Movie Review: 'Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves' is So Much Fun

Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves (2023)

Directed by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley

Written by Michael Gillo, Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley

Starring Chris Pine, Sophia Lillis, Justice Smith, Michelle Rodriguez, Hugh Grant

Release Date March 31st, 2023

Published March 31st, 2023

Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves probably won't hold up to much scrutiny when it comes to plot, logic, and other such concerns. But what the film lacks in detailed filmmaking, it more than makes up for in fun. This is a really fun movie populated by a cast that appears to be having an absolute blast making this movie. The cast makes Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves a delight to sit through. Chris Pine leads this incredibly fun group of outcasts and weirdos with strange powers that always seem to come in handy at just the moment they are needed.

Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine) was once a heroic member of the Harpers, a group of selfless heroes battling evil to protect their small villages. However, when once his good guy mask slipped and revealed a thief, Darvis lost everything. A group of wizards, whom Darvis stole from, found his home while he wasn't there, and murdered his wife. Thankfully, Darvis's baby daughter was hidden away by her mother and father and daughter were able to stay together

Not cut out for the life of a single parent, a drunken Darvis is rescued by a mercenary, Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), who becomes his best friend, mostly because she has no friends and she really likes his baby. She helps Davis raise the baby, Kira (Chloe Coleman), as the trio work together as a gang of thieves. Their criminal outfit grows to include an amateur sorcerer named Simon (Justice Smith), and a con-artist named Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant), who brings a talent for finding big scores.

The group is successful together for only a short time. Then, they meet their end when they go to work for a powerful witch, Sofina (Daisy Head), who promises unimaginable riches if they help her steal an ancient artifact. Leaving Kira at home, Edgin and Holga are betrayed by Forge and Sofina and are captured and imprisoned. Simon managed a narrow escape. The next two years are spent behind bars in a frozen wasteland until the opportunity to escape arrives.

Together, Edgin and Holga journey back home only to find it abandoned. In this new reality, Forge has taken in Kira and somehow become a Lord, a leader to a vast kingdom, with Sofina providing his security. Of course, this is just another con-job, and one that would only be uncovered were he to welcome back Edgin and Holga. Through Sofina's magic, he banishes them from the kingdom, minus Kira who he fools into staying. The next plot is the reunion of the team, the planning of a heist, and the fight against the baddies.

It's all rather predictable in theory but as laid out by filmmakers Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, it doesn't feel tired or overly familiar. I've never played Dungeons & Dragons, the RPG, but I have heard a few popular D & D podcasts, and Honor Among Thieves captures the giddy thrill of the RPG storytelling of D & D wonderfully. The action sequences genuinely feel as if someone were rolling dice to determine the outcome, enduring setbacks, coming close to death, failing and succeeding depending on chance.

That's quite a trick to make a movie that captures the first person thrill of an RPG but Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves indeed does capture that thrill. The wonderful characters, populated by a ridiculously talented cast, make the difference, of course. Much like having a great group of D & D friends, ready and eager to jump into their fantasies and indulge their imagination, this cast seemed like friends on a noble quest filled with derring-do and danger around every corner.

Chris Pine is terrific in the lead performance. Perfectly willing to be the butt of the joke, Pine remains a movie star of endless appeal. He's a charismatic comic presence, supremely handsome but with a surprisingly deft comic touch. He's also a standout lute player, as far as the movie is concerned. The lute is a terrific running gag which Pine delights in indulging. Pine and Michelle Rodriguez pair well as good friends and nothing more. The complete lack of romance between the characters is a smart choice and a nice bucking of convention.

I have not even yet mentioned my favorite performance in Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves. Rege Jean Page, of Bridgerton fame, is terrific in the role of a fellow Harper, though one with a magical background. Page, like Pine, allows himself to be the butt of a joke, it's just a joke he doesn't understand. Page's Xenk Yendar is a humorless hero for whom irony is a complete mystery. He's dignified and angelic in his dedication to heroism and his unwitting pomposity is only matched by his bravery and heroic conviction. It's one terrific performance.

The rest of the supporting players are equally fun including Justice Smith and Hugh Grant, who is on a roll playing comic heavies in action adventure movies. Grant is the kind of old pro whose eyes can do as much comedy as his mouth. Smith is equally as winning as a failed sorcerer pining away for a Druid named Doric, played by the wonderful Sophia Lillis. Their journey as a romantic match is a little undercooked here but both actors are so fun that it feels unnecessary to complain. Future sequels, if we are lucky, might find more time for their bond to grow.

Perhaps most impressive about Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves, for me, is how it overcame my absolute dread about another Dungeons & Dragons movie. One of the first films I was ever paid to write about was the 2000 adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons starring Jeremy Irons. That film was a disaster, a bloated bit of overlong nonsense that I suffered through. That film was so bad that it made me wary of the entire fantasy genre for a time. And yet, through the sheer force of charm and fun, Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves has turned me around to such a degree that I would eagerly welcome another Dungeons & Dragons movie. And that is something I never thought I would write.

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