Rating of
3/4
These Rogues Rule
Chris Kavan - wrote on 06/03/23
While this is not the first attempt to bring Dungeons & Dragons to the big screen, it is the first time the formula has actually worked. The film is approachable enough for general audiences to enjoy while having enough references to make long-time fans of the series also have a good time. It helps that the casting is spot on and it just seems like everyone involved is having a good time (yes, even Hugh Grant).
We open in a cold, remote prison where Edgin (Chris Pine) and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) are sharing a cell after a job gone wrong. Edgin is the talkative bard who once worked for the upstanding Harpers - a group of do-gooding souls who take no money even as the protect the people of the land - but who is no longer a part of said group after a different job gone wrong resulted in the death of his wife. Likewise the barbarian Holga is also out of a home after marrying outside her clan resulting in banishment. Their former group also consisted of Simon (Justice Smith), a somewhat middling sorcerer with self-esteem issues, Forge (Hugh Grant), a slippery weasel of a conman and newcomer Sofina (Daisy Head), a secretive but powerful mage. Leaving behind his daughter, Kira (Chloe Coleman), Edgin takes on the dangerous job of breaking into a Harper stronghold in hopes of getting his hands on a powerful artifact that can bring anyone back from the dead - hopoing to use it, of course, on his dead wife. But things go sideways when Sofina turns on them. After Edgin and Holga stage a daring escape, they find out that Forge has been proclaimed the new ruler of major city Neverwinter - and has Kira in his care as well as Sofina at his side. Wanting to figure out exactly what is going on, they track down Simon - also recruit a shape-shifting druid, Doric (Sophia Lillis) to their cause. But betrayal is the least of their worries when they uncover a far more insidious plot.
Honor Among Thieves works as a fun fantasy-filled adventure - full of things like Bugbears, Gelatinous Cubes and magic - but is also kind of like a heist film. While being a fan of the Forgotten Realms helps - I don't think it's required to enjoy the film. There is just a lot of humor and action to keep even someone who has never touched D & D plenty entertained. And, as I stated, the cast is great. Pine brings both humor and emotion to the table, Rodriguez kicks a lot of butt, Lillis is excellent as the wry druid, Smith is perfect as the reluctant sorcerer and Grant is sleazy perfection. Throw in Regé-Jean Page as a stoic and very, very serious paladin - along with a dragon or two - and you have a winning formula. Also, the scene where they talk to the dead is comedic gold - probably my favorite section in the whole film.
If there is anything that bogs down the film, is is the rather long scenes of explanation that can grind things to a halt. Some things must go into more detail, of course, but too many times the conversations interrupt the flow. I mean, you have to have your origin story but it can be a slog at times. It's good these are few and far between but even so, they could have trimmed things down.
Nitpickers may be perturbed by some of the choices the film made as opposed to the rules of the game - but step aside, nerds, it just makes for a better film overall. It's easy to see the end coming as well but getting there is the fun anyway. Honor Among Thieves finally elevates the Dungeons & Dragons setting to the heights it deserves. We'll see if it's enough to give the bard and company another round of adventure.
