Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a tropey, impressively comedic film that doesn’t take itself seriously, which is a refreshing change of pace from the more “serious” films that have come out recently. In a time where dramatic action films are the most popular, Thieves not only manages to stand out, but beats even John Wick 4 in the box office. But is the film itself actually good, or has it coasted off the success of its franchise?
The plot follows the typical Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) storyline: a rowdy band of adventurers travels everywhere from the highlands to hell, accidentally involving themselves in a sinister plot which is way over their heads. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before, but this simplicity is a great choice for a one-off role-playing game (RPG) movie. While there is almost a complete lack of world-building, which is one of the things I think makes D&D so unique, the plot is easy to follow and there’s never any confusion on the characters’ end goal.
If you come into Thieves assuming you’ll see a heroic, action-packed movie with epic fight scenes and deep plots… you’ll be disappointed. Thieves sets out to embody the spirit of tabletop D&D with friends’ experience; a little serious and epic at times, but overall just looking to score some laughs. Thieves executes its humor especially well. Honestly, after watching Marvel films with random quips thrown in, I forgot movies could actually be funny; I was happy to be proven wrong.
At heart, though, the movie is based on a tabletop RPG. Though we have had some D&D media in the past (like the original three D&D films or more recent The Legend of Vox Machina), many times the shows have just felt disconnected from their inspiration. Sure, it can have the name D&D in its title, but how does it represent that? What differentiates it from a regular fantasy show? For many adaptations, removing the one-off D&D references wouldn’t change the film at all. Instead, the films feel like generic fantasy rather than an adaptation of the most popular TTRPG ever.
Thieves still feels a bit generic at times, but unlike many films, it’s self-conscious of its genericity. The plot constantly hits dead ends and wrong turns from its somewhat linear progression, but the way the characters solve the problems feels natural– when they progress, you can clearly see the line of reasoning in the characters’ minds. This, I feel, is what makes it embody the spirit of D&D: adapting to challenges your Dungeon Master throws at you, players completely ruining certain story sections with hasty retconning, and a plot as thin and fickle as a sheet of paper.
The movie isn’t without its flaws, of course. The locations and plot move so fast you could get whiplash, and many times the characters simply feel like they don’t add anything to the scenario. Sometimes the characters feel more like audience members, and they just silently stand around watching a different “more suitable” character solve the current issue. The villain feels like a parody, almost comically evil. Although this is also common in real D&D games and is another testament to its inspiration, by the end of the movie it gets pretty tiring.
Of course, a D&D game isn’t truly a D&D game without its fair share of great characters. The archetypes range from the typical angry barbarian or the annoying bard, but the way the characters are integrated into each scene works really well to heighten their personality. The characters aren’t exactly deep and the motivations for each character are clear right from the get-go, but dialogue between characters flows naturally and feels organic. And at the end of the day, totally unique characters don’t make great stories– how the characters interact with the world is what really matters.
The main highlight of the movie for me is how consistent the tone feels. The tone never shifts to something serious and emotional (unlike certain superhero movies). The whole film stays lighthearted and funny the whole way through; even if something bad happens, a well-timed joke keeps it funny and cheerful. It’s a welcome change of pace from many movies that seem to be dramatic, yet still try to make the audience laugh; a trend many have grown weary of.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves isn’t going to win any awards for its plot, score, or actors. However, the movie doesn’t have to win awards to be good. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who enjoys comedy, even if you’re not usually a fantasy fan. Although Thieves might sacrifice deeper meaning and world-building for humor, it succeeds by going all in trying to make you laugh. You can watch the PG-13 film in local theaters in Bloomington, or you could wait for it to release on Paramount Plus (likely around May 2023).
