I should make it abundantly clear before we start that I have zero history with Dungeons & Dragons. I knew some people who played, but I never got into it, I never read up about it, it honestly just seemed like something way too involved for my taste as far as a pass time goes. That said, I was still very much looking forward to Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, mostly because directors, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley – who also co-wrote the film with Michael Gilio – have surprised a lot of us with their second picture Game Night, a comedic thriller that actually took the effort to place as much focus on the filmmaking as it does the jokes.
This Dungeons & Dragons film has long been in development, going through numerous hands, but it has finally come to us in the form of a heist adventure. We follow Edgin Darvis, a bard who is still reeling the death of his wife when he is captured after a botched robbery, leaving behind his only daughter, Kira (Chloe Coleman), under the care of Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant), one of his crew mates who managed to escape capture. Edgin and his close friend, Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez), are stuck in prison for years until they finally have an opportunity to escape.
Upon leaving, the two discover that Forge has somehow conned his way into being the Lord of a major city called Neverwinter, but when they find him, it seems he has convinced young Kira that Edgin left for selfish reasons and never truly cared for her. He tries to have the two killed, but they escape and form a plan to steal a special tablet that could resurrect Edgin’s wife, the prize that Edgin has been after this whole time, but the two will need some assistance, and recruit the scrappy young wizard, Simon Aumar (Justice Smith) and Doric (Sophia Lillis), a shapeshifter who belongs to a tribe outside of Neverwinter that is being repressed by Forge’s regime.
There is, as you would expect for a heist film, a lot more to the plot that what I described. There’s plenty of MacGuffin hunting, detours, new locations, new characters who come and go as quick as they’re introduced, and on top of all that, a number of fantasy details that honestly kinda went in one ear and out the other for me. I’m sure much of the terminology will mean more to folks who are actually into the property, and not so much for me, who only sees these as otherwise standard fantasy archetypes.
But all that said, I had such a blast with this film. It is a ton of fun. The 2 hour and 14 minute runtime goes by fairly quick, it’s a film that is dense with information, exposition, and lore, but they do it in a way that emphasizes character and emotion first, while using all the lore for the busy work, the background details, stuff to help keep your attention. There was truly never a dull moment for me, I was thoroughly entertained from beginning to end, and I really appreciated the film’s sense of humor, which actually put in effort to construct real jokes and not just “well, that just happened” type humor that infects a lot of blockbusters these days.
Like with Game Night, the film is really well made for what is basically a goofy comedy. It’s almost more jarring in this case because at times, it’s almost like watching Monty Python And The Holy Grail if it had the production values of Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings movies. It’s a thoroughly silly film, but the VFX is fantastic, the sets are great and full of life, the costume and makeup is really strong across the board, Barry Peterson’s cinematography is playful, Dan Lebental’s editing keeps things propulsive, and Lorne Balfe’s score does a good job at capturing the scope of the adventure while keeping it light.
There is an emotional undercurrent that runs through the film regarding Edgin and his relationship with Kira, and his connection to his wife, struggling to let things pass on, and move on with his life. The big MacGuffin is a tool that can only be used once to bring someone back from the dead, and Edgin often deals with a tunnel vision like determination to get things the way he needs them to be, even if it means being a little coy or deceptive to those close to him in order to get to a certain point. I think some of these beats are a little wonky, as his reckless methods often lead to the crew getting to where to they need to be, but the final payoff is genuinely resonating.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a deeply charming film with a thoroughly likable cast that commits to the tone and the world with so much ease that it doesn’t take long for you to wholly root for them. Pine is a natural with roguish characters like this, I enjoyed his dynamic with Rodriguez (which reminds me, the action here is great, really impactful, major props to the stunt team), and Smith and Lillis offer a fun presence as well, though their relationship does feel a bit undercooked. And it goes without saying that Hugh Grant is delicious as the villain, though Daisy Head does commendable work as the legitimately threatening villain pulling the strings the whole time. A lot of the film is on paper rather basic stuff, we’ve seen a lot of this kind of stuff before, but it’s all in the execution. Most of the jokes land, it moves at a nice clip, the actors are a joy to watch, it’s everything you want out of a good crowd pleaser, and seeing one that this well done just makes you wonder how so many filmmakers often get it so wrong. Also, this film has a chubby dragon. I love him so much.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is now out in theaters.