A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.
Outside of some essentials to the board game and the godawful movie from 2000, I don’t have much experience with or knowledge pertaining to Dungeons and Dragons so I went into Honor Among Thieves relatively blank. Frankly, I was just hoping to come out of it having a good time.
I’d call this a success.
The story at our disposal is one that is basic and formulaic in presentation and execution but it makes it very clear that it isn't trying to be some byzantine fantasy epic. As derivative and farcical this plot comes off as through its familiarity, what’s done here is they employed a simple narrative structure in a different medium that also captured how certain players can interact while going through the campaign, balancing character-appropriate comedy with appropriate stakes that don’t trivialize the settings or circumstances presented…..barely. It makes good working on its themes too, tackling resilience, comradeship and learning to overcome the worst parts of you and let go to be better.
Said settings echo the winsome, shaggier, anachronistic medical fantasy flicks of the 80’s while actually looking polished amongst the equally impressive costumes and production design, its music is appropriate while never reaching an impactful crescendo, the mix of CG and practical effects is appropriate and appreciated and the action is decently-choreographed to stand above mediocre.
The use of cinematography and editing go hand in hand together, vibrant with every scene as each frame bursts with energy and each character definitely, in their own way, embody a different type of player which the actors utilize and even expand on further via deadpan stoticness or vulnerability that comes off really undermined.
Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley as directors take a mirthful and easy-going approach, rolling the dice on adapting the deep lore of D&D by building the story around certain elements taken for granted that doesn’t work in most films but surprisingly does here. The emphasis on comedy and a breezy, devil-may-care attitude this film builds itself around positions this in the same ballpark as an MCU flick; it automatically makes a good chunk of the film mildly frustrating but this films saving grace is that, at the very least, it actually feels like a movie rather than a commercial. Not to mention, it’s quips, visual gags and dialogue itself are better placed than an MCU film…..if not slightly.
Of course, as fun as this experience was, not everything clicked. In a movie that should be dense with worldbuilding, this movie is scarcely lacking in that; forgoing any interesting backdrops or additional elements for sticking to the linear quest at hand. It’s well constructed at least and is never too overwhelming but nothing about it really stands out. To add onto that, some of the dramatic beats the story aims to hit don’t always fare well and not all of the characters were utilized to their full potential or what could’ve been.
And then there’s the odd sense of pacing that led to an unremarkably drab second act; I wouldn’t call the pacing inconsistent but running at two hours, it’s hard not to pick apart the filler from the actual story at play. Although, the games that this movie is based on thrives on being aimless, generally good-natured fantasy-comedies so I guess they got that right too.
What more can I say? It’s bound to be a good time for causal watchers and D&D fans alike, boasting more of an attempt at action and adventure better than Marvel’s recent outings while being every bit as silly—and as fun—as a good D&D session.
