Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves has a lot of humor and heart, building a fantasy world for its arrant fans without alienating new ones, like the best board game where you can invite friends over to share in the magic. I vaguely remember playing this game with some neighborhood friends growing up, but I didn’t have a hard time following the bombastic fantasy film.
Writers Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley, and Michael Gilio breathed life into this adventure comedy, and it helped to have a big D&D fan as a plus one who loved the entire thing. He kept pointing out the references to the game and older series. These callbacks naturally flowed without being forced to amuse the audiences I observed. If you were worried about this being stale, fans should rest assured that they will have a good time escaping to this world for a couple of hours.
The production was a standout, and the budget was visible on screen. A few central scenes that I thoroughly enjoyed included the fat dragon chasing the characters, the portal to a different part of one’s surroundings, and the spellbinding chase where Doric’s (Sophia Lillis) escape has her transforming into different animals while being chased is a sight to see on the big screen. All of these scenes worked so well. In the hands of other directors or franchise filmmaking on autopilot, it might not have succeeded as well as this did. It was an entertaining experience, and these moments are when I found the movie the most enjoyable.
Let’s talk about the people who made it. Jonathan M. Goldstein and John Francis Daley went from directing the comic antics of Game Night to an epic adaption of a beloved game. They did a good job bringing the world to life, and I could see the franchise’s potential. The cast was terrific, including Chris Pine as the commanding lead and Michelle Rodriguez, who surprised me the most. However, Bridgerton star Rege-Jean Page made plenty out of his limited screen time, and he should star in more movies. Overall, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves delivers a charming tone that gives movie fans much to enjoy while winning over new audiences.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is now playing in theaters.
