Worth: $14.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Sophia Lillis, Rege-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Daisy Head, Chloe Coleman, Hugh Grant
Intro:
… an entertaining combination of the heist and fantasy movie.
The surprise movie of 2023 (so far), Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves delivers an alternative to those put off by the overload of gore-drenched violence and in-your-face sex that is part-and-parcel of the fantasy genre these days.
It is hard to determine what devotees of the popular Dungeons and Dragons boardgame will say about this comical and charismatic take on its super serious source material, but those outside the inner circle will find Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves to be an entertaining combination of the heist and fantasy movie.
Chris Pine stars as Edgin Darvis, a bard and former member of the Harpers (think a medieval FBI) who, through tragic circumstance, finds himself widowed and raising his daughter alone. After a daring heist gone wrong, a now fugitive Edgin, along with fearless warrior Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez), cowardly sorcerer Simon Aumar (Justice Smith), and shape-shifting druid Doric (Sophia Lillis), attempt to take back Edgin’s daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman) from the clutches of the corrupt Lord Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant) and his evil wizard Sofina (Daisy Head.)
Directors John Michael Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Game Night) have fun with the source material without resorting to cheap spoofery. Although the film’s tone is light and the banter more on the buddy cop side of things, there is no sacrifice in the film’s world building or in the dramatic stakes at play, which never wavers throughout the film’s 134 minute runtime.
Each member of the film’s cast play to their strengths: Chris Pine delivers a performance filled with cocky man-with-a-plan bravado; Michelle Rodriguez provides action-woman heroics; Hugh Grant doubles down on the smirking scumbag shtick; and Daisy Head is suitably intense as the wicked wizard whose stare can kill.
All matter of monster and magic and (of course) dungeons and dragons feature throughout Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, yet it’s the charismatic performances that shine the most, resulting in a fantasy adventure where the emotional stakes are just as important as the spectacle.
