Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was one of those movies for which I watched the trailer and assumed the movie would not be worthwhile, like the many other lousy movie adaptions of games such as Doom (2005) and Assassin’s Creed (2016). However, I was surprised by how decent it was.
The trailer was a reasonably decent reflection of the plot, and the movie was made for a general audience, especially fans of the role-playing game itself, and was rated PG-13. A broad audience can be challenging to cater to, but I applaud its success in that venture.
Plot-wise, the trailer explained the movie precisely: It was just a team of bandits trying to save the world. If you’re looking for an incredibly predictable film, this is precisely what you will want to watch. Although the trailer does not entirely spoil the plot, you can connect the dots in the first 10 minutes, and honestly, I could have stopped the movie there.
Despite its 91-percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie had many flaws. Although the movie had a few jokes that landed, it was a hit or a miss. The film attempted to be comedic, but half of the time, it failed at doing so.
Aside from that, the plot, characters, and acting were incredibly unnatural. Chris Pine, who played Edgin Darvis, was unsuitable for the role and was rather fake. Many characters, minus the literal villains and child, could have been more convincing in their positions. The plot felt unnaturally driven, and half of the characters’ backgrounds came out of nowhere unasked and were unnecessarily placed. And despite the film’s length of 139 minutes, the only focus was Plot A, never leaving time to take a breath and focus on character development, relationships, or Plot B. Not to mention, many events in the movie were coincidental, and potential storyline issues were avoided merely by luck and a sudden plot change.
One of the things that irked me the most, though, was how completely average and dull the action in the film was. Not until halfway through the movie was music or sound effects even added to high-action moments, which any moviemaker knows makes a difference during such a scene.
The worst crime was that half of the good guys were not even likable. The “charismatic” main character lacks a personality other than one running joke throughout the movie. Several other characters, such as Xenk Yendar, played by Regé-Jean Page, and Holga Kilgore, played by Michelle Rodriguez, are over the top to the point of being vaguely irritating.
However, these issues can be overlooked once the movie reaches the halfway point. Once the film gets past the rough patches, it becomes entertaining and okay. I can only assume the above-average ratings come from the second half of the film. Perhaps I’m being overly critical, but the movie was not above average and was merely a mediocre movie.
Objectively, the visuals and scenery were stunning. The movie was filmed in Northern Ireland, which is not surprising. The CGI for the animal transformations, such as the owl bear, was well done. And when there was background music, it was great for a high-fantasy film such as this.
When it came to the production and filming, the only complaints were that the film’s pacing and lack of music or sound effects during a large portion of the movie less enjoyable.
Other reviews put the movie on a pedestal and held high opinions — including Dungeons and Dragons players. Nicholas Houle on Google Reviews stated, “As a die-hard DND fan, I was blown away by the exceptional job the film did in creating an immersive world that would appeal to both newcomers and devoted enthusiasts alike.”
John Fennessy, also on Google Reviews, said, “This film rolled a NAT 20!”
The movie seemed to have impacted the audience, as the film was nominated for the SXSW Film Festival’s Audience Award, according to IMBD. This makes sense, as the movie has a roaringly high audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes: a 93 percent.
I might be missing something, but the movie should have stayed within a 7/10. There were entertaining moments and a few amusing jokes, but my rating for it needs to be lower due to some underlying issues that were impossible to ignore.
