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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Roars in the Cinema

Sophia Lillis plays Doric, Justice Smith plays Simon and Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves from Paramount Pictures and eOne.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, as the clever press campaign has repeatedly insisted, is an outstanding feature for viewing in the cinema. It roars with action, laughter, and excellent world-building. There is a prerecorded intro from the cast thanking audiences for coming to the cinema to see Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. As much as I thought it interesting and admirable, I also believe there is a shy oversight that many can’t go to the cinemas due to disabilities and immune-compromised systems that cannot take the risk of facing the ever-still-present COVID-19 pandemic.  As much as I support and continue to attend theatre screenings, there are plenty of valid reasons why some movie lovers can’t participate in them. I hope there is room within this campaign for cinema viewing that acknowledges those people and does not dismiss the accessibility bonuses of direct-to-streaming films.

But, as I said, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a fantastic film to see in theatres, if you can. It’s a true genre film; there was well-choreographed and edited action that never felt stilted from the pace of the rest of the film (which I have found increasingly common among more recent action films);  there were genuine laughs in the theatre; and I think upon repeated watches that I would find other elements and jokes to laugh at.

Chris Pine plays Edgin and Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga crouching out of sight preparing to attack
Chris Pine plays Edgin and Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves from Paramount Pictures and eOne.

There was nothing exceedingly bad; it was an all-around romp of a good time; indeed, a film made to be seen on a big screen with surround sound but also something I can see myself watching on my couch at home. There’s been a lull with the outpour of satisfactory PG action-adventure films with good humor and good casting mostly, most likely, due to the oversaturation of attempts in this genre by direct-to-streaming platforms—I think the last one I truly appreciated and thought of as one that could stand the test of time was Netflix’s Love & Monsters that came out a couple of years ago. For the most part, superhero movies have eaten up this PG action/adventure with good humor and good casting section at the box office. However, we’re starting to see the results of the backlash producers have felt against this monopoly. And I thank them because I loved Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

The chemistry between the whole cast was terrific, but… even. Despite the pairing off of characters, those relationships bloomed only slightly from the spotlight over the entire ensemble. The connection between Edgin (Chris Pine) and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) was only marginally warmer than they held with the rest of the group. The same happened for Simon (Justice Smith) and Doric (Sophia Lillis). However, while at times Justice Smith was insatiably timid and cute with Sophia Lillis, the connection between their characters didn’t sparkle more than the overall connection between the rest of the group. I’m happy there was chemistry at all, these characters were exceedingly well casted, but it seemed to me there was a lack of individuality for differing one-on-one friendships between characters.

Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga, Justice Smith plays Simon, Chris Pine plays Edgin and Sophia Lillis plays Doric stand around a table with a portal in the middle
Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga, Justice Smith plays Simon, Chris Pine plays Edgin and Sophia Lillis plays Doric in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves from Paramount Pictures and eOne.

I also found that the perfect casting of Chris Pine as Edgin, Michelle Rodriguez as Holga and even Hugh Grant as Forge made it easy work for the three actors. Their portrayals of these characters felt similar to characters they’d played before; Chris Pine as Captain Kirk from Star Trek (2009), Michelle Rodriguez as Letty from the Fast and Furious franchise and Hugh Grant as Phoenix Buchanan in Paddington 2 (2017). Or even Rene-Jean Page’s performance of Xenk carried some of the same stoicism he used for his breakout role in Netflix’s Bridgerton. Seeing them come together utilising their expertise in their tropes and archetypes was a delight that did not disappoint but did not surpass what was expected of them.

Hugh Grant plays Forge smiling in his fortress
Hugh Grant plays Forge in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves from Paramount Pictures and eOne.

However, in the case of Smith and Lillis: these two actors, I think, are often overlooked and underappreciated. I loved their pairing in this filmL it was sweet but subtle, not gooey. There perhaps could have been a little more chemistry, but maybe that was the point—Doric had already dumped Simon because he needed to find his strength and along the way, Simon discovered his strength—perhaps if there is a sequel, these two will have more to dote on one another.

The casting that surprised me was Daisy Head as Sofina. I was stunned at how involved in the plot she was; I felt like she was barely a part of the promotional tour, although her publicity team might have made Shadow & Bone a priority. I thought she was a compelling villain; however, there wasn’t much nuance to play into her character as they were made to be an absolute evil. Nevertheless, I enjoyed Head’s performance and hope to see more from her in other projects.

Daisy Head plays Sofina gazes at the red glowing horn in her hands
Daisy Head plays Sofina in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves from Paramount Pictures and eOne.

The mixed-use of CGI and practical effects made for a very realistic but magical viewing experience: I was never distracted by how computer-generated the world seemed. The movie was well-paced, sectioned into shorter quests leading up to the big job, like a D&D game one would have; there was plenty to deter the characters from continuing, but they still went on. I wish films like these could be cut down to an hour and a half, although I’m trying to think of what they could have cut, and I’ve got nothing. I tend to get exhausted by the plot with 20-30 minutes left of the film; I found I had the same exhaustion with Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Perhaps that’s a me problem, or perhaps films can be a little overwritten these days. As I said, all of the events were clever and necessary but did they necessarily need to take as long as they did? Food for thought.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is comforting and wholesome, especially by the final minutes. The ending for Edgin was well-executed and heartwarming, concluding his arc with a fantastic message to young PG audiences. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves  isn’t a perfect movie but a very good one; it captures the joy of role-play adventures and whimsical fantasy with great humor. I hope we can see more from this franchise and genre in the future.

Written by Isobel Grieve

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