It’s been a while since we’ve had a big cinematic blockbuster marketed to death, but here is ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves’, a film that’s literally plastered everywhere you look right now, with a TV and social media blitz making sure everyone knows that this film is out now. If you are excepting a live-action big screen re-telling of the popular 80s cartoon, you’ll be sadly disappointed, as was I. This does, however, have its moments delivering a fun but forgettable family adventure perfect for the Easter holidays.
When a professional thief (Chris Pine) is separated from his daughter after a heist goes wrong, he begins an epic journey to reunite with her, including breaking out of prison, and confronting former allies turned enemies. To say more would ruin the matinee fun that the film is clearly aiming for, with action, adventure and magic the order of the day.
The cast are what makes this adventure fun, with Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez leading the line well. Chris Pine is a natural leading man, and he does well as the swashbuckling Edgin. Perhaps sharing some of the magic that made him a great James T. Kirk in the ‘Star Trek’ franchise, Edgin is an easy-to-champion rogue that captures your attention throughout.
Pine shares a nice rapport with Michelle Rodriguez, who clearly looks like she enjoyed playing this role of Holga, a great Warrior with compassion at her core. It’s also nice to see her get a big family franchise because the narrative does demand more from her than what the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise seems to allow, which increasingly wastes her onscreen talent with every passing chapter.
Regé-Jean Page is excellent as Xenk, a princely warrior who takes on everything in a quite literal sense, resulting in some really funny set-pieces. This is the first project where Page has been given some creative freedom to really make the role his own, and he succeeds. Justice Smith and Sophia Lillis share a good chemistry as Simon and Doric (respectively), whilst Chloe Coleman and Daisy Head round off the principal cast well.
As good as the ensemble is, of course it’s Hugh Grant who steals all of his scenes as Forge, a scampish rogue who double-crosses his former allies. I can’t quite believe that Grant wanted to do such a film, but he looks like he was having fun. Not quite reaching his ‘Paddington 2’ highs, Grant still commands his scenes with a light touch and a quick quip.
The CGI varies from brilliant to blah – there are great set pieces that look very good, but others underwhelm completely. There is a nice nod to the 80s cartoon on several occasions which just made me wish that they’d actually made a big screen retelling of that story instead. It was such a brilliant cartoon, and for me had a much better narrative to launch a big franchise to the masses with. That said, there are plenty of nods to the D&D lore and the games, which ardent fans will no doubt pick up on quickly.
‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves’ is a light and entertaining adventure that is perfect for TV during an Easter or Christmas holiday at home. It’s easy enough to dive into and enjoy the hijinks without knowing much of the lore, however this is very light and forgettable fare. A sequel will most likely happen given how much money and marketing has gone in to promoting this movie around the world – it almost reminds me of the heady days in the 90s when summer blockbusters were marketed to the masses with toys, fast food collaborations and advertising bombarding you from every angle. And like the majority of those 90s blockbusters, it was because the film itself was pretty average after the dust settles. And that’s ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves’ all over. I have no idea why any of these people made this film, but it’s mildly enjoyable all the same.
Cast: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Hugh Grant, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Chloe Coleman, Daisy Head Director: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein Writer: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Michael Gilio, Chris McKay Certificate: 12A Duration: 134 mins Released by: eOne Release date: 31st March 2023
