Dungeons & Dragons – Honor Among Thieves Review

The Bard Elgin (Chris Pine) and the warrior Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) find themselves imprisoned for a theft and the betrayal of fellow thief Forge (Hugh Grant). Elgin has every intention of returning to embrace his daughter Kira, but between saying and doing there will be a thousand adventuresin the company of the insecure wizard Simon (Justice Smith), of the tiefling druid Doric (Sophia Lillis) and paladin Xenk (Regé-Jean Page). All while hatching the threat of the Red Mage Sofina (Daisy Head)…

After the poor results of Dungeons & Dragons – Let the game begin (2002), few had hopes for a decent film adaptation of the beloved role-playing game by Gary Gygax e David Arnesonclose to celebrating its first in 2024 50 years old (!!!). Beyond this obvious prejudice there was another one that was a little more subtle. Dungeons & Dragons – Thieves’ Honor he immediately presented himself as one light-hearted parodic productionand on the other hand the curriculum of the directors and co-writers John Francis Daley & Jonathan M. Goldstein speak clearly: How I ruin your holidays, Game Night, How to kill the boss… and live happily. At a time when nerdism is a religion, leaving with this apparent lack of respect, moreover after past damage, seemed an unjustified and somewhat desperate persistence. But is a playful approach so absurd?

In recent years the popularity of D&D it was further enhanced also by the symbolic meaning it had in the series Stranger Thingswhere even a monstrous opponent bears the name of Demogorgon, a quote from the gdr. The playful experience thrives on the imagination and creative skills of a Dungeon Masterthat is, who tells the story, holds the reins and directs the other players, solidifying a microcosm of friendships, interpersonal dynamics, sensitivity. Perhaps also for this reason it is not so strange that Daley and Goldstein, sincere fans of D&D, have read that fantasy world with a Tolkenian flavor through their own way of seeing life and therefore one humorous look. And, no matter what the trailers and featurettes suggest for promotional reasons, they’ve done it surprisingly prudence and measureperhaps just coming with this one lightness and basic sincerity.

Dungeons & Dragons – The honor of thieves is naturally full of quotes and/or ironies on elements of the gdr, but the entrance ticket it requires costs only euros at the cash desk: it doesn’t have a surcharge of mandatory knowledge to enjoy what happens on the screen or understand it. Which could be a double-edged sword for enthusiasts, who may have preferences in the world of D&D and would like to explore some aspects of it, but who will at least be able to share a good film in the company of friends or relatives who are unaware of its rules and dynamics specifications. On the other hand, it is also normal for it to happen, because D&D rehashes and lives on eternal narrative and literary traditions, of folklore, of fairy tales and precisely by Tolkien, images rooted in the collective imagination that don’t actually need too many explanations.

In its psychological simplicity, the script works pretty wellbuilding the protagonists on belonging classesusing irony only to make the adventure light-hearted, not to tear apart the emotional involvement. And – be warned – this is a fundamental balance but very delicate, lately for example compromised in some Marvel movies. We root for the heroes here because the story is built well on them, not because we have to regardless, out of fandom. Even when Daley & Goldstein put their hand on the grotesque that is their thing, we laugh sincerely without hesitationbecause we know that laughter never betrays the underlying emotional journey of our heroes, clear, crystal clear and very serious for each of them.
In short, Dungeons & Dragons – Honor among Thieves is one nice surprisebecause one gets the feeling that the authors – a bit like Sony Pictures Animation did with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – used the protection of a big brand to make the film they really wanted to make, even demonstrating that they know how to deal with a higher than normal budget for them: Doric’s escape from the castle in long shot is a scene that is not forgotten and foments the right. Now all that remains is to hope: any success (deserved, in our humble opinion) will give rise to obvious sequels, and maintaining a balance between irony and epic will be increasingly difficult. But for now let’s have fun.