The idea of making a movie out of Dungeons & Dragons is patently absurd. It's easy enough to make a movie out of someone's home campaign, but capturing the game is a very different challenge. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves pulls off the trick in every way that matters. It's not groundbreaking, but it is a ton of fun.
Multiple creatives walked a surprisingly long road to get this film made. Directors Johnathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, known as a duo for co-writing Horrible Bosses and Spider-Man: Homecoming, were only the fourth choice for the position. Screenwriter Michael Gilio makes his blockbuster debut as the fifth or sixth writer tapped for the gig.
Honor Among Thieves starts in the world's second favorite location for an adventuring party, a desolate prison. Fast-talking bard Edgin and his longtime muscle Holga find themselves trapped after a botched heist. Ed is desperate to get back to his estranged daughter, but one daring escape later, he discovers her in the care of a former ally. To get her back, Ed and Holga will have to assemble a crack team of adventurers and plan a heist that'll change the balance of power across the continent. Along the way, they discover a much darker plot that could threaten the lives of the populace. The newly formed band of thieves will have to use all of their unique skills to defeat an evil far beyond their station. It's a great blend of supernatural action and comedic heist cinema that excellently captures the feel of D&D.
Like a real tabletop campaign, this story lives or dies on its adventuring party. Ed is arguably the star of the show, the fantasy Danny Ocean who sets up all the clever schemes. His contribution to the party isn't immediately apparent, but his constant can-do attitude keeps the story going with a skip in its step. Holga is a straightforward musclebound bruiser, complete with the typical heart of gold when it comes to Ed's daughter. Her subplot doesn't really go anywhere, but Michelle Rodriguez acquits herself very well in and out of the fight scenes.
Simon, the team's self-conscious mage, is almost comical in his spinelessness, but his jokes land more often than not. Doric, an outcast druid, is more interesting for her combat abilities than her dialogue. Though he isn't in the film long, Regé-Jean Page's character Xenk is dynamic in action scenes and charmingly sincere everywhere else. Hugh Grant seems embarrassed to be in this film (as if this is a downgrade from high art like Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre,) but he delivers an entertainingly slimy performance. It's an excellent cast across the board.
The action is also characteristically solid. Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez have the easy parts, delivering melee combat that feels distinct enough to be interesting. Ed's primary weapon is a lute, but his fighting style is comedic enough to feel appropriate. Simon's spellcasting has a beautiful interpretation of somatic components, forcing Justice Smith to move his hands like he's conducting an orchestra with each trick. The film takes great pains to delineate the capabilities of magic, making the spells feel impactful and distinct. Doric is constantly changing into animals, making her an interesting combatant with a variety of unique strengths. The action scenes are stellar, with a few prolonged scenes built around one unique D&D character ability that will really delight fans.
Honor Among Thieves has a lot of references to Dungeons & Dragons. Some YouTubers are going to spend a lot of time this weekend breaking down every single spell, class feature, racial trait, and magic item in the film. However, it holds near-equal appeal for fans and newcomers alike. There's never a reference that anyone needs to get. A person with absolutely no knowledge of cave prisons or fire lizards will get a solid experience out of the film. Those who do get the references may occasionally find issues with the fact that the bard never casts any spells or that certain effects seem to be a bit toned down, but it's never a big issue. Its strength as an adaptation actually comes in the structure. The way Edgin is constantly making schemes, watching them fall apart with the deadly fate of a bad dice roll, and improvising their way out will light up the TTRPG center of the brain like a well-aimed Fireball.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves won't change anybody's life, but it's a wonderful distillation of the fun one can have with this unique hobby. It's not as good as The Legend of Vox Machina, but if that's too big of a leap, it's a great introduction to the TTRPG world. The best-case scenario for this film is that it inspires a new army of nerds to take up their sourcebooks and create their own versions of the world. If more D&D movies are to come, they've got a great foundation to build on. Like a lot of first-time campaigns, it's borrowing a lot of things from established sources, but it's having a lot of fun while it's doing it. Honor Among Thieves doesn't nail every roll it makes, but it succeeds often enough to win the battle.
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor among Thieves