'Dungeons And Dragons: Honor Among Thieves' Spoiler-Free Review
Image Source: Variety
I had the pleasure of attending an early screening of the new Paramount film Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. After the 2000 Dungeons and Dragons movie, fans are nervous about this movie. Do not fret, everyone, because the film was a ton of fun. As a Dungeon and Dragons (D&D) player, they got a lot of things right and it was nice to see them stick to the source material. It was nothing like the 2000 film. It was also fun to see the familiar creatures that are part of D&D lore come to life. The movie did a great job of explaining various spells, and who each character was, which made it very accessible for people not familiar with the role-playing game. It was truly a blast from start to finish.
Every good Dungeons and Dragons group has at least one character with a tragic backstory. This movie had four. These unlikely heroes all had their own internal struggles to overcome while trying to fight the big bad. Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine) and Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez) knew each other from the start, having met after the death of Edgin’s wife. Eventually, they added a mediocre sorcerer, Simon Aumar (Justice Smith) to their party. A con man named Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant) also joined in on their thievery. They all lived comfortable lives until that one last heist that, of course, went wrong.
RELATED:
Edgin and Holga ended up in prison. They got out and made their way to the city of Neverwinter where Forge is now Lord. Edgin and Holga ventured out to form a team to save Edgin’s daughter Kira, who was being raised by Forge and was fed lies about her father. They recruited their mediocre sorcerer friend, Simon, and a druid named Doric. They later come across a paladin named Xenk Yendar (Rege-Jean Page), who helped them on the leg of their journey. Together, these unlikely heroes must overcome their struggles to save Edgin’s daughter, and stop the impending doom that fell upon the city.
The cast played their character exceptionally well and you could tell that they had a blast. The characters were all likable and you want to see them succeed in their quest. The characters did not seem overpowered either, which made them more relatable. Even though they were thieves, they never killed unless they had to. There was great character development throughout the film, especially in the character of Edgin. While they sometimes fought or argued about plans, they always came together as a team in the end to defeat the evil of the Red Wizards. By the end of the movie, you could even consider them a family.
Image Source: Deadline
The movie incorporated many elements that D&D fans are familiar with. Doric used her wild shape to change into many creatures, including a very tough owlbear. During the maze section of the movie, there was a mimic, and a gelatinous cube, which the heroes used to their advantage. At one point, the spell “Speak with Dead” was used to gain information from a corpse. “Mage hand” was also used in a later fight. There were multiple quests the heroes must go on before they accomplish their task. Each had a backstory that needed to be wrapped up, which the movie did. It felt like you were watching a D&D game play out on the silver screen just without the dice rolling.
The one downfall, however, was the length of the movie. With a runtime of over two hours, it definitely felt like the story could have been shortened just a bit.
The soundtrack was one of the highlights of the film. It fit the narrative very well and fully immersed you into the atmosphere. While the film was serious at times with just the right amount of emotional moments, it also had a lot of dorky humor and silliness just like any good D&D game. Those who are familiar with D&D and those who aren’t will have a great time. This will definitely be a movie that you leave feeling good about.
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves premieres in theaters on March 31st, 2023.
Rating: 7.5/10
READ NEXT:
Latest News
Featured
