You may believe this film has no business being any good but coupled with a stellar cast and a decent script, the movie executes well enough to satisfy committed D&D fans and casual viewers alike – while genuinely developing its own distinct and memorable flair.
Based off the pen and paper role-playing franchise, Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves tells the story of Edgin (Chris Pine) and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) as they attempt to save the former’s daughter from running mate Forge (Hugh Grant) who sold them out on a previous job. In order to make it through Forge’s defenses (and make some dough in the process), they enlist the help of: novice sorcerer Simon (Justice Smith), a shape-shifting druid in Doric (Sophia Lillis), and paladin Xenk (Regé-Jean Page) to complete their quest.
Winning In The Casting
You need more than a stellar cast in order to have a successful production…but sometimes you cast the roles so well that it makes the rest of the process that much easier; Honor has that in spades
Let’s take leading man Chris Pine for example. He’s no stranger to commanding a movie (let alone a franchise) and he easily steps into this role with the sort of energy and charisma we’ve come to expect from him over the years. Other actors might overplay their hand here, but not Pine. He finds a great balance between being an aloof, competent, and passionate bard without seeming vapid like his prince character in Into the Woods.
Or how about Regé-Jean Page as the paladin (a character of upstanding moral fiber, like a Clark Kent or Steve Rogers type) of the group? While he’s unfortunately not on-screen nearly as long as his fellow co-stars, he makes up for it by stealing every moment he’s in. If you recall your first time watching Dave Bautista play Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy, it fills a similar type of group role. His character’s noble, straight-laced, lack of sarcasm energy plays so well off the rest of the cast that he captures the audience for the rest of the show once he appears.
Sophia Lillis gets the short end of the stick due to her character transformations (druids are in tune with nature and typically have the abilities of a shapeshifter, this lets her change forms several times). Her character “technically” has plenty of time on-screen but it doesn’t allow the actress to emote and interact with her cast mates as much as you would have liked. Thus, it makes her feel like the least developed member despite being with them most of the time.
Justice Smith is in danger of being typecast as the awkward black kid and to be fair, he does play this role very well here. His character Simon the sorcerer is very unsure of himself, constantly needing the support of the other heist members, which is where his ability to be awkward shines through. Aside from Page, Smith gets several of the best gags thrown his way and he makes the most of every opportunity.
Hugh Grant as the backstabbing rogue Forge is a rather inspired choice and not the first one I would have thought about. However Grant fully commits to the bit which makes it work incredibly well. And like Pine, he seems to be having a blast and that translates on-screen for the few moments we get with him.
Michelle Rodriguez as the barbarian Holga may be typecast as the tough woman, but in moments like this, it works extremely well. She has a scene-stealing moment with her husband in the film (which doubles as a closely-guarded and well-executed cameo) and it’s a touch that highlights what she can do well when given the chance.
Crafting The Story
Adapting fantasy properties…well
It’s hard, it can be incredibly hard.
Do you immerse your audience in the lore which may feel incredible for the studious fan but completely alienating for the casual viewer? Do you lean into comedic elements at the expense of making light of series staples that fans have come to enjoy? Do you create something in the middle that ends up dissatisfying everyone?
Since D&D has had its modern renaissance, with various podcast series and social media channels showcasing talent that can weave great stories on their own, like Dimension 20 or Critical Role (apologies if I didn’t list your favorite – you know there’s a lot out there!), it’s presented a different option for a film adaptation:
Just tell a good story
Shocker I know, but when you remove the expectation to recreate something and instead just tell your own story within the vast universe, you open up yourself up to the same creative freedom that so many DMs (dungeon masters, e.g. the person who runs a D&D session for a group of friends) experience on a weekly basis.
The story is fairly simple: gather a crew and save your daughter. And along the way, a new family of sorts is built through their journey together. There’s been plenty of stories like that, but the obstacles inside this universe are fairly unique for non-D&D fans. This allows the movie to feel fresh: utilizing elements from the game without in-depth explanation, that move the story along. Without spoiling anything, there’s a fantastic moment in the middle of the movie that deals with corpses and introduces an arbitrary rule that must be followed. It’s here that the script has a lot of fun, because we can see how ridiculous the rule is in practice, our characters all get a turn engaging with the silliness, and it doesn’t feel overdone. Additionally, it’s a meta moment that allows the fans of the genre and game a moment to really laugh at how that works within their own community without alienating the whole crowd. It’s a superb moment in the movie that everyone, even non-fans will be talking about and showcases why this film is a knock-out.
Avoiding The Worst Heist Clichés
I can’t say that this movie is a heist genre film at its core: it leans more on the adventure, traveling to new locations, going after a key arbitrary item (or a MacGuffin) than it does setting up the heist. Or quite possibly, heist and action-adventure films share more similarities than we let on, when it comes to assembling a crew for a common goal or job.
To that end, we definitely get an explanation of how they should accomplish their goal and there’s some foreshadowing / cutscenes woven together showing how they will / could work. But there’s no major third act twist: Danny Ocean isn’t about to appear and tell you how the heist was already pulled out or you should have kept your eye on another character the whole time. In this way, Honor borrows some cliché moments without fulling diving into that space and the various traps that can come with it.
While the film does avoid a lot of heist clichés, it borrows the worse ones we’ve come to expect from the Marvel universe: bland villains. The red wizard Sofina (played by Daisy Head) is about as unmemorable as they come, and the final sequence against them is only saved through clever spell-casting and attacks from our heroes, along with a solution that builds off the great work in the first act of the movie (there’s also a not so subtle nod to Marvel’s Avengers in the final moments with this wizard, again no spoilers here). While many of the characters in this film should be praised, Sofina wasn’t developed enough to warrant the attention her subplot got and it was the glaring issue holding this film back.
Conclusion
Some parts of Honor Among Thieves may leave the casual viewer scratching their heads but a straightforward plot, a dash of the best parts of heist movies, and laughs in abundance will have everyone talking about this one.
Score 8 out of 10
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Love Nerd Union? Consider supporting us over on Patreon. You’ll get access to early access articles, commercial-free video essays, online discussions and more. Plus, you will be directly responsible for supporting journalism in a field that’s currently being overwhelmed by clickbait focused sites. Supporting us keeps the lights on but it also sets a standard to sites in our field about fair wage practices, citing sources, debunking unconfirmed sources, and helps us investigate stories better.