D&D Honor Among Thieves is the latest and most expensive Dungeons & Dragons film, which will be released in German cinemas on 30 March. I was lucky enough to see a preview in the original language in Berlin on 24.03 at 23:10. And I have to say, staying up was worth it for me. Although I haven’t been to the cinema since I became a father and didn’t stay up that late, I didn’t regret my decision. The cinema was 3/4 full and I had a great time.
D&D Honor Among Thieves is the perfect D&D movie for me in every way. If you tried to break down a D&D campaign into a movie, the result would look 100% like the movie. At least the campaigns I’ve played like it.
The film is funny but also serious, has great special effects (with a few forgivable misfires) and manages to bring the Forgotten Realms to life.
Funny
Although the film is funny and generated many laughs in the cinema, it is not a silly comedy à la Scary Movie or My Wife, the Spartans and Me. Instead, the jokes fit the characters and the story and don’t yank you out of the story. No anachronistic jokes are made, but the funny elements fit the world and the characters.
Dramatic
Although the film is funny, there is no shortage of drama. You feel for the characters and the emotional climaxes are earned. For me, the balance between seriousness and comedy works perfectly. It is a great art to find this balance, but the filmmakers have done it.
The perfect D&D film
The structure of the story is a perfect mirror image for a D&D campaign. This is how most D&D campaigns I have played or seen streamed work. The transfer to the film format works very well. However, it has to be said that the story structure of a D&D campaign is not 100% optimal for a movie, or rather, not 100% the way Hollywood movies are. The film is not as smooth as a standard film where the transitions are perfect and everything fits together perfectly. It’s not a Lord of the Rings. If the script had been rewritten to fit a standard Hollywood format, the film would have lost its identity and become a generic fantasy film. To bring the essence of D&D to the screen, you have to break a bit with the Hollywood film formula. That’s why D&D Honor Among Thieves is the perfect D&D film, a natural 20. But as a pure fantasy film, it’s only a natural 17.
Action
The action in the film is fun. It is varied and not tiring. Many modern fantasy/sci-fi/superhero blockbusters have tedious, miserably long action scenes that consist only of 20 minutes of hitting each other and don’t offer much variety other than hitting harder and causing more collateral damage.
In Honor Among Thieves, every action scene is different and has its own identity. Often the characters are outmatched in terms of strength and have to use their wits to deal with the situation. Each character has strengths and weaknesses that they can use and play to in the action scenes. The final battle is not won because the characters have bigger muscles or more magic, but because they use their wits against an overpowered opponent. This is refreshingly different from many modern action films.
The Characters
The characters are some of the best the film has to offer. Edgin (Chris Pine) and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) have perfect chemistry and are something like mum and dad to the group, which also includes Doric and Simon.
Hugh Grant as one of the villains is great. He plays Forge perfectly. You love to hate him.
Also, the relationship between Edgin and his daughter Kira is heartwarming and especially I, as a new father, can relate to that. And the motifs that appear in the prequel novels are seamlessly continued in the film.
And Xenk, the paladin, is simply … perfect.
Every character has their own motivation, every character has enough depth to make the film work. No one comes across as flat or like a parody or caricature. And everyone has a character arc that works.
Problems
Of course, there are a few minor problems. Some of the special effects are … strange. How the halflings are portrayed, that didn’t work so well for me. Some background effects are not so good either. But luckily that only happened in places that are not so crucial.
Another problem is the background of Doric. I had already complained about “The Druid’s Call” that the story there is incomplete, that the problem is not solved, but that what leaves the book incomplete is taken up in the film. Well, the problem was taken up in the film and solved in the end – but: why the problem arose remained completely unclear even in the film. Maybe it was mentioned in an off-sentence and I overlooked it, but it bothered me that the external problem from the novel was also only dealt with in passing and too superficially in the film.
But those are the biggest problems – the Doric part in particular could be solved if the film were longer. Which is a good sign. One wishes for more from the film.
Conclusion
D&D Honor Among Thieves is the perfect D&D movie and will delight every D&D fan and fantasy lover. It is a light-hearted fantasy adventure with a perfect mix of action, humour and character development. Those who like films like The Princess Bride, Guardians of the Galaxy, a Knight’s Tale or DragonHeart will also love this film. However, fans who only like serious and epic fantasy films like The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones should be aware that they may not get their money’s worth here. All in all, D&D Honor Among Thieves is a fantastic film worth seeing.