Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Review
We roll up a spoiler-free review of the new D&D movie after catching the premiere at this year’s SXSW Film Festival
As a veritable pop cultural phenomenon for almost 50 years, it’s surprising that Hollywood hasn’t actually done much with Dungeons & Dragons. In fact, other than the short-lived 80s D&D cartoon and the disastrous Dungeons & Dragons movie from 2000, D&D has been a largely overlooked property among studios and filmmakers.
In recent years, however, Hollywood has shown a renewed interest in the franchise thanks to a spike in popularity during the pandemic, the emergence of real-play productions like Critical Role, and the game’s appearance in hits like Strangers Things. It also doesn’t hurt that fantasy genre has become more mainstream thanks to blockbuster franchises like Game of Thrones (a show with its own share of dungeons and dragons)
So it wasn’t a total shock when it was first announced that a new big budget D&D movie was being produced by Paramount Pictures and Entertainment One. D&D fans, however (including yours truly), were more than a little skeptical about whether Hollywood could actually pull it off, given its previous track record. The initial trailers also didn’t inspire a ton of confidence, with the special effects looking a little rough and the overall tone seeming to strike more of a made-for-TV vibe, even despite the large budget and appearance of A-list actors.
Now the new D&D film is finally here, with the world premiere occurring on March 10th at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival in Austin and the film being released in North America on March 31st.
So is Honor Among Thieves a critical hit or has Hollywood rolled another Nat 1 on the franchise? Read on to find out.
What’s Honor Among Thieves About?
The film is co-directed by Jonathan Goldstein (who is perhaps best known as the screenwriter of Spider-Man: Homecoming) and John Francis Daley (who sharp eyed fans may recognize as the D&D-loving Sam from the critically acclaimed TV series Freaks & Geeks). The script was also co-written by Daley and Goldstein, both of whom have said they’re fans of the game.
The story takes place in the Forgotten Realms – arguably the most popular D&D campaign setting – and follows the exploits of Edgin Darvis (played by Chris Pine), a bard, former Harper operative, and single father to a young girl after the brutal murder of his wife several years ago. The film begins in the aftermath of a heist gone wrong that leads to Edgin being imprisoned along with his best friend Holga, an ass kicking barbarian played by Michelle Rodriguez. The two then set out to escape their captivity and reunite with Edgin’s young daughter, who is now being raised by his old partner Forge Fitzwilliam, a two-bit conman played with smarmy perfection by Hugh Grant.
After a white knuckle prison break, Elgin and Holga discover that Forge has somehow managed to amass a huge amount of wealth in a short period of time, not to mention securing a Lordship of the City of Neverwinter. Edgin then sets out to get his daughter back from Forge, while stumbling upon a larger conspiracy involving the dreaded Red Wizards of Thay. Along the way, our plucky hero assembles a new crew of erstwhile allies, including the elven sorcerer Simon (played by Justice Smith), the shapechanging druid Doric (played by Sophia Lillis) and the holier-than-thou Paladin Xenk (played by Regé-Jean Page).
What works in the film?
D&D is more than just a setting filled with elves, magic spells, monsters and other generic fantasy elements. At it’s core, it’s a game, and that means a good Dungeons & Dragons film should capture the feel of actually playing an adventure.
Amazingly, Honor Among Thieves actually manages to do just that. It’s a film that brings to life the dynamic that exists between players during a session. It’s silly, action-packed, strange, and at times, surprisingly heartfelt. Everything a good D&D session should be.
On the surface, the story – and even the world – isn’t particularly original or complex (even though there’s a massive amount of Forgotten Realms lore to drawn on). Instead, the action, humor, drama and emotion all stem from the interaction between the characters. In this sense, it’s similar in tone to what makes Critical Role and the Legend of Vox Machina so popular. The story and setting are really just window dressings, with the characters remaining the primary focus.
That being said, there’s also a ton of game references and easter eggs crammed into the film that longtime D&D fans will appreciate. There’s mentions of familiar locations in the Forgotten Realms like Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate, and there’s a ton of monsters, spells, classes and abilities that will be familiar to players while still remaining exciting for viewers who don’t know their displacer beasts from their owlbears. The costumes, settings and creatures are also incredibly well done, and really bring the world to life without bogging the audience down with too many details.
Honor Among Thieves also manages to strike a unique tone, while juggling a ton of different genres. It’s a comedy, an action movie, a heist film and a fantasy quest all rolled into one. On paper, it could be an absolute mess in terms of tone and plot, yet it somehow manages to work. The film has already been compared to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it really does strike a similar tone, while also throwing in a dash of The Princess Bride and Indiana Jones for good measure.
It’s also worth noting that the humor is spot on. While the 2000 Dungeons & Dragons film was a masterclass in joyless dreck, Honor Among Thieves is incredibly funny, with some genuinely hilarious moments that both roast and respect the source material from the game.
What doesn’t work in the film?
While there’s a lot to love in Honor Among Thieves, it’s not a perfect film by any stretch of the imagination. The CGI is a little rough and feels unfinished at times, particularly when it comes to characters casting spells and some of the creatures.
The film is also way longer than it needs to be, clocking in at a hefty 2 hours and 14 minutes in length. It’s almost overstaying its welcome and could probably have been tightened up without losing any of the plot. While I’m all for getting my money’s worth, this easily could have been a 2 hour or even 90 minute adventure and would have still been just as fun.
One other minor complaint I had is that the film tends to focus primarily on Chris Pine’s bumbling Bard and Regé-Jean Page’s proverb-popping Paladin, both of whom have some of the best lines and scenes. And I get it. They’re both leading men and charismatic as hell. That being said, it would have been nice to see the other characters get a little bit more of the limelight (although there is a brief side story about Michelle Rodriguez’s Holga the Barbarian and her love interest, which does have a decent pay off).
Hardcore D&D fans will also probably gripe and quibble about a number of details in the film (“Ummmm actually, a displacer beast should have been harder to kill”), but if you’re a D&D fan who’s willing to just sit back and enjoy the ride, you’ll find plenty to love in what’s otherwise a solid popcorn flick that never takes itself too seriously and leans into the action, adventure, humor and heart.
Final thoughts
Hollywood has never really seemed to get D&D. The 2000 Dungeons & Dragons film was a complete disaster and it’s hard to translate the essence of the game into a film. In fact, if you’re a fan like me, you’re probably going to be skeptical, and I freely admit that I went into Honor Among Thieves with incredibly low expectations (which might be partly why I ended up enjoying it as much as I did).
The film doesn’t have the serious world building of Lord of the Rings or the grim-dark machinations of Game of Thrones. Instead it’s funny, action-packed, character-driven and just plain entertaining – which is what a lot of good D&D games often are. It’s not a perfect film by any stretch of the imagination, but it all does something that I didn’t think was possible: creating a D&D movie that’s actually (dare I say it) pretty good. And that alone makes it one adventure worth taking.
Final Review: 17/20
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves premieres in theaters across North America on March 31. You can check out the final trailer below.
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Cameron Nichols is a Senior Editor who lives in Boston, Massachusetts, and has been playing D&D since the early 90s, when he was introduced by his older brother and cut his teeth on AD&D 2nd Edition. Since then he’s played virtually every RPG he could get his nerdy little mitts on (including a weird Goth phase in the early 2000s when he rocked Vampire: The Masquerade pretty hard). His favorite D&D campaign setting is the Forgotten Realms and his favorite character to play was a Half-Orc Barbarian named Grug (who was unfortunately devoured by a gelatinous cube).
