DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES movie review

DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES is directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. It stars Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Rege-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, and Hugh Grant. The film is based on the classic tabletop game DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS, but is a reboot and has no connection to any prior film based on the franchise.

The bard Edgin and the barbarian Holga were imprisoned following an attempt to burgle valuable artifacts. Following the two escaping, they recruit a band of travelers of assorted skillsets to make one last big score, robbing the lord who wronged them resulting in their incarceration. But will their skills be enough to win the day, or will they meet their end at the hands of the realm’s deadliest monsters and creatures?

Is there’s one media franchise deserving a gripping, serious, and epic film, it’s DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS. With a wide array of characters and races, potential for drama and quests, and everything in between, it seems like this could make for a truly sensational movie that could do its source material justice. Past adaptations haven’t been the best (remember the movie from 2000 that, strangely, had one of the Wayans Brothers in its cast?) I won’t deny that HONOR AMONG THIEVES recruits some fantastic talent, including actors with good chemistry and solid enough production values. Unfortunately, the movie makes the mistake of taking on a more comedic tone, completely undermining any seriousness and potential for true drama. No intellectual property deserves something epic on the big screen like DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS. Sadly, this isn’t it.

I’ll start by giving credit where credit is due. The cast is good, and everyone has a solid enough chemistry. If the movie’s oozing one thing, it’s personality, and these characters have plenty of it. Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez fare well as the main duo of characters with their banter, with a who’s who of supporting players including Sophia Lillis and Justice Smith. Hugh Grant fares the best as the villain you love to hate, who chews up the scenery every time he’s on screen.

It’s also a film that goes all-out with its budget (which according to Wikipedia, was $151 million). And I’ll say this about HONOR AMONG THIEVES; it looks gorgeous. From snowy towers to underground caverns, desolate graveyards, and a medieval community, it’s clear the funds that went into this film weren’t squandered. Production values are top-notch.

So, where does the movie go wrong?

DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS players take their game very seriously (I admit that I’ve played the game in the past but I’m certainly no regular). HONOR AMONG THIEVES, despite an amazing cast and a big budget that shows from start to finish, does not. Movies like THE LORD OF THE RINGS series show it’s possible to have dramatic and gripping storytelling set in medieval/fantasy environments, with some light humor peppered in. Unfortunately. HONOR AMONG THIEVES takes completely the opposite approach, putting the humor above everything else. The tone of this movie has more in common with PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN and to a lesser extent, the MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE, than it does THE LORD OF THE RINGS. And I don’t mean that in a good way.

There’s a great cast and everyone’s got good chemistry. Instead of using this for development and gripping, dramatic storytelling, it’s used for one-liners around every corner. For being a movie called DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS, there aren’t too many dungeons, nor are there all that many dragons. There are however, jokes galore. This does a disservice to the brand name; not any favors. While I have no doubt the movie will likely fare well with mainstream audiences, I’m eager to see what longtime DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS players think. Personally, I don’t think they’ll be thrilled that their iconic and beloved game has been reduced to a farce filled with unnecessary laughs. It also doesn’t help that the second act introduced a “serious” character who brilliantly serves as a foil to the others, yet ditches him before the third act rolls around.

The movie isn’t helped by its overlong running time of about 130 minutes. It’s as if the filmmakers have no idea when to end the movie, and the third act is the obligatory non-stop action approach so many franchises go after. They throw in everything but the kitchen sink and it just feels like it drags on and will never end. It seems like every time our heroes get a quest, they’re assigned to another subquest. The movie could’ve been 30 minutes shorter with no real loss of substance.

HONOR AMONG THIEVES looks great and has a great cast, but for being a movie about an epic medieval fantasy franchise, it’s just too damn funny. The movie does get in a handful of great action sequences; one involving a shapeshifting character escaping a castle is quite entertaining. But they can’t redeem the film’s unnecessarily silly tone that feels too heavily influenced by PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN. I think mainstream audiences will get plenty of mileage out of HONOR AMONG THIEVES, but die-hard fans of the tabletop game probably won’t be thrilled to see their believed franchise reduced to a laugh riot. I can’t quite recommend this one, but for better or worse, it’s sure to find an audience.