The Book, The Film, The T-Shirt
  • Home
  • News
  • Features
  • Movies
  • Books
  • TV
  • Gaming
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
Movies 0

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Review

By Dave Griffiths @goodbaduglyshow · On April 2, 2023

The Gist

A former Harper and barbarian find themselves on a mission to find a rare relic.

The Review

One of the hardest group of people to please with film adaptions are gamers. Understandably when they watch a film based on their favourite game – whether that be table-top or video game – they want it to reflect what they have known and loved for years. The difficulty there is that film studios also want the film to make money so therefore need filmmakers to create a film that the wider cinema audience will want to see and understand as well.

For that reason, any film lover will perfectly understand the pressure that filmmakers John Francis Daley (Vacation) and Jonathan Goldstein (Game Night) were under extreme pressure when they took on the task of creating a film based on the popular Dungeons & Dragons table top game – a game that has been intensely loved by players since 1974. Even worse was the fact that playing on their mind would have been that there have been three Dungeons & Dragons feature films made over the years and all have been considered subpar by both fans and critics alike.

 The first thing that many will notice about Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is that the characters at hand are very similar to what they would experience in the game. The film’s plot revolves a bard and former Harper named Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine – Wonder Woman) and a Barbarian called Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez – The Fast & The Furious).

After a heist goes wrong they find themselves in prison and on their release they discover that their former ally, Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant – Operation Fortune), has risen to power and also brainwashed Edgin’s daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman – 65) into turning against her father.

With a plan in place to find a magical device that would be able to bring Kira’s mother back from the dead Edgin and Holga now also find that they must work with a sorcerer named Simon (Justice Smith – Pokemon: Detective Pikachu) whom has no faith in his abilities and a gifted but reluctant young tiefling druid called Doric (Sophia Lillis – It) in order to see their plans work out.

However, they soon realise just how difficult defeating Forge will be when they discover that he has teamed up with a powerful Red Wizard (Daisy Head – Wrong Turn). In order to counteract her magic they find that they have to seek advice from a paladin named Xenk Yedar (Rege-Jean Page – Bridgerton) which in turn makes Edgin have to face the ghosts of his past.

What makes this film work is perhaps the most interesting thing. Most would have expected that perhaps Daley and Goldstein may have made this a darker film that might of taken on a similar tone to that of the Harry Potter franchise, but instead the filmmaking duo have decided to mix action, fantasy and comedy all together in a way that is perhaps most reminiscent of the Heath Ledger film A Knight’s Tale.

It may feel like a weird mix but somehow it works. As an audience you soon find yourself in the middle of the world where one moment the characters are battling a huge mythical beast and then the next moment making a witty line that will actually make the crowd laugh. That is all then mixed together with magic lore that is as fascinating as anything you will see in something like Lord Of The Rings and a few emotional dramatic scenes that will tug at the heartstrings.

While the filmmakers themselves are probably breathing a sigh of relief over the fact that hardcore D&D gamers seem to be embracing the film itself the regular cinema goer should be pleased to hear that the film is one that is entertaining and also contains characters that we can relate to. Yes, they may be druids, bards and sorcerers but Daley and Goldstein have been smart enough to have them battling human like emotions like self-belief, depression, isolation, activism and the loss of a loved one. The result is the audience feeling like they are being taken on a roller-coaster ride with characters that feel like they have become their friend.

The well developed characters also allow the actors to deliver some great performances. Very few actors can mix action and humour the way that Chris Pine does and his performance here is well supported by the likes of Michelle Rodriguez who seems to enjoy playing a character that has an emotional side while Justice Smith once again reminds audiences why he is one of the most talented young actors in Hollywood at the moment. His performance here makes it impossible for the audience not to feel close to Simon… and for many fans of the franchise he will certainly become their favourite.

Perhaps though the actor who seems to have the most fun here is Hugh Grant. Grant has already shown earlier this year, with Operation Fortune, that he can play one hell of a villain and he repeats that here again. He is the perfect actor to play a villain who is cruel and devious but knows how to make the character memorable by throwing in some moments of humour, and the result is some great cinematic magic. The other enjoyable element of Dungeons And Dragons: Honor Among Thieves are the epic action sequences. There are many moments throughout the film where the filmmakers have brought in some truly creative sequences, including one that sees Doric continuously shape-shifting as she escapes a castle with villains hot on her heels, that never fail to have the audience watching on with baited breath and on the edge of their seat.

The Verdict

There are very few cinema lovers out there that would have expected for Dungeons And Dragons: Honor Among Thieves to end up as good as it has. With just the right mix of action, fantasy and humor delivered by characters that are impossible not to fall in love with it is easy to see why many cinema lovers will be calling for a sequel to be made as soon as possible.

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Related

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Review
Dave Griffiths
April 2, 2023
4/10
4 Overall Score

Chloe ColemanChris PineDaisy HeadDungeons & Dragons: Honor Among ThievesHugh GrantJohn Francis DaleyJonathan GoldsteinJustice SmithMichelle RodrigeuzRege-Jean PageSophia Lillis
Share Tweet

Dave Griffiths

Dave Griffiths has worked as a journalist for over twenty years now -covering topics including film, television, music, travel and sport (with a main focus on AFL Football). That time has seen him host the popular X-Wired television program for seven seasons as well as write for various magazines such as Buzz Magazine, Heavy Mag, Stage Whispers, The Banner and Eternity.. He has even branched out into writing online for Subculture Entertainment, Media Search and The Book The Film The T-Shirt. He also worked as the online editor for Entertainment 360 for three years. Dave's radio work has seen him work on various radio stations including 3RPP, Triple R and Light FM. He is currently the resident film reviewer on Sydney's 2UE radio station and can be heard reviewing what is new at cinemas and on DVD each week on Wednesdays at 3pm with Ed Phillips. He is also the co-host of Melbourne's 94.1FM's breakfast show 'The Motley Crew' and he can sometimes be heard on J-Air's 'First On Film'. David is also the co-host of two popular podcasts - ‘The Good, The Bad, The Ugly Film Show,' and 'The Popcorn Conspiracy' As far as Film Reviewing goes David is an elected committee member of AFCA (Australian Film Critics Association and a member of IPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics)/FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique). He has also served as a jury member for a number of international film festivals and is considered an expert on cult cinema, horror movies and Australian films.

You Might Also Like

  • DVD

    FLIGHT RISK Review

  • DVD

    DEN OF THIEVES: PANTERA Review

  • DVD

    DARK NUNS Review

No Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe & Follow

Follow @thebookthefilm
Follow on Instagram
  • Popular
  • Comments
  • Tags
  • The Rise of Lockdown Streaming

    May 3, 2020
  • Salvo (2014)

    September 27, 2014
  • Penny Dreadful S1 EP 3 ‘Resurrection’ & EP 4 ‘Demimonde’ Review

    June 22, 2014
  • Pet Movie

    Spoiler Alert – Top 5 Horror Movie Twists

    March 17, 2017
  • warner bros. for her dvd collection

    Christmas Gift Guide: For Her – Heart Warming DVDs

    December 14, 2016
  • Win a copy of The Apartment on Limited Edition Blu-ray Courtesy of Arrow Academy

    December 23, 2017
David Griffiths marvel Ben Affleck Kyle McGrath J.K. Simmons Amy Adams Jai Courtney Lee Griffiths Hugh Jackman Chris pratt Scarlett Johansson Jason Clarke Daniel Craig Emilia Clarke Henry Cavill keanu reeves benedict cumberbatch Sky Atlantic
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate Disclosure

ABOUT

Over opinionated and online. The Book, The Film, The T-Shirt was created for lovers of entertainment everywhere. We hope you enjoy it. Don't feed the writers after midnight.

Latest News

  • 3

    FLIGHT RISK Review

    June 22, 2025
  • 3.5

    DEN OF THIEVES: PANTERA Review

    June 22, 2025
  • 3.5

    DARK NUNS Review

    June 21, 2025

SEARCH THE SITE

HIBS100 Index of Home and Interior Blogs
HIBS100

© 2016 Last Exit to Hollywood Media Limited. All rightsreserved. “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”