Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Despite being a huge nerd, I’ve never gotten into Dungeons & Dragons (DnD). Role playing in general doesn’t interest me, and I don’t think I’m a particularly creative person. Gimme a straight up strategy game instead any day. I’ve given it a try a few times, just in case it works on me despite myself, but nope, nothing (I’ve done a few one-shots; short games which tell a complete story in just a few hours). But I’ve many friends who are always involved in a few games at a time, and others who are DMs. I find it interesting to hear about the games and the wild antics people get up to. Maybe that’s why I listened to a DnD podcast for a short while, too. And greatly enjoy the various games occasionally run on The Dogg Zzone 9000.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves follows Edgin (Chris Pine) and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) as they try to rescue his daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman) from their old friend Forge (Hugh Grant) who’s gone mad with power. And they wouldn’t mind snagging the Tablet of Reawakening while they’re at it, so Edgin can resurrect his dead wife. But ever since becoming Lord of his own realm, Forge has been hanging out with Sofina (Daisy Head), and something seems off about her…

Yes, there’s a handful of jargon, both in that paragraph and the film itself, which might make you think this is going to be impenetrable for those who don’t know DnD. But that’s just the fantasy genre. Most of them are simply MacGuffins, or else the name for fictional places. The things which really matter have clearer names, such as the Tablet of Reawakening, whose name implies what it does. Even as the movie throws more lore and artifacts at you, they don’t dwell on the minutia, mostly trusting you get the gist and any remaining questions will slip into place in due time.

All this is to say there’s no need to have any familiarity with DnD (or any RPG system for that matter) to watch this. DnD is first and foremost a story-building framework. It’s a system of rules and settings within which you can create a narrative. You can use its rules to create your own locations. Hell, you can use it as a basis to do almost anything, as long as you all agree ahead of time. Which is to say there’s no canonical plot to follow, no traditional "Big Bad”. Sure, there are novels, and classic monsters, and tropes. But there’s a lot of latitude.

All I was looking for was a solid fantasy story. Possibly include some weird, clever hijinks akin to the creativity on display in a real DnD campaign. And some puzzles. And maybe one impossible thing working out, and one stupidly easy thing not, to capture the whims of the dice.

By and large, this film delivered. Honestly, its overall tone was…fine, but I mostly chalk that up to its sense of humor not being mine. There were a few good moments of comedy, even if they were a bit diminished by characters remarking on them. The story is solid, complete with the side quests which are traditional in the modern blockbuster and essential in DnD. And I found myself very engaged by the final few set pieces.

Something that hadn’t occurred to me but was always going to help this movie is the previously mentioned lack of a core, well-known story. That makes it impossible to lazily fall back on a plot which hinges on pointing at recognizable references and nostalgia hits. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of monsters and settings and such for die hard fans, even more of which I certainly missed. But they’re just kinda there, serving their purpose in the story; they aren’t the purpose themselves. So the writers had to actual tell a story and incorporate DnD, not the other way around.

The story isn’t anything new, per se, but it’s well done. And it’s got some very well-thought-out games it plays. Even some of the stuff I rolled my eyes at actually make sense given how DnD works. For example, the Hither Thither Staff. It’s just a fantasy flavored copy of a popular device from another property (I’ll let you figure out what it is). But that’s a super common thing in DnD; people working hard to figure out how to recreate some of their favorite stories and games and movies and whatnot within the rules. Not only that, they then use the Hither Thither Staff for a couple really clever and fun sequences later on, so it becomes even harder to begrudge them, my initial reaction be damned.

It does do the false ending thing we’ve become so accustomed to in blockbusters, although it’s even more telegraphed here. And that second ending feels a bit anticlimactic. It’s got a few good ideas within it, and leads to some important and emotional character beats which do land, so that’s something. But it doesn’t feel as substantial as the rest of the story, nor quite as satisfying. That being said, the handling of the character stuff is good enough that I can look past that.

So why do I just think this is fine rather than great? Well for one, that lack of a substantial ending is part of it. The themes and messages throughout are a bit trite and incredibly predictable, although they do a fine job presenting it. But not for all of it; there’s a lot of unevenness in the execution, leading to some forgettable sequences. Mostly, those ones do a good job capturing how DnD players usually approach problems, but that doesn’t make it satisfying to watch on screen. Same with some of the conveniences; yes, it mimics how a campaign works sometimes, but they stack up to a point where it gets a little tiring (but just a little).

Also, it has the same problem I’ve been noticing in a lot of VFX-heavy blockbusters lately, even ones I love: mediocre compositing. There are a ton of points where it really looks like the characters are just acting in front of a green screen. And of course they are, but that it jumps out at me so clearly is a problem. The backgrounds in many scenes just feel flat, and the scenery fake. It gets distracting in some scenes, and takes away from the majesty some parts want you to feel.

The final thing to call out is a positive: the performances. No one here is bad, and all inhabit their characters well. But the MVPs go to Rodriguez and Grant. Rodriguez nails it as a Drax analog, but less over the top and more like she’s impatiently waiting to punch things. She provides most of the humor that actually works for me (but again, humor is a personal thing). And she’s grounded enough that her emotional beats actually land when they need to. Meanwhile, Grant plays a delightful buffoon, with just the right amount of sinister behind it. He’s flighty, yes, but he’s also not completely oblivious. Which also sets the scene for later on in the film.

I walked out more impressed with this movie than I expected, and was glad I saw it. It’s not gonna be on my top of the year list, but it won’t be anywhere near the bottom, either. And when they inevitably make a sequel (it’s been doing well at the box office, and has gotten a warm reception from both critics and audiences), I’ll be sure to seek it out.