First, let me start off by saying that I've recently gotten into Dungeons & Dragons, and I love this movie. I saw it in theaters two weeks before its release (at a special screening for Amazon users), and I thought it was awesome. I even watched it a second and third time (second on Paramount+ and third on Amazon Prime). If you're a hardcore DND fan, this movie is for you.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) is a fantasy/adventure epic blockbuster with action, comedy and elements of a heist movie. It's based on the famous role-playing board game "Dungeons & Dragons" by Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast. It stars Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez and Hugh Grant in the leading roles. It also features Justice Smith, Daisy Head, Chloe Coleman, Sophia Lillis and Rege-Jean Page in supporting roles.
It follows our protagonist Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine), a bard and former leader of an organization called the Harpers. After his wife was murdered, Edgin raises his daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman) along with his barbarian friend Holga (Michelle Rodriquez). Edgin commits thievery and sets out on a quest to find a lost and ancient relic called the "Tablet of Reawakening", to bring her back with the help from Holga and the rest of the crew. Things go horribly wrong, and Edgin and Holga end up in prison. They then break out of prison and bring the Harpers back together and set to retrieve the tablet, and also save the land of Neverwinter from a great evil.
We have a set of different supporting characters, each with their own backstory. Holga, who I mentioned earlier, is Edgin's friend and acts as a mother figure to Edgin's daughter Kira. Holga's backstory is that she was exiled from the Elk tribe of barbarians, because she married an outsider. Xenk Yendar (Rege-Jean Page) is a Paladin, who escaped from the evil Thayans' rise to power, but at the cost that he ages slower than an average human being. Simon Aumar (Justice Smith) is a half-elf sorcerer, who is a descendant of the noble wizard Elminster Aumar. Part of the plot is focused on Simon learning to attune to a magic helmet to help his crew. Doric (Sophia Lillis) is a druid who can shapeshift into many different creatures and uses her abilities to help the other crew members during sticky situations.
Then we have our main villains. There's Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant), a con man who was part of Edgin's band of Harpers, who betrays the others for riches and power. Forge appears to be charming, but his charm is really a facade. Forge is very greedy, self-centered, narcissistic, power hungry and rather manipulative. He promised Edgin to look after Kira, but only does so for his own benefit, and even manipulates her into believing that her father is greedy. Then there's Sofina (Daisy Head), a red wizard of Thay, whom Forge is in cahoots with. She previously tagged along with the Harpers, in which Forge insisted Edgin upon letting her join, only for her to show her true colors.
Sofina uses Forge's greed and false charm as part of her ritual to conquer Neverwinter. She gives him the idea to bring back the High Sun Games, a dangerous sporting event that had been long discontinued. Forge promises the people a surprise at the end of the event, but unbeknownst to them, the surprise is that they'll be killed as part of Thayan ritual. Forge initially has more influence on the plot, as the main conflict involves Edgin and the others setting out to heist their way into his lair to rescue Kira and reclaim the tablet, as well as saving the people of Neverwinter. However, Sofina has bigger plans and is shown to be more evil and sinister, so she ends up being the actual main antagonist.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) is an excellent movie. It’s about everything I would’ve hoped for in a DND movie and more. It features an interesting and compelling story, likable characters, intense action scenes, and it's funny and emotional. It also has some really nice call backs and elements from the game that I think will satisfy fans (some I recognized and some others I may not have caught). Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez really nailed the leading roles, and Hugh Grant plays a great villain that you'd love to hate and whom you want to see get what's coming to him in the end. Daisy Head also plays a very interesting and sadistic villainess who means business. There's nothing I would've changed about this movie, and I'd even call it an instant classic. I highly recommend this one, especially if you’re a DND fan. But even if you're not a DND fan, it's still a great movie in general.
(Personally speaking, this is a real upgrade from that 2000 DND movie trainwreck that I previously reviewed on here.)
I give Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) a solid 10/10.
So, have you seen Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)? Did you like it? Did you not like it? Let me know in the comments.
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As I post this, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is currently streaming on Amazon Prime, MGM+ and Paramount+.
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