadly, they’ve already tried. The early 2000s saw the release of the first Dungeons & Dragons movie. It was an absolute trainwreck. A stuttering plot, milquetoast characters, awful CGI, and hilariously bad acting made it a historic failure. But, this year, the brand gave it another try, turning the reigns over to the directorial duo of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein fresh off 2018’s excellent board game comedy Game Night.

And the gamble paid off because Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is an enthusiastic, charming love letter to the game that is fun for anyone new to the franchise and does justice to its roots.

Fans should find a lot to love too. Iconic locations like Neverwinter and Icewind Dale are realised on the big screen, alongside many of the franchise’s most beloved monsters like Gelatinous Cubes and Mimics and spells like Chain Lightning and Misty Step. There’s even a nod to the 1980s animated series in a particular arena scene.

But what’s best is perhaps all the little moments that really make it feel like a D&D campaign – like players becoming hyper-focused on a silly name like Jarnathan, characters hilariously failing to do anything in a heated combat encounter, or the players screwing up so badly that the dungeon master has to throw them a secret magical item to make sure they don’t fail completely.

If there’s one complaint, it all still feels a bit shallow. Though Smith and Lilis have moments, they don’t feel like fully-formed characters. And the plot isn’t thought-provoking or well put together. In fact, some beats feel like they're Scotch-taped together rather than neatly threaded through the narrative. I wouldn’t have minded another 15 minutes to truly flesh out the world and story.

Still, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves should be a welcome treat for old fans, the curious, or anyone interested in a chill, fun time at the movies, on the couch, or the bed. And it should leave anyone with an appreciation for the franchise eager for more. It’s not a critical hit, but it’s pretty close.

This article is part of Stripe, bdnews24.com's special publication focusing on culture and society from a youth perspective.