Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) is directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. The pairing of directors made one of my favorite comedies of the last ten years, Game Night (2018). As someone who is not at all familiar with the world of Dungeons and Dragons, it wasn’t easy to have much anticipation for this. Still, when I discovered these two would be directing it, I instantly became excited about this watch. I did have some trepidation going in, with my main question being, “If I’m not a fan, and if I’m not knowledgeable about this world, am I going to enjoy it?”. 

The film’s protagonists are Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine), a thief, and a barbarian, Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez). Thankfully, the story is pretty simple as well as the two must form a team to rescue Edgin’s daughter, Kira (Chloe Coleman), from the nefarious con man, Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant). During the adventure, Edgin also seeks to find a long-lost relic to resurrect his dead wife and hopefully restore his relationship with his entire family. Unfortunately, not everything goes to plan, and the band of misfits end up on a series of side quests and adventures and must also take down the red wizard Sofina (Daisy Head). 

While the setup of the stories is straightforward, it is somewhat hard to follow. A lot is going on in the film, despite the goals being easy to understand, and this bloats the movie and takes away any meaningful character development that the movie could have. Many moments in the film feel like the journey is taking more priority than what the audience should be taking away from it. Granted, the trip is pretty fun and entertaining to watch.

For starters, the action is impeccably directed and well-paced. The directors bring so much variety with action sequences ranging from hand-to-hand combat scenes, sword fights, wizardry spells, thrilling chase scenes, and more. The two stand-out action sequences for me were when Xenk Yendar (Rege-Jean Page) has a highly well-choreographed fight scene with many undead creatures and Sofina has a final fight with our main characters while using an eclectic array of spells against her opponents. Everything felt so visceral and exciting, and the two brought something to those sequences I’d never seen before, which was incredible. There were, however, a couple of sequences that felt like I was on a theme park ride, and not in a good way. There’s a scene where our main characters are running away from a dragon, and the way it’s shot feels like I’m supposed to be in a 4-D ride experience, or when there’s a made-to-look like a one-take chase sequence, and it feels too choreographed and fake to feel tangible. 

The visual effects were also sometimes a worry, as a few scenes felt remarkably unfinished and unpolished in terms of CGI. However, that wasn’t much of an issue for the most part and didn’t detract from my viewing experience. I do think that Goldstein and Daley were able to make pretty believable sequences, which was especially surprising given how many shots need to utilize visual effects to work, as this is a fantasy world, after all. Speaking of world-building, it feels pretty lived in. 

The story never makes it a point to state that characters can perform a unique ability like shapeshifting; that’s how things are in this world. I like how people treat these other creatures with a sense of normalcy, making it feel like this world has existed for quite some time. However, there is a concern about the density of lore and world-building. My compliment for the people who inhabit the world treating these fantastical elements with a sense of normalcy also comes with the criticism that it can be hard to follow and digest at some points. When it does become too hard to follow, the story relegates itself to telling the viewer through exposition. Unfortunately, it can become boring, and I found myself tuning in at some points. It doesn’t help that the movie starts with our characters being put into a situation requiring many backstories to learn more about either. This results in the film having to rely on even more exposition, which can sometimes kill the movie’s pace.

The movie works best when it’s simply having a fun time and not taking itself too seriously. The use of comedy in the film is so good. The opening sequence involving a character named Jarnathan was hilarious, and I wish it kept up that humor consistently instead of being sprinkled throughout the film. Another sequence I loved was one at a Graveyard where the band of misfits needed to ask a dead man some questions. It felt incredibly campy and akin to Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness. And, of course, Chris Pine brings a natural sense of humor, with the other comedic relief being Simon (Justice Smith). 

I wish we got to have more of an interesting character arc with Simon because I enjoyed the character’s energy. Still, there’s unfortunately not much about him as a character I found interesting. He has a bit of a relationship with Doric (Sophia Lillis), but it doesn’t seem to go anywhere. Doric also has nothing to do character-wise despite offering unique character abilities that can lead to fun action sequences. Holga has some exciting backstory regarding her love life, but that’s barely touched upon. The only one who gets a focused character arc is Edgin, and it’s not even that interesting as it’s pretty predictable with where it will go. 

Edgin’s journey is focused on the past; his primary mission is to return to his family and restore his old life with a magical relic. I feel like I’ve seen that story a couple of times, and every time, the story is trying to teach the main character a lesson about living in the present, and yet again, that is what happens in this story. The film could also be more interesting if the antagonists were well-developed, but unfortunately, they aren’t either. Forge Fitzwilliam is so incredibly shallow, which is supposed to reflect his character, but that also makes it dull to watch. I am also not a fan of Hugh Grant’s performance of this character, as it can get a little annoying with how quippy and bubbly he is. Sofina has even less depth as she’s just a generic bad guy for our group of heroes to fight physically. 

It could have been much stronger if the movie had just focused on developing one key element, such as the characters, the plot, or the themes. However, since the movie has many ideas, all essential elements get mild attention. It’s hard grasping the film’s main intentions in telling this story, and I wish it were more focused on the character’s journey instead of the trip for the characters. 

Score: 3/5

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a fun time at the movies. It’s got great action, fun comedic elements, and charismatic performances by every actor. Unfortunately, the film gets bogged down by a long run time, dense world-building, and a lack of central focus. Despite all that, if you’re looking for a fun time and wish to escape into a fantastical world, I’d recommend it, especially if you’re already a fan of Dungeons and Dragons.