Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Amongst Thieves
Released in theaters on Mar 31, 2023
Released on Paramount+ May 16, 2023
Runtime: 2 Hours 14 Minutes
Rated PG-13
A group of thieves must fight back against an employer who betrayed them and plans to use what they stole for nefarious purposes in the Forgotten Realms (that will mean something if you are a D&D player). As with any good Dungeons and Dragons campaign the characters are a huge part of the fun. The movies sees a party consisting of a witty bard leader, a potato loving serious barbarian, a confidence-less sorcerer, a skeptical druid, and a very literal, humorless paladin take on an evil Red Wizard and a selfish rouge.
Themes:
Thievery, skullduggery, trust, conmen, magic, wizards, death, loss, grieving, coping with loss, self-esteem, prison, revenge, betrayal, monsters, competition, adventure, making plans, having a plan b, family, friendship, courting, humor, fatherhood, mistakes, living with regret, and abandonment.
Language:
There are several curse words throughout the movie: bit-h, d-mn, shi-, and bastar- were the ones I caught. They are all said several times. There is also name calling throughout.
Stuff to be aware of:
I was impressed that there was not really anything sexual in the movie. There were a few kisses, two characters (man and woman) mention courting in the past, and one character has a conversation with her former husband who is now remarried to another woman. That’s about it, sexually. There is a lot of fighting, scary moments, and monsters. There are a couple of jump scares, undead warriors that talk, a few people get their heads chopped off, lots of stabbing and killing (but I didn’t notice much blood), scary wizards that have dark around their eyes, people being eaten by monsters, people foaming at the mouth before dying, a man gets his legs broken, a zombie’s eye hanging out, and a creepy scary demon skeleton looking guy that talks from the shadows. I would say the monsters and fighting are a bit more intense than Harry Potter, but are not graphic.
Overall:
If you have ever wished the campaign you and your friends went on when playing D&D around a tabletop full of dice and pizza was made into a movie, then this is for you have been waiting for. The entire adventure feels like an epic tabletop game complete with side quests, loot, no one caring about your character’s backstory, and crazy characters. The writers/director do a great job keeping it accessible to people that know nothing about D&D, while also giving plenty of fun Easter eggs for long time players. The movie moves fast from one thing to the next, and doesn’t go back to explain things over again. It has plenty of humor that reminded me of a Marvel movie, but also enough serious bits to keep it grounded. There was also some world building and set up for future installments. Will be see a D&D Cinematic Universe?
There will likely be some strict by-the-rule-book players that complain online about how druids can’t turn into owlbears or wild shift that many times in a day, but they are going to miss out on how much fun this movie is. I guess in the end, the rules are left up to your Dungeon Master, or the director in this case. It isn’t a perfect movie, but it is a whole lot of fun and if we get more D&D movies in the vein of this one I will be happy. If you like fantasy or D&D go see this one.