Film Review: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Hey Space Cadets; I hope this post finds you well! Yet again, I bring you a new review, this time of the movie Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Unlike some of you, I found D&D later in life. Sure, I’d read some of the books… I’d just never linked it to the game in my mind. I found the novel Quag Keep by Andre Norton. From there, I went on to read the Dragonlance novels, and finally, I discovered the Forgotten Realms books. What’s not to love about fantasy goodness?

But the actual game of Dungeons & Dragons? I found those as an adult during the COVID lockdown. I played the 2^nd Edition of AD&D with James M Ward as the dungeon master. We roved around CrimsonHawk with murder hobos like Nick Cole and Walt Robillard, driving poor James to drink! It was like a drug, and I was hooked. So, when I had some free time and found this movie, I had to watch it.

Released on March 31^st, 2023

The First Link

Click the link if you want to know more! And why wouldn’t you? This movie had plenty of action to keep you entertained!

https://www.amazon.com/DUNGEONS-DRAGONS-HONOR-AMONG-THIEVES/dp/B0BZB7XF2V

The Trailer

If you want to see what the fuss is about, check out this movie trailer! It sold me, so it’ll sell you too!

The Story

This movie is quintessentially the story of a heist set in a medieval fantasy world. It is based on the tabletop role-playing game (#ttrpg) Dungeons & Dragons (#DnD or #D&D) and set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. It follows the two main characters as they form a party and set about righting their wrongs. They were previously suckered into working a heist for the wrong people and ended up in an artic hellhole prison.

During the movie, we open with the bard Edgin Darvis and the barbarian Holga Kilgore at their parole hearing. From their tale, as told by Edgin, we learn the actions that got them to the ice jail. Then, we follow them as they escape and engage in their journey of redemption. At the most fundamental level, this is the story of a redemption arc. It follows Edgin as he learns that he has to let go of the past before it costs him his future. He has to change to preserve his and his teenage daughter’s future. A daughter whom he desperately wants to reconcile with.

But I said there was a heist, so let us talk about it. During this movie, which has been novelized, Edgin tries to steal a device that would revive his dead wife. It was called the Tablet of Reawakening and was a magical MacGuffin that would revive a dead person, but it could only be used once. During that little thieving adventure, they get caught and spend two years in the jail I mentioned. After two years in jail, they leave and seek out the device to finish what they started. Somewhere along the way, the target shifts, but the heist goal continues to be a central theme.

With the basic premise out of the way, let’s talk about the pacing of the movie. It was expertly done, with enough lulls in the action to give you room to breathe. They balanced the action and combat with the emotional and world-building details in a way that was engaging for everyone. It allowed the behind-the-scenes lore to be a bonus instead of required knowledge. This approach made this movie accessible as an entry point for people unfamiliar with the Forgotten Realms.

Another aspect of the movie that I loved was how well they handled the cinematography. The shots were clean; there were no jump cuts or bouncy action, a la Blair Witch style. The color palates were vibrant, and even my colorblind booty could appreciate the details. We saw a world that felt real and lived in. We met many races and creatures, and this was shown by someone who knew their way around a camera.

Overall, this was a fun story wrapped in the blankets of the dice-rolling game that we all know and love. It was family-friendly and generally worth the price of entry and a bucket of popcorn. Okay, it was my couch, and I watched it on Amazon Prime since I already pay for it. And the popcorn? Yeah, store-brand and microwave made. But still, I enjoyed this movie with my kiddos!

The Characters

This was a D&D adventure, shown on the big screen, so there was a cast of characters. There were a lot of iconic classes or professions, and they were all handled well, in my opinion.

Edgin Darvis: He was the bard and main character of this adventure. The story was mainly told through his eyes, and we got to experience the anguish of his widowhood. We saw the joy of parenting his daughter and their combined struggle to survive without her. We cheered as he built a family for himself and his daughter through his friendship with Holga. Together, he and Holga mourn the loss of the world they once knew before the rot of the Red Wizards poisoned their lives. Overall, Edgin was somewhere between a lovable fool and a creative mastermind for his adventuring party. Where he fits on that pendulum was ever evolving from scene to scene. I don’t think I could say exactly where he sat at any given moment. Well, not without giving spoilers, but this guy was fun. He was somewhere between the loveable rogue and Machiavellian genius. There were times when I hated him and wanted to slap some sense into him. However, at other times, he rose to the occasion, and I wanted to drink a toast with him. I love conflicted characters like this because it hints at room for epic growth, be that toward immortal heroism or dastardly deceit. But that’s just me, you can make up your own mind!

Kira Darvis: She was the daughter of the bard and the motivational North Star for Edgin, her father, and her surrogate mother, Holga. We don’t see a lot of her, but what we do see is a very likable young woman trying to navigate the world without her father. She swims through the sea of lies told about him and, in the end, reunites with him in a spectacular way. I think she could be a fun main character for further adventures, and I look forward to that possibility!

Holga Kilgore: She was part giant, all barbarian and gave off Viking Shieldmaiden meets Amazonian Warrior vibes. She was exiled from her tribe for falling in love with an outsider and went on a quest of her own self-discovery to find her place in the world. Along the way, she befriends Edgin and becomes a surrogate mother for Kira, whom they raise together as they go about their adventures. She was my favorite character in this movie, and I could relate to her in ways I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Maybe because she was the quintessential warrior, stoic and brave despite what the world threw at her?

Forge Fitzwilliam: He was the rogue, so it is a small wonder that his self-serving self-interest almost brought ruin to all. On the one hand, he raised Kira in style while Edgin was in prison. On the other, he left his ‘friend’ to rot there without helping. Like with Sofina, there is more I could say, but it would be spoilers, so we’ll move on!

Doric: She is a Tiefling druid who was raised in the Neverwinter Wood by a group of wood elves. She’s a member of the Emerald Enclave, who has organized a group of resistance fighters. They’re lashing out against the Lord of Neverwinter, who’s targeted their forest for its resources. This act, if completed, would destroy the elven home, their culture, and their way of life. Her quest to save her people, the ones who took her in when her human and Tiefling families ignored her. Life as a half-anything was always hard in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. The Forgotten Realms was no different, but Doric got lucky and found a family with the elves. In return for their familial considerations, she was prepared to risk life, limb, and eternal damnation as an undead being to fight for them. How do you not love that?

Simon Aumar: He was a lot of fun to watch as he grew into his role as the sorcerer of the party. He reminded a little of the cowardly lion, though instead of courage, he had to find self-confidence. He was fun and likable, but the best part was seeing him grow into his own skin and into his legacy. His main purpose in the story was to fill the party’s need for a magic user. He helped create the ideal party composition as it related to the gaming aspects of this setting. But he was always a joke of a sorcerer… until he wasn’t. The journey to self-actualization was fun, and I loved this character arc.

Xenk Yandar: He was the paladin who only showed up in the movie for a brief time, but he left you wanting to know more. I don’t know if he could support his own narrative, but I suspect he’d make an awesome supporting character with longer screen time. I love the briefly shown backstory that he was given; he seemed like a messianic character who had my writer’s brain churning at the potential.

Sofina: She was a complicated character whom I loved to hate. I can’t say much more about her, not without spoilers, so we’ll move on!

I think that the best part was how each character stood alone while also working in tandem with each other to form a more perfect union via their adventuring party. This is the beauty of teamwork, something I love seeing. That concept runs counter-culture to our current self-centered age, where the self is raised over the group. Me, I was raised that there is a delicate balance between the collective and the individual. Walking that line isn’t easy, but this movie showed that aspect of our shared humanity. Is it humanity when there was a Tiefling druid in the group? Meh, let’s not dwell on the little things. Overall, I loved this cast of characters as individuals and as a group.

The World

This movie is set in the Forgotten Realms fantasy campaign setting and stands alone in D&D filmology. This flick isn’t tied to the movie trilogy that was released between 2000 and 2012. The Forgotten Realms setting is a fantasy world where the monsters out of legend and lore are real, and magic is too. It is a strange and dangerous place where the deities are still free to play, for good or bad.

The world was originally built by game designer Ed Greenwood in the late 196os as a setting for his childhood stories. It took many years later for it to be published for the D&D game as a series of magazine articles. The first Forgotten Realms game products were released in 1987. A world two decades in the making, but it was worth the wait.

While the world was already built, you didn’t need to know any of that to enjoy the movie. The familiarity came from names that stood out, places like the Neverwinter, the arctic prison of Revel’s End, and the castle of X. I loved that we got to visit the Underdark, a quasi-hell stand-in for the universe. But despite those layers of lore, you could watch the film at the surface level and understand the plot. If the movie was cake, the layers of lore were the frosting that added to the flavor pallet. Don’t hate, I restarted my diet… just go with it.

At surface level, the lore was fed to us as we went along, with just enough to flavor the dish. However, if you are aware of the larger universe where the adventure takes place, then the world-building was as deep as anything JRR Tolkien created. Overall, this movie made me want to dust off the old books that Wizards of the Coast ignores and play again in the fantasy worlds of my youth. That’s what I call a win in expertly displaying the world-building!

Politics

This movie has no real-world politics in it and doesn’t stray outside of the standard power plays that happened in the medieval world. Nothing that happened in this movie was outside of the realm of the standard adventuring campaign worlds of D&D. That absence gave you room for you just to dive in and enjoy some good old-fashioned fantasy fun!

Content Warning

This was a relatively clean movie; there was no sex or gratuitous vulgar language. However, it was a D&D adventure in film format, so there was violence. I don’t think anyone actually died on screen, though the main character’s wife was murdered at the opening. There was violence against monsters and undead fighters if that bugs you. This was a fun Rated PG-13 movie that I watched with my kids.

Who is it for?

This movie was for anyone who loves rolling dice with their friends in the worlds that Gary Gygax made with TSR and turned into a cultural phenomenon. On its surface, all you need to enjoy this movie is love fantasy films! Never fear; the D&D lore stuff wasn’t required to understand what was happening on screen. You can be oblivious to the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons and still dig this flick. Grab some popcorn, curl up on the couch, and binge this adventure!

Why buy it

This movie is for anyone who ever loved rolling dice with their friends. It’s a movie for people who reminisce about their childhood campaigns and want to revisit their old stomping grounds. If you’re aware of the lore that TSR created, you’re going to recognize the people and places mentioned in this movie. This movie is 2 hours of fun that you won’t want to get back!

Exit

If I haven’t sold you on this film, then I haven’t done my job. So, if you are intrigued, then click the link already!

https://www.amazon.com/DUNGEONS-DRAGONS-HONOR-AMONG-THIEVES/dp/B0BZB7XF2V