Movie Review: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Review by: Drew Hoffmaster

Directed by: John Francis Daley and Johnathan Goldstein

Rating: 4.5/5 

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves found much more success in theaters and far surpassed the flop Dungeon & Dragons (D&D) movie released in 2000.

The movie is based on the tabletop roleplay game D&D which takes place in a fictional fantasy world full of mystical creatures containing a treasure called the Forgotten Realms. It follows a Bard named Edgin Darvis and his crew as they go through twists and turns while attempting to pull off a heist against Lord Neverwinter and rescue his daughter.

Even though the movie is based on a complicated fiction game, anyone can follow the plot and understand most of the jokes. Most of the references are given enough context to make them self-explanatory. The spells used have names like “Speak With Dead” which explains what the purpose of the spell is with its name. There are still plenty of references to stereotypes and troops of the D&D community that outside viewers may not understand, but that will not stop them from laughing. Watchers can even tell whenever a character would have rolled a Nat 20 or a Nat 1 thanks to subtly characters failing simple tasks.

Most of the character development throughout the film feels rushed, especially with the main villain, Sofina, whose character arc was particularly underwhelming. She only had the motivation of “I just want to be evil,”  for committing her evil acts. Only Edgin’s character arc was good because it had an emotional climax. The other characters of his crew go through arcs but they feel too much like plot conveniences when they happen. But the action-packed ending that follows the “rule of cool” easily allows theatergoers to overlook the flaw.

Dungeon & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a must-watch movie that will have anyone, whether they play D&D or not, cheering and laughing throughout the whole experience.