Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Early Review

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves could have easily been a disaster. As we all know, Hollywood likes to take any franchise or IP they can and keep milking it for content. The synergy in film is strong and when it came to the trailers and other promotional material, they merely made this film out to be a commercial to sell Dungeons and Dragons merchandise. That being said, with Johnathan Goldstein and John Francis Daily serving as both writers and directors, it definitely had the makings of being something at least a little better than a feature length commercial.

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves stars Chris Pine as Edgin, a thief and bard grieving over the passing of his wife. Consumed by grief, he embarked on a mission to retrieve a stone that could potentially bring her back. After that initial plan goes awry, Edgin teams up with a group of adversaries including a barbarian named Holga (Rodriguez), a paladin named Xenk (Page), a sorcerer named Simon (Justice Smith), and a druid named Doric (Sophia Lillis) to retrieve the stone and set balance to their land. Now if that vague plot sounds familiar, it is, offering plenty of beats that audiences have more than likely seen in countless other films for the most part. Despite that familiarity on paper, it feels like watching that kind of story being played out for the first time.

The DNA of the film on a technical level is entirely different from what blockbuster cinema has been delivering as of late. The level of filmmaking here is impressive to behold, including the lush and beautiful practical sets that are thoughtfully and tactfully made. The action is helmed incredibly well and the set pieces along the way are just as elaborate. Out of the film’s many creatures, a lot of them were created using practical puppets. These little things helped to make the film feel old fashioned in the best way possible. In the end, its imaginative and whimsical nature is sure to have a large number of audiences falling under its spell.

Embracing the awkward absurdities of its source material, Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves takes those and creates a unique world. Its goofiness doesn’t come from sneering at the audience for liking the game but instead, it embraces the game and laughs with it, showing how silly the phenomenon is and its wonderful and free-spirited nature. Over the course of the film, it is clear that it was made by people who loved the source material and wanted to do right by it.

With Goldstein and Daley at the helm, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the screenplay is another highlight. While the plot as a whole may not bring anything new to the table, the film handles the familiar in a fun way. The cast here are terrific with their great chemistry bringing it to life and adding to the overall fun dynamic so much so that audiences will be left craving for sequels just to see them on screen again. Meanwhile, High Grant makes a memorable appearance as Forge, the film’s scenery-chewing villain. While a thin character in terms of motivation, he was nonetheless entertaining to watch. All things considered, this is a Dungeons and Dragons film after all therefore many will argue that it can get away with a lack of nuance.

While the ending may be predictable, it is a surprisingly emotional one that will probably catch audiences off-guard. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves delivers a profound look at the crew that life gives someone and how they can become one’s family. With so many Dungeons and Dragons campaigns bringing players together over the years to laugh and make memories together, its theme just fits with that.

still courtesy of Paramount Pictures

If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.

Brett Schutt

toyboxd.com/