DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES – A Review by Jenn Rohm
If you are a fan of action, adventure, fantasy, and comedy then Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves should be on your viewing list. While I do not think the characters were created by rolling die, they do stay true to the classes for a DnD campaign.
Leading the quest is our Bard: Edgin, Chris Pine, who does a good job of staying just at the edge of charming before becoming annoying. Always ready to provide a plan, or a song to make you smile. His friend for life is Fighter: Holga, Michelle Rodriguez. She is more action than word, however, those actions say a lot. The Magic User/Sorcerer: Simon, Justice Smith, always comes through with the right surprise when needed the most. The Druid Cleric: Doric, Sophia Lillis, while mostly tiny is creative and takes the right form for the task at hand. Along the way, Paladin: Xenk, Rege-Jean Page, joins and adds thoughts of good vs evil and what the moral choice is.
And then there is the Thief: Forge, Hugh Grant, who provides a love him/hate him character.
You do not have to be familiar with DnD to enjoy this film. A large portion of the audience in the same screening was not. This includes the family sitting behind me, they laughed, they jumped, they “ewweeed” in the appropriate places.
While this is a reboot, the advances in technology helped make this a much cleaner and more believable film. (Don’t worry my feet are firmly planted in reality, so believable in so far as if these things were real.) I will point out this film is written to reach a wide range of ages. This does create some moments that as an adult come across as a little simplistic. Creating exposure for a younger audience to enjoy and possibly take an interest in the game makes this forgivable.
While it is still not the movie I want to see someday. You know with bits like Princess Bride where instead of Grandfather and Grandson bonding it is gameplay happening, die roll, crit card, and trash talking. Then add in a splash of almost 4th wall break between the character and the player deciding what action to take next. I can and do appreciate the movie for what it is.
Director: John Francis Dailey, Jonathan Goldstein
Cast: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for fantasy action/violence and some language
Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Selig Rating: 3 stars
Runtime: 134 minutes
Release Date: March 31, 2023
Movie Site: Dungeons and Dragons Honor Among Thieves Official Site
Trailer: Dungeons and Dragons Honor Among Thieves Official Trailer
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.
4 Stars – Good movie/show
3 Stars – OK movie/show
2 Stars – Well there was nothing else . . .
1 Star – Total waste of time.
