Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

[Tino]

Title: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

Tagline: No experience necessary.

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Director: John Francis Daley, Jonathan M. Goldstein

Cast: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Hugh Grant, Jason Wong, Chloe Coleman, Daisy Head

Release: 2023-03-29

Runtime: 134

Plot: 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.

This one is getting great reviews. Who’d a thunk?

 

[Tino]

90%!!

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES​

PG-13
2023, Fantasy/Adventure, 2h 14m
90%
TOMATOMETER41 Reviews
--
AUDIENCE SCORE50+ Ratings

WHAT TO KNOW​

Critics Consensus

An infectiously good-spirited comedy with a solid emotional core, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves offers fun fantasy and adventure even if you don't know your HP from your OP. Read critic reviews

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves | Rotten Tomatoes

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. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves brings the rich world and playful spirit of the legendary roleplaying game to the...

www.rottentomatoes.com

 

[Joe Wong]

If you’re an Amazon Prime member, there’s a sneak preview (advanced screening) on Sunday March 19:



EDIT: Looks like March 19 is for the US only. In Canada, it looks like it’s on Sunday March 26.

 

[Josh Dial]

EDIT: Looks like March 19 is for the US only. In Canada, it looks like it’s on Sunday March 26.

Got my tickets already for March 26!

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Went to a sneak today.

Strength: 12
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 15
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 15
Charisma: 18

Chaotic Good to Chaotic Great. Well worth a theater visit.

 

[Josh Dial]

I rolled good initiative and went to the preview today in a sold out theatre.

I enjoyed this quite a bit. The action and comedy blend reminded me of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, but with an owlbear and a displacer beast.

The leads were all great. Chris Pine oozed charisma (as he always does). I'm usually not a big fan of Michelle Rodriguez, but she was good here, with some great comedic timing and line delivery. Everyone got something to do and it didn't feel like mere box checking. Rege-Jean Page was used to great effect. Hugh Grant actually seemed to be enjoying himself and all the scene chewing he was doing. Justice Smith was great as the sorcerer with self esteem problems. Sophia Lillis has been excellent in everything I've seen her in and she was terrific here.

The plot was fun and had a few decent turns (not twists: turns). I don't particular like or dislike the Forgotten Realms world (Dragonlance forever), but the movie seemed to strike a nice blend of existing in a "real" place without resorting to name dropping instead of world building. To be sure, there was name dropping (Elminster and Mordenkainen, plus all of the big cities), but it actually served the plot and gave some verisimilitude.

The fight scenes were well choreographed (though mostly involved Michelle Rodriguez and Rege-Jean Page), but nothing mind-blowing. Just solid action-comedy fight scenes. I could have used perhaps one more "party" battle but perhaps it would have dragged the movie too much. Assuming the studio doesn't drop the ball this should play nicely on physical media, and I expect the Atmos track to be solid.

My favourite easter egg was the team at the stadium composed of characters from the 1983 Dungeons & Dragons cartoon.

I'm looking forward to buying this on UHD and re-watching it every few years. Solid fun movie.

8/10

 

[Malcolm R]

Pretty good preview numbers last night, $5.6 million.

That's on par with Scream VI a few weeks back which opened with nearly $45 million.

EDIT: I guess last night's numbers were closer to $4.1 million, as the film had additional previews prior to Thursday that reportedly account for about $1.5 million and they've rolled them all together. Tracking has the opening weekend somewhere from $30-40 million (which would also include the $5.6 million so far).

 

[Jason_V]

As a prelude: Non-D&D player and my only real exposure to the game was the 1980's animated series.

Honor Among Thieves is good (my fiance, who insisted on going with me, said "it was a movie"). The cast is right, the feel is right and the comedy is right and the look is right. But it didn't connect with me on a level it wanted to, I think. I have the same problem with all versions of Lord of the Rings and Hobbit, for the record.

Chris Pine is a great comedic leading man here. In fact, the cast is pretty good all around.

But I just don't have any enthusiasm for rewatching this or a sequel movie/TV show. I'm trying to figure out why that is.

 

[Malcolm R]

I was also never really "into" D&D. I think I only played once or twice. I'll see this mostly because I'm a sucker for any movie with dragons.

 

[Tino]

I’ve never played D&D and I enjoyed this immensely.

Just a charming good medieval time at the movies with great performances especially Chris Pine and Hugh Grant.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I’ve never played D&D and I enjoyed this immensely.

I've never played D&D either. I'm not so much concerned about that. But I was not amused by the trailers at all.

For anyone who has seen it, is the movie good enough to disregard not liking the trailers? Sometimes the marketing isn't entirely accurate and the movie ends up being better than expected. But if the movie is as marketed, it might not be for me.

 

[Tino]

I've never played D&D either. I'm not so much concerned about that. But I was not amused by the trailers at all.

Is the movie good enough to disregard not liking the trailers?

Absolutely! I didn’t like the trailers either. It was a pleasant surprise with lots of action and comedy.

 

[Joe Wong]

Just came back from watching it.

A fun adventure that takes care to make sure its story makes sense (and not just throw in a bunch of monster battles) and provides each main character some backstory and motivation. Maybe a little slow during the first hour but the 2nd hour makes it worth it, with some clever plot moves.

Spoiler

I was hoping Rege-Jean Page’s character would join the main team for the finale - he was a cool dude! Hopefully if there is a sequel there will be more of him.

 

[ScottJH]

I'm also someone who didn't play and exposure was the animated series and all the advertisements on the back of Marvel comics in the 80's. Saw it yesterday in a Dolby Cinema. Enjoyed the move itself but the AMC experience, ugh. Now I remember why I don't go there as often as I used to, 25 minutes from posted time until the movie actually started then the overhead can lights didn't dim/go off and I missed a little bit at the beginning telling someone about the issue. I will pick up the 4k disc when it drops below 15 bucks.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Pretty good movie - story is a mess, but still fun for the most part.

And it sports the most stunning celebrity cameo I think I've seen since "EuroTrip"!

Surprised no one else has mentioned it yet!

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Why ruin the surprise? I thought the story held together fine, at least by blockbuster standards.

 

[Tino]

Looks like a $40 million opening weekend.

‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Locks Up $38.5M Opening: Is This Enough To Start A Franchise? – Sunday Box Office

Box Office: Dungeons & Dragons Opening to $38.5M

deadline.com

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Why ruin the surprise?

I don't think mentioning the existence of a celebrity cameo ruins the surprise.

I didn't say who it was or when it occurs or anything other than it exists.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I don't think mentioning the existence of a celebrity cameo ruins the surprise.

I didn't say who it was or when it occurs or anything other than it exists.

To a certain degree it ruined it for me because now I’ll be expecting it. The surprise is gone!

 

[Tino]

Regarding the title of the film..

Spoiler

am I crazy or are there very little dungeons and dragons in the film. I think there is only one FAT Dragon.