In an era where movies based on gaming properties are becoming a mainstay in Hollywood, there’s been a noticeable upward trajectory on the quality of most of them. The Sonic the Hedgehog movies encapsulate this improvement perfectly while others like Detective Pikachu and The Super Mario Bros. Movie prove that there’s a massive audience for them. However, in case you missed it, last year gave us Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves too – an overlooked gem of a movie.
As the story goes, Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves is set in the popular DnD universe from Wizards of the Sword Coast. Chris Pine (yes, that Chris Pine) stars as a Bard named Edgin who, together with his ragtag party of former thieves, attempts to save his daughter from a former associate-turned-traitor named Forge, who has become the ruler of the city of Neverwinter.
I put off watching Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves for many, many reasons. Firstly, the trailers didn’t do a very good job of selling the movie – not to mention a non-existent marketing push. Secondly, the last Dungeons and Dragons movie everybody remembers for all the wrong reasons turned out to be a trainwreck of epic proportions. There was little faith in Honour Among Thieves amidst even the most die-hard fans, while newcomers to DnD might’ve been put off by its strange fantasy world. Then Baldur’s Gate 3 happened.
Of course, D&D was already quite a popular tabletop RPG before Larian Studios stepped in with its video game. However, Baldur’s Gate 3 opened the metaphorical flood gates for a very large audience of fresh faces to DnD and the universe at large. Millions of copies sold and a rejuvenated interest in DnD in the mainstream eye surely could’ve brought more attention to Honour Among Thieves, right?
The problem is Honour Among Thieves released in March 2023 – six whole months before Baldur’s Gate 3 popped off. Had the movie been released shortly after Baldur’s Gate 3‘s launch, I think it would’ve drawn a lot more eyes to it because, in all honesty, this is one of the most entertaining movies I’ve seen in the last decade.
Directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (the directing duo behind 2018’s underrated comedy Game Night) are clearly quite passionate about Dungeons and Dragons. Every minute detail, from the characters, their backstories, monsters, locations and even classes, are brilliantly captured in the movie. Like Baldur’s Gate 3, Honour Among Thieves is an exciting, imaginative campaign that succeeds away from the tabletop game.
The performances are all surprisingly top-notch. Pine brings a charismatic, likeable energy as Edgin, the Bard with many plans – this is the best I’ve seen him since the Star Trek movies. Michelle Rodriguez, who is usually a wild card, is also terrific as Holga, a Barbarian with a pretty unexpected and touching backstory. They’re joined by Justice Smith as Simon, a struggling Wild Magic Sorcerer and Sophia Lillis as Doric, a tiefling Druid with awesome Wild Shape abilities (for the win!).
The supporting cast is also magnificent. Regé-Jean Page as the straight-forward Paladin Xenk is a scene-stealer and source of some of the best comedy in Honour Among Thieves. On that note, the actors not only have solid chemistry together and act as the emotional crutch of the adventure but they bring so much great, well-timed comedy to the movie. The trailers will have you believe it’s MCU-level comedy but in reality, the jokes are very well-written and genuinely funny (Edgin’s malfunctioning illusion scene is brilliant).
The action also deserves to be mentioned. The choreography and energy of the action is exciting to watch – punchy, creative and superbly directed, it never stops being fun. The final fight scene is, in my humble opinion, far better than anything the MCU has conjured up in years.
Most of all, Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves treats its source material and audience with a lot of respect. You don’t really have to know much about DnD to enjoy the movie but there are enough references, Easter eggs and features in the movie that are so true to the tabletop RPG, it rewards the attentive tenfold (hell, if you’ve played Baldur’s Gate 3 and only have that knowledge to go on, you’re absolutely going to recognise all the finer details in the movie).
The best aspect of Honour Among Thieves is that the core party here feels like an actual DnD group, all playing a session with a Dungeon Master who’ll do everything to throw unexpected curveballs into the mix. The banter between them even begins to feel like the banter you’d hear in a DnD session. It does a fantastic job at emulating the feeling of playing the tabletop RPG.
Most importantly, it’s paced perfectly, almost every single joke lands (and lands hard) and the stakes are high without ever stepping into serious epic fantasy territory like The Lord of the Rings. It’s honestly a pitch-perfect tonal juggling act that the movie pulls off incredibly well, mainly thanks to the script just focusing on being entertaining and really compelling at every turn.
If I had to nitpick, I guess the visuals could’ve been touched up just a bit more and Hugh Grant as Forge doesn’t make for a very compelling villain (and neither does the actual villain pulling the strings). Bradley Cooper is in the movie too and he plays a gnome. Make of that what you will.
Now that I’ve watched Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, I can confidently say that it deserved so much better. This is a love letter made by DnD fans for DnD fans. Did you play and enjoy Baldur’s Gate 3 without knowing much about DnD? Great, this movie is for you too. Please go watch it as soon as you can, it’s on Netflix right now.
