Introduction:

The film, “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” has been in theaters since March 31st, 2023, and there are many reviews of the movie that have already been written.  Most of the reviews written are not from the perspective of the Dungeons and Dragons Role Playing Game (RPG) players’ perspective, or from people that have actual experience in playing the game.  In this review of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, I’m going to focus on the film and its elements from the perspective of a veteran of the Dungeons & Dragons RPG. I will, however, also provide the required discussion of the plot, the actors and actresses, and the main themes and storyline.  I was very intentional about not knowing anything about the film before I saw it in the theater, including not having seen a trailer for it, since I wanted my review to be as unbiased as possible.  Please note that there are a few spoilers in the review below.  

The film is directed by John Francis Daley and Johnathan Goldstein with a screenplay by Daley, Goldstein and Michael Gillio.  The main cast members are Chris Pine (Edgin), Hugh Grant (Forge), Michelle Rodriguez (Holga), Regé-Jean Page (Xenk), Justice Smith (Simon), Sophia Lilis (Doric), Chloe Coleman (Kira) and Daisy Head (Sofina).  

Plot Summary:

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves begins with Edgin and Holga in a medieval prison with Edgin and Holga about to go through the medieval equivalent of an early release hearing.  We quickly get a glimpse through Edgin’s explanation of the history of why they are in prison in the first place and of the band of thieves that will soon be a part of the plot going forward.  We are also introduced to Holga’s combat expertise as she absolutely beats an orc to a pulp as they are waiting for the hearing.  Edgin clearly has a gift for communication as he is able to captivate the board members of the hearing with his story while they wait for the last board member to arrive.  

Edgin and Holga manage to escape from the prison in dramatic fashion after we learn about some of the other main characters in the story.  One of the risks of a Dungeons & Dragons movie is that it can come off as too campy or cheesy with its humor and action, but the opening scene was a great way to start the film with just the right mix of action, humor, storytelling, and even a bit of magic.

Standard Fare:

The rest of the plot is somewhat standard fare for a fantasy movie with themes of redemption for some of the main characters for bad choices that they made previously in life, a creepy wizard trying to take over a significant portion of a kingdom, the heist of a valuable artifact, revenge for previous betrayals, more redemption for a character who needs to find himself, and a minor love story thrown in for good measure.  Is it standard fare?  Definitely, but overall it works well enough with decent action, some entertaining dialogue, and reasonable special effects that don’t overpower the film. 

High Points of the Film:

In general, the actors play their roles well, and are believable in the roles they play.  I doubt any of the actors will be winning any awards for this movie, but by the same token, none of the actors left you with the desire to groan every time they were on screen.  Chris Pine was charming, Michelle Rodriguez was an interesting mix of both humor and menace, Hugh Grant was entertaining and always appears to be enjoying himself, and the rest of the cast had their high points too.  I especially liked Regé-Jean Page, who pulled off his Paladin in a very believable way. He portrayed the Paladin very effectively as a “Lawful” character from a character alignment perspective and more Regé-Jean Page would have been great!  

From a player’s perspective, I enjoyed seeing some of the classic spells from Dungeons & Dragons in Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.  It was easy to recognize Reverse Gravity, Fireball, Chain Lightning, Bigby’s Crushing Hand and Bigby’s Grasping Hand as well as the classic Time Stop. 

I did enjoy much of the tongue in cheek dialogue that playfully poked some good-natured humor at the fantasy genre.  For example, “you can’t solve every problem with magic” is something that I’ve probably heard every non-spell casting character and dungeon master say within their gaming group at least once over the years!

An Introduction to the Game – Help or Hindrance:

One question that I had before I went to see the film is whether it would be a good introduction to the Dungeons & Dragons game for someone who knew nothing about it before going to see the film?  I was curious if the film could attract new players to the game and is it an effective marketing tool?  I went to see the film with three other people, none of whom currently play the game and had limited knowledge about it. While a very limited sample size, I think the answer is that Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves may generate more interest in the game and attract some new players to it.  Out of the sample of three, there was one definite “yes”, one “no” and one that had no opinion. In summary, the movie is likely more helpful than not in expanding the potential pool of new players.  It’s always exciting when our beloved game generates more interest and new players.   I look forward to seeing some new faces around the gaming table!

Criticisms:  

Are there any criticisms? Well, yes, there are several.  Plot twists can make for entertaining fare, but I thought there were too many in this film, to the point where a two hour, fourteen minute movie actually seemed longer at times since the use of plot twists was used to compensate for a lack of overall character development.  The idea that you need an alternate plan for every failed plan (and there are a few failed plans) makes for a plot that becomes a bit hard to follow.  I suppose there could be an analogy to an actual Dungeons & Dragons game in that most well crafted games do require players to proceed sometimes in a very non linear manner, but it doesn’t completely translate well to a film.  

Another criticism from someone who has played the game extensively is that the writers failed to really introduce the character classes present in the game meaningfully.  Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves did a poor job of showing off special abilities.  While both the Wizard and Sorcerer hurl around a decent number of spells, the Druid (Doric) doesn’t cast a single spell in the film and only utilizes her wild shape ability.  I admit that the film does a great job of showcasing a Druid’s wild shape ability and the scenes with Doric wild shaping provide some of the best action in the film, but couldn’t she at least cast one spell? It was an interesting touch to see a Tiefling Druid which is a rarity in most games I’ve seen where Druids frequently are a human, elf or half-elf. 

Character Criticisms: 

While Helga is a Barbarian, at least that is what she is supposed to be according to the credits, we don’t get to see any of a Barbarian’s classic “rage” ability from her, making it just as likely that she is a Fighter.  Michelle Rodriguez building up to “rage” would have been brilliant, and she definitely could have pulled it off in character. 

As for Edgin, it is unclear whether he is a Bard or a Rogue since other than his talent for charming persuasion, he never engages in any classic Rogue or Bard abilities such as a good old fashioned backstab or bardic inspiration.  Edgin  never casts a spell or uses any other bardic abilities while playing his instrument, which is unfortunate since it would have fleshed out his character greatly.  Edgin is officially a Bard in the movie,  according to the credits, but would you really know it?  It was a great opportunity for the film to introduce non-Dungeons & Dragons players to some other elements and class features of the game, but they just weren’t part of the plot.    

Setting Inconsistency:

From a marketing perspective, high fantasy was a good choice for the film since high fantasy generally allows for flashier special effects, so the Forgotten Realms setting made a lot of sense.  The Forgotten Realms setting is rich in the number of organizations that could have been used, and the Thayan Red Wizards and the Harpers were natural choices, being rivals.  Szass Tam is one of the ultimate villains in the Forgotten Realms  and perhaps if there is a sequel, he could be further developed.  Neverwinter and the Sword Coast are both classic sites in the Forgotten Realms so I don’t have any complaints about their inclusion. 

A minor irritant from a Dungeons & Dragons veteran is that one of the key “puzzles” to solve is “Mordenkainen’s Arcane Lock”.  While Mordenkainen has crossed over to the Forgotten Realms in 5th edition, he is really a character from the Greyhawk setting.  From a purist’s perspective, I still consider Mordenkainen to be a Greyhawk character, and not from the Forgotten Realms.  Perhaps the greatest wizard of the Forgotten Realms, Elminster, could have been introduced instead, particularly since he has supported the Harpers many times over the years, and would have provided a natural tie-in with the Harpers. It also would have been a lot of fun to have seen the mark of Elminster on the door with an Arcane Lock, perhaps with the silhouette of him smoking his pipe.  It would have made for a nice touch and a nod to players and dungeon masters in the audience who are familiar with the Forgotten Realms.  

Final Criticisms:

I have a couple of final criticisms to share.  The use of profanity was unnecessary in the dialogue of the movie.  From a mass appeal perspective, it added nothing to the film, particularly since there were children in the movie theater that I attended.  The first Marvel movies leading up to Avengers Endgame showed that profanity did not need to be present to have mass appeal.  The profanity in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was cringe worthy. 

While I think the action scenes were generally well done, one individual that attended the film with me thought that a couple of the scenes were a bit too bloody.  It is a matter of personal taste, but from a mass appeal perspective, blood and gore aren’t always necessary. 

Lastly, the scene where Kira is laughing before turning into Sofina is creepy and I didn’t think it really fit with the rest of the film which was relatively light hearted overall.  It reminded me of Regan in the Exorcist, which is great for horror, but it didn’t work as well in this film.  

Conclusion:

I came into the theater to see the film with very low expectations.  Given the unmitigated disaster from the last attempt at making a Dungeons and Dragons film in 2000, and how it reinforced Dungeons and Dragons being a niche hobby for a very non-mainstream crowd, I didn’t have high hopes this time. However, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves exceeded my expectations.  It was a fun and entertaining way to spend a little over two hours in a movie theater.  Is it a great movie?  No, but it provided enough entertainment value where I think it might be possible that we see a sequel.  Perhaps in a sequel, we could see some of the characters return and see a bit more character development for some of the existing characters, like for example what was Holga’s relationship with the Bradley Cooper halfling character and how does a halfling seem to attract attention from women that are much larger than him since both Holga and his current love interest (a Giant?) have a considerable size difference over him?  It could make for an interesting sidebar in a future plot.

Methos