When a heist for a magic amulet goes wrong, Edgin (Chris Pine), a bard, and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), a barbarian, find themselves imprisoned, but after a daring escape, they reunite with their old friends and plan to search again for the treasure.  They discover that they were double-crossed by Forge (Hugh Grant), the rogue, who is not only keeping the amulet in a magic vault but has kidnapped Edgin’s daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman).  Edgin and Holga seek out a young sorcerer, Simon (Justice Smith), and Doric (Sophia Lillis), a tiefling druid, so that they may rescue Kira, break into the vault, steal the amulet, and use its powers to bring Edgin’s deceased wife back to life.  

John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein direct Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, a fantasy action comedy from a script they wrote with Michael Gilio, based in the world of the almost fifty-year-old tabletop board game, Dungeons & Dragons.  At 135 minutes, the film may feel daunting on paper to those unfamiliar with the notoriously complex game it is based on, but Pine leads the more-comedy-than-fantasy film as the affable Edgin, and the script allows for many moments of broad strokes, and situational humor that anyone in the audience can latch on to.   

The ensemble cast is led by Pine who plays the quick-thinking bard as one who coasts along more on his incredible charisma than his strength. As far as skill goes, he is pretty much the weak link in the band, but narratively he is the heart and soul of the film. The writing team also makes sure to put up plenty of roadblocks during the course of the film to keep things exciting and cause Edgin to reformulate and think of his feet. It provides Pine with plenty of opportunity to show off his comic chops and the actor excels in the deadpan, ironic humor. As with the rest of the cast, he understands the tropes which Edgin is comprised of and leans into them to create a character we feel comfortable with, even if we do not have backing knowledge of the game. There is a lot of exposition to wade through, and the nuance of the different political factions, regions, and creatures may go over the heads of those unfamiliar with the game, but there is no shame or gatekeeping at play here and everything needed to understand the film and the world is present on the screen, guided along by Pine’s warm and charming performance. 

Rodriguez is also able to stretch and show off more here than she can in her limited roles in the Vin Diesel ego-trip Fast franchise. With brute strength as her specialty, she makes for a great foil for the more pliable Pine, and while her jokes fall into the ever-popular category of someone that does not recognize sarcasm and takes everything literally, Holga is never treated as the goofball oaf of the group. If anything, Rodriguez is the scene stealer of the film as she gets to show off in battle and afterward, lands each of her jokes with equal accuracy. One of the most endearing things about the film is that the humor never punches down on the core cast, Forge, however, is rightfully excluded from that safety, but it shows the group as a makeshift family that really does look out for each other and have everyone’s best intentions in mind. The good nature of it all is refreshing to see when so often today’s comedies tend to be more mean-spirited. 

Rounding out the merry band of thieves is Simon and Doric in a will they/won’t they situation that provides shades of a romantic subplot without bogging down the action. Smith excels in the role and has, along with Rodriguez, one of the more captivating arcs of the film that really allows for the characters to grow both in their strengths and also in their emotional arcs. Smith has refined himself since his major breakthrough with Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019). As he continues to become a consistent presence in these franchise ensembles, it is only a matter of time before he becomes a leading man in his own right.

Lillis’ Doric, however, fares pretty poorly on the page, and the actress has to do her best with a confused and underwritten part. As a woodlands shapeshifter, her most exciting scenes find her hidden away from view as a CGI animal takes her place in the frame; poorly rendered and mute. While the scrappy nature of the CGI does add some charm to the film – as if the beasts were created by hand to add some excitement to the tabletop experience – that Lillis the actress finds herself with so little to do on screen seems a great disservice to her, but looking at it from a distance, it also helps bring the party’s power balance back into check as her ability is one that is extremely powerful and on the page of a lesser script would border on being a little too convenient.  

When it comes to the antagonists, Honor Among Thieves takes a rather simple approach as there are no large armies to face, and other than one sequence in the Underdark where the team faces off against Themberchaud, a comically pudgy dragon, there are no major fight sequences until the final battle with the Red Wizard, Sofina (Daisy Head). The lore around this magic is captivating and though it tracks well across the many points of the narrative, the physically-based and hastily crafted conclusion is a little disappointing as up to this point the film has been more about puzzles and problem-solving than it is about combat. While it gives Simon and Doric their moment to really shine, it eventually devolves into a “Marvel-esque melee” in which the characters incoherently beat up on Sofina in a blur of CGI and quick camera movements. The sloppy fight choreography is a little disappointing as for much of the film, the team was learning how to work together and use their powers in creative ways to become more powerful, but it mostly devolves into a general onslaught instead of a unique cause and effect chain of attacks and maneuvers. 

The overall simplicity of the film is still its greatest strength, even if it does mute the ending with a lackluster finale. The screenwriters resist the temptation to make the humor too winking and instead strike up a nice balance that implies the randomness of a dice roll which dictates the flow of events both in and out of the character’s favor, while never pointing directly toward outside influences as “The Kragle” in Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s The Lego Movie (2014) or either iteration of Jumanji (1995, 2017). They keep their jokes situational instead of reference-laden, fourth-wall-breaking quips, and the flow of events oscillates from wildly convenient to incredibly hampering, but either way, the characters need to reassess where they are and move forward. Even with the plot derived around a clear MacGuffin, it does not feel like the characters are ever stuck on a track and as such, there is still a lot of excitement in the moment, even if deep down we know the team will succeed. 

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is an enjoyable film for fans of fantasy, with or without affiliation to the originating IP. With a familiar structure, it can delve into the lore without getting bogged down by it, and the writing team does a great job at finding a way to balance the various characters’ strengths and weaknesses so that there is always a looming danger. Paramount clearly has hopes to break this out into a franchise starter – and the well of existing material to draw from is endlessly deep – but thankfully, the film does not feel like filler and it actually tells a total story. It is allowed to exist and thrive on its own terms and as such the characters can actually develop and interact with each other and their environment instead of just holding in place to see how many sequels will be greenlit Monday morning after the returns report is reviewed. For avid fans of the game, it may not offer all the detail and nuance desired, but for fans of the genre, comedy, or just those looking for a fun time at the cinema, Honor Among Thieves is a surprising success that proves a good story and good characters can help elevate and endear a film more so than just its long-term franchise potential.