Movie Review - Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

 

Happy April!

 

I can't tell you the last time I did a movie review on my blog. Now the world is trying to open back up like COVID is dead, I at least get the pleasure of going to the movies again, which is something I did miss during quarantine.

 

My sister and I had the pleasure of joining the Black Girl Gamers x Paramount for a screening of the new Dungeons and Dragons movie: Honor Among Thieves. First off, didn't know there were two movies before it. hahaha. I'm 85% sure they were terrible, because they came out in 2000 and 2005, not prime movie effect era unless you were The Matrix, and literally just the first one, because the effects in The Matrix: Reloaded were awful.

But anyway, back to D&D: HAT. The movie starts with Edgin (Chris Pine) and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) pleading their case to get out of prison so they can get back to Edgin's daughter, whom he left with one of his thief buddies. Not to spoil anything, but honor among thieves ensues, as well as dungeons and dragons. Saying anything else will give away just about everything. It's a pretty standard plot and character arc, though. Not much will surprise you.

This movie has a big cast of stars: Chris, Michelle, Hugh Grant, and Regé-Jean Paige, as well as smaller known names like Justice Smith (Jurassic World, The Get Down) and Sophia Lillis (IT, Uncle Frank), etc. Their chemistry is just about perfect, and they all give some great performances. I didn't expect to laugh the entire movie. It was hilarious. Everyone's comedic timing really was a gem to watch. My sister said someone said Chris Pine can save any movie, and not that this movie needs saving, but he is a favorite of mine, and he shines as a bard/harper/team planner haha.

I have an understanding of the game D&D, mainly from a couple episodes of Community, Futurama: Bender's Game, the short-lived "Dungeons & Durags" on Twitch, and Hello From the Magic Tavern's version "Offices & Bosses," so the different beasts and special weapons didn't get lost on me. As someone who plays Shattered Pixel Dungeon every day, I especially loved the appearance of a mimic in the game, and what I think might have been a basilisk? Anyhow, there wasn't as much action as you would expect, but the effects were really good. When the first non-mythical creature effect happened, I said out loud, "That was a really cool effect." The only one that was pretty bad was an animatronic cat baby (you'll get it when you see it). But the mythical creatures are all very well-designed.

I think I'm going to give this movie 5 of out 5 stars. My sister said it's one she would watch over and over on tv, and I agree. It has great characters, great acting, great storytelling, and overall, it's just a great adventure! So if you haven't seen it already, go see it!