Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
★★★ — Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
Based on the long-running tabletop role-playing game originally published by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson in 1974, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves arrives as the most high-profile attempt to bring the property to the big screen since the rather unloved 2000 adaptation. The game itself has seen a significant cultural resurgence in recent years, boosted in no small part by streaming shows and a growing community of players, so the timing of a glossy, big-budget fantasy-comedy from Paramount Pictures and Entertainment One felt, at the very least, like a reasonable bet. The film runs at a fairly generous 134 minutes and carries the tagline "No experience necessary", which tells you quite a lot about the tone the filmmakers were going for. The basic premise follows a roguish thief and a mismatched group of companions on a heist that rapidly spirals out of control when they attract the attention of considerably more dangerous people than they bargained for.
Behind the camera, the directing duo of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein bring a background rooted more in comedy than in fantasy spectacle. The pair previously worked together on Game Night (2018), a well-received comedy thriller, and have writing credits going back to the Horrible Bosses films, among others. They are not directors typically associated with large-scale action set pieces, which makes this a notable step up in scale. At the head of the cast is Chris Pine, an actor who has spent a good portion of his career anchoring franchise pictures with an easy, self-aware charm. Fans of his work may also want to look back at Hell or High Water (2016), reviewed here, which shows a rather different, grittier side of his range, and there is of course his turn in Wonder Woman (2017), another large-scale genre piece in which he essentially plays a similar function as the witty, capable foil. Alongside him, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, and Hugh Grant round out an ensemble that leans heavily into the comedic register. Grant in particular, operating in full sardonic-villain mode, seems to be having a fine time. The production is polished but unremarkable in its visual design, leaning on practical locations and effects-heavy sequences in roughly equal measure.
For a film aiming to please both longtime fans of the source material and complete newcomers, it walks a genuinely tricky line, one that has tripped up plenty of game and genre adaptations before it. Whether it manages to keep its footing is really the central question, and that is where the review below comes in.
As a former DM, I think my love of DnD actually harms my love of this movie a bit. For a film based on a tabletop game full of chaos, dice rolls, and endless lore, this actually strikes a nice balance between goofy adventure and accessible storytelling. Chris Pine leads with charisma, and the cast overall has great chemistry. It’s lighthearted, quippy, and doesn’t take itself too seriously (which is exactly what a D&D film should be). There are some great set pieces, a few clever nods to the game for fans, and the whole thing feels like watching someone's campaign unfold in real time, complete with unexpected plans and dumb luck. That said, it’s not exactly groundbreaking. The plot’s predictable, and while the humour mostly works, it leans a bit too much on Marvel-style wisecracks at times. Still, for what it is (a fantasy romp with a lot of charm) it definitely rolls high on charisma, even if the story and stakes don’t always land a natural 20.
I suspect my feelings here will land somewhere familiar for a lot of people who came to this one with some personal history with the game. There is a version of this film that goes further, trusts its audience a little more, and earns its wilder moments through something a bit more than charm and momentum. Still, I have sat through far worse attempts to adapt beloved properties, and there is genuine warmth in the performances that carries you through the flatter stretches. For a comparison point on how adventure films can get the tone badly wrong even with a bigger budget and more action behind them, it is worth having a look at my thoughts on F9 (2021). On balance, Honor Among Thieves is the kind of film you leave with a smile, even if you cannot quite remember all of it by the following morning.
Rating: ★★★ | Year: 2023 | Watched: 2025-04-07
Trailer
▶ Watch the official trailer for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) on YouTube
Where to watch
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