DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES - A Review

This film's Zava.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

I want to be upfront about this: I don't care for the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. I didn't grow up with it, but have joined a couple campaigns as an adult and always found it underwhelming. I've had some lovely DMs who try their best to create a rich and engaging experience, and I've always enjoyed creating characters and crafting backstories. But I just can't get past the clunky mechanics and restrictive rulebook. And that is a me problem. I want my imagination unencumbered by a hefty tome of rules, which obviously stunts the game aspect.

So from the moment I first spied the poster at the local AMC right up until I walked into the theater, I was sceptical about Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Sure, writing/directing duo Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley made one of the greatest comedies of the past decade with Game Night, but they were also behind one of its worst, the 2015 Vacation remake. And working with a beloved property under a huge studio like Paramount can lead to mixed results (see: the last time they made a D&D movie). But fear not, weary filmgoer, for this is a welcome and winsome adaptation that is sure to please even the most pessimistic among us.

Cleanly and confidently presented, Honor Among Thieves avoids the self-conscious and gate-keeping pitfalls that can bring down a movie set in a sprawling, pre-established world like this. The audience isn't force-fed explainers for every single thing in this universe. They aren't made to sit through lineages or creation tales. The film feels as inspired by Terry Pratchett as it does Gary Gygax. As in the Discworld series, the world-building arises naturally and in service of our heroes, who aren't knights or nobles, but a bumbling , good-hearted band of crooks who are just trying to get by, and maybe do some good along the way. They're not all that special, and that's what makes them relatable. (A feature that is sadly missing from many fantasy films.)

The story begins in a prison, where Edgin Darvis (an ever-scheming bard played by an oh-so-in-his-element Chris Pine) and Holga Kilgore (a potato-loving barbarian played by an equally well-utilized Michelle Rodriguez) are two years into their sentence following a fumbled heist. They escape (in a hilarious scene involving an unwitting Aarakocra) and set off to find Edgin's daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman) and former crew member Forge Fitzwilliam (the always delightful Hugh Grant), who has been taking care of her since Edgin was imprisoned. Forge has managed to get himself elected Lord of Neverwinter, a big shiny city, probably with the help of the mysterious Red Wizard he's partnered with, played by Daisy Head. Forge is clearly up to something and has poisoned Kira's mind against her father. The only possible solution to this conundrum is, of course, one last heist.

Edgin and Holga set out to bring Forge down, but they'll need help. They enlist the help of a clumsy wizard they know (Detective Pikachu's Justice Smith) and a shapeshifting druid (It's Sophia Lillis). They're all a little broken - loss, rejection, lack of self-confidence, trust issues - and for much of the film the only thing holding them together is Edgin's desperate speeches. They fumble and fail and regroup and persist... You know, like a real party in D&D would! It's only when a Superman-like paladin played by Regé-Jean Page briefly joins the party that things seem to go well. Page steals every scene he's in and his entrance and exit from the film are two of the funniest things I've seen so far this year.

The rest of the film is plotting and replotting and narrowly surviving scrapes as our team of underdogs give it their all. It really does feel like a tabletop game come to life, fleshed out with a fascinating array of CGI and practical creatures. The world feels fantastical but lived in. The tone is faithful (and more importantly respectful) to D&D while also being accessible to outsiders, and funny and inventive from beginning to end. There's a reason it's being compared so much to the MCU films of old, and been pointed to as something the current phase should emulate. Honor Among Thieves has a big heart, humble ambitions, and it doesn't outstay its welcome or overcomplicate its plot. It's a reminder of how good Pine is in a scrappy leader role (the film asks what if Captain Kirk had a lute instead of a phaser), and that Michelle Rodriguez should be given more to do than scowling in the Fast and Furious movies. The ensemble is wonderful, each having decided to max out their charisma stat,  and I'd love to see them reteam for another campaign.

If not quite a critical hit, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is still a solid roll of a 15 or 16. It's the kind of goofy fun March release that deserves to become a pre-summer sleeper hit. I hope it does well, because I want at least one sequel. I have no interest in returning to the tabletop game, but I'd watch this cast play their roles if that's what it takes to get more of them.