Dungeons & Dragons has come a long way from being unfairly targeted as the focus of a moral panic during the mid-1980s. Far from promoting insidious or delusional behaviour, playing D&D is based on some of the most praiseworthy traits you could ever possess; trust, empathy, bravery, intelligence, and skill, among many others. These characteristics also form the basis for Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, a revived attempt to bring the game to the big screen. Happily, this is not a return to the feckless wandering mess of 2000’s Dungeons & Dragons. Honour Among Thieves is entertaining, action-packed, and remembers what makes the game tick.
Following betrayal by a one-time partner, lowly bard Edgin (Chris Pine) escapes prison along with his stoic barbarian companion Holga (Michelle Rodriguez). Together they task themselves with rescuing Darvis’ daughter from the clutches of the greedy Lord of Neverwinter, Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant). Along the way they recruit the services of sorcerer Simon (Justice Smith) and tiefling druid Doric (Sophia Lillis), but their actions risk antagonising an evil force hell bent on bringing the world to its knees.
Half high fantasy, half “you son of a beast, I’m in” heist flick, directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley have pulled off a seemingly impossible task. They have translated D&D’s legacy, history, and what can appear to be a notorious complexity into a welcoming tie-in for gaming novices, and in a visually splendid manner at that. They’ve succeeded mostly because it is fun. Honour Among Thieves blends D&D’s grandeur with its innate silliness, yet this silliness is only ever the subject of mockery in an adoring way (such as an overly complex set of rules for how to cross a bridge without it collapsing, only for it to all go to pot immediately). Every set piece and scene features some kind of set up that proves both thrilling and amusing, with a glorious dragon confrontation proving to be the highlight of the film’s action and comedy all rolled (literally) into one. Even when it occasionally diverges towards gloom, and despite the genuinely unnerving presence of Red Wizard Sofina (Daisy Head), the upbeat tone is wonderfully consistent.
Pine uses Honour Among Thieves to bank his claim for the most easy going, likeable Hollywood leading man of the moment. Able to be charming and funny with little more than a glint in his eye. The standout however is Rodriguez, helped by Goldstein and Daley working out the perfect way to maximise what she brings to the table. Charisma and emotion go largely out of the window for the axe-wielding Holga (her tender dynamic with Edgin’s daughter notwithstanding) in favour of brutality and gruffness. Not saddling Rodriguez with a character that strays too far from her strengths means she has a belter of a film; unintentionally very funny, combative, blunt, and the perfect antidote to Pine’s fanciful, dopey heroism. As a duo, they are a near-perfect blockbuster cocktail. On a separate note, if Hugh Grant never loosens the shackles of his starring turn in Paddington 2, the world will remain a better place for it. Forge Fitzwilliam has Phoenix Buchanan written all over him.
In Honour Among Thieves, odd moments of sincerity largely crumble in the face of amusement and outlandishness. Yet one thing the film does take seriously is D&D’s legacy. Not just with a plethora of Easter Eggs, and there are plenty of those, but by demonstrating awareness of its importance. The film’s ending, while arguably a touch predictable, is an arm around the shoulder for generations of teenagers and adults who used D&D to find new families, and to come out of their shells into a world ready to welcome them. It is by tapping into the very soul of Dungeons and Dragons that this film manages to stand proud as a worthy namesake to the legendary game.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves is in cinemas now.