‘Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ Has Me Confused
The latest in a string of failed attempts to adapt the iconic game on the big screen is fine, I guess
PARAMOUNT PICTURES
April 28, 2023
The Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) game that we know today is a far cry from Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson’s original 1974 cult classic tabletop roleplaying game which led Christian activist Patricia Pulling to form Bothered About Dungeons and Dragons (abbreviated as BADD), denouncing the game as Satanic and blaming it for youth suicide rates. Today, the game has an estimated 13.7 million players, and its popularity is only growing.
Given the game’s enduring popularity and the fact that the last film adaptation, “Dungeons & Dragons 3: The Book of Vile Darkness,” was released direct-to-DVD in 2012, it should come as no surprise that “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” finally received the high-budget blockbuster treatment. The film, which opened in theaters on March 31, has an enormous $151 million budget and features an ensemble cast made up of Chris Pine and Hugh Grant, among others. What is a surprise, though, is that it works — kind of.
The film follows five central characters — Edgin Darvis (Pine), Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez), Simon Aumar (Justice Smith), Xenk Yendar (Regé-Jean Page) and Doric (Sophia Lillis) — as they attempt to expose their former friend Forge Fitzwilliam (Grant) for working with a villainous Red Wizard named Sofina (Daisy Head) in order to embezzle money and take over the city of Neverwinter. Oh, and Forge has also manipulated Edgin’s daughter, Kira (Chloe Coleman), into thinking her father abandoned her.
It sounds complicated, but to simplify the plot, the film follows all of the tropes of an action-adventure fantasy film, while throwing in enough lore to appeal to D&D diehards. Each character falls into a different class from the game: Edgin is a bard, Holga is a barbarian, Simon is a sorcerer, Xenk is a paladin, Doric is a tiefling druid, and Forge is a rogue. With each class comes a certain set of skills — which the filmmakers employ with glee. During multiple critical sequences, Doric uses her tiefling abilities — she can shapeshift into various animal forms — to travel between various spaces undetected, eavesdropping on conversations and gathering information for her allies.
While these whimsical moments contribute to making the film feel unmistakably D&D, other aspects feel generic to the modern blockbuster. Corny, “self-aware” jokes abound throughout the film, with hit-or-miss comedic success. The cast’s charisma largely manages to keep the film afloat during these cringeworthy moments, and, occasionally, there are genuinely funny moments, but the humor is on the whole unsuccessful, detracting from the more compelling story and character dynamics.
The film is a pretty straightforward fantasy adventure film — so why did I leave feeling confused? I enjoyed the experience watching it! Shouldn’t that make it good? Am I less of a “Serious Cinephile” if I enjoy a silly, fun, simple movie? Or, am I right to ask more of a movie than a simplistic notion of “fun”?
The magic of D&D is its customizability — no two tables play the same game. In “Honor Among Thieves,” though, directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein have made a completely generic, totally inoffensive, universally appealing blockbuster. There’s nothing of substance to criticize because there’s nothing of substance at all. Everything is boilerplate, from the character development to the visuals to the story itself, and the film plays out exactly as one would expect. Thematically, it comes down to … family is important. (And not even found-family! These two characters are blood-related!)
To reiterate, “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” is by no means a “bad movie.” In fact, I think most people would find it enjoyable to watch. It features charismatic performances — even an unexpected cameo from a Hollywood heartthrob — and a relatively entertaining story. But for a film with a $150 million budget, a cast filled with actors I love, and a source material with infinite potential, I would’ve liked to see a bit more ingenuity. D&D rewards creativity — I wish the film had done the same.
michael j pastor • May 6, 2023 at 7:38 am
You’ve obviously never played Dungeons and Dragons. I’m not even sure you watched the movie; you just looked at it. From your factual errors, to lack of buy-in about the punny nature of RPGs, to your lack of observation that the true climax of the movie was actually about found families, it’s pretty evident you went in with the intent of disliking it. I took my brother, who has never played the game, but has watched a handful of Critical Role episodes, and he said that he watching the movie and simultaneously imagining the actors sitting around a table doing improv in their roles. HE got it; you didn’t, and on purpose.
Dmkev • May 3, 2023 at 8:00 am
For someone who claims to be familiar with D&D, it is a grave mistake to mistake shape shifting for a tiefling ability.
I am very glad it’s so appealing to a broad audience, because being more corny and edgy like a home game would have led to a failure at the box office. That I am very sure of.
They adapted the chaos of the home game perfectly in the movie. Leaning even more on that would have led to scenes that are indeed “cringe worthy”.
Paige • May 3, 2023 at 7:47 am
But the family point at the end is completely about found family? I don’t want to put spoilers here so…
I also thought many of the jokes that “fell flat” on the first watch, I realized on the second were clearly 1s which are supposed to be epic failures?
Volscian • May 3, 2023 at 3:57 am
Yeah, this really feels like someone who doesn’t really have any interest in the film jumped on the bandwagon. “Hey, Honor Among Thieves is trending, maybe if I write something I’ll gain a few readers.” Long winded paragraphs barely pertaining to anything, drawn out concepts explaining how there’s nothing to explain, and a reference to the worst of the 3 previous movies (keeping in mind that was also a localized release that many didn’t see, much less know about right away). Solid reporting right there, ignoring the fact that it comes across as though I took someone who knows nothing of D&D or fantasy in general to the movie and asked them to write a report on it afterwards.
Ty M • May 3, 2023 at 12:47 am
It is a very straightforward story. With so many legendary adventures like White Plume Mountain and The Temple of Elemental Evil, there is a lot to draw from that offers a more nuanced D&D experience. I appreciate that the movie captured a good degree of lore and dipped nicely into the bestiary, but I get what you mean.
Peter Armstrong • May 3, 2023 at 12:19 am
“Not even found family”? So you missed the part where Pine’s character used the resurrection tablet to revive Holga instead of his dead wife, because Holga had been mother to his daughter, dare I say, a ‘found’ mother? How much of the rest of the movie did you miss?
Johnny • May 3, 2023 at 12:05 am
You say it is boilerplate, then quickly cut off the boilerplate review without getting in depth. Can you explain your claim there is nothing of substance in the film?
Azarashi • May 2, 2023 at 3:57 pm
D&D might reward creativity, but it is also heavily reliant on your current set of players and they’re experience level with the game itself and their play styles.
A movie released for the masses can’t account for any of that and needs to be broad enough so others unfamiliar with the source can find it accessible, but true enough to the source that the fans and avid players aren’t alienated.
How are you not understanding this as a professional writing what you write?
Richard Young • May 2, 2023 at 2:58 pm
Doric’s power to change shapes is from her Druidic class, not her racial heritage.
Edward • Apr 30, 2023 at 10:42 am
Sounds like you’re just a detractor out to sound relevant, or maybe you don’t know the point of D&D itself or the movie for that matter.