Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Movie Review

“Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” is a movie that has humble roots in a popular role-playing, dice rolling game. But it simply uses that original game as a jumping-off point to fantasy world of crazy characters and places. With a marvelous sense of witty humor and jokey situations, the cast goes on quests to find artifacts, talisman pendants and secret objects. They create an enjoyable journey of discovery.

In a world of perpetual Renaissance Faire fashion and flair, there is a man down on his luck. Edgin Darvis (played by Chris Pine) is a happily married bard and minstrel. He also works as a Harper, a secret society to keep the Medieval World safe from villains. These would include the dreaded Red Wizards.

One day Edgin stole a trinket from the home of a Red Wizard. In return, the evil sorcerer kills Edgin’s wife and leaves him alone with his only child, Kira. Edgin is desperate, and falls in with a groups of thieves.

These include the brawny barbarian named Holga Kilgore (played by Michelle Rodriguez). She is the muscle of the band of baddies. Also included is Simon (played by Justice Smith), who is a young wizard. His abilities are somewhat limited, but he comes from a long line of great Wizards. They also have a con man named Forge Fitzwilliam (played by Hugh Grant).

They go on quests to get gold, gems and magical objects. They will only rob from the people who are nasty fools, and they never kill anyone. Forge learns of a special talisman, a magical tablet that can revive someone from the Dead. He talks Edgin into this heist, by telling him he would have a chance to be with his wife once more.

Against his better judgment, Edgin leads the group on this heist. Forge has also brought along a strange woman. She is a Red Wizard named Sofina (played by Daisy Head). Forge explains that Sofina can overcome any magical charms on the vault and they can get the things they want.

Everyone else does not feel right about this. They were correct in the judgment about Sofina. She and Forge double-cross the others. Simon escapes, but Edgin and Holga are put into a prison. Two years pass before they are able to escape.

Holga and Edgin find Simon once again, after they see Forge. He is now the Lord of Neverwinter, a very large and rich city. His chief advisor is Sofina, the dastardly evil Red Wizard. Forge has taken custody of Edgin’s daughter Kira. The small group has a goal in mind.

The will fight Forge for control of Kira, and stop any evil plans of Sofina. But they do not have enough people. So they get some more help from a Druid, named Doric (played by Sophia Lillis). She is able to shape-shift and can get into all sorts of places.

They confirm that there is much wealth hidden in Forge’s vault, based on the magic protections that Sofina has installed. It would also include the magical tablet that Edgin can use to bring back his wife. The defenses are too strong for Simon, because his level of magic cannot rival Sofina.

Simon says there is only one magical object, a special Helmet, that can get them in.There is a Quest to the Warrior Graveyard. They are able to learn from the Holga’s ancentors who long-ago died in battle. The current keeper of the Helmet is a magical paladin named Xenk Yendar (played by Regé-Jean Page). He is a wise and wizardly knight of old, never aging due to his magic.

Xenk leads the group to locate the Helmet. He questions them about its uses. Would they use it for Good, or for Evil? Xenk knows about the rise of Forge in the land of Neverwinter. Xenk has made Edgin promise that any riches that they get from Forge will be given out to the townsfolk. Edgin is not thrilled with this idea, but his main goal is to get the magical tablet that can bring back his wife.

Oh, and also get his daughter Kira away from Forge. Holga will provide the strength and the power to fight. Simon will be powerful enough to go up against terrible Sofina. And Doric can use her powers to shape-shift into many different types of animals, and scout around the castle. However, Forge and Sofina are wise to the antics of Edgin and his group.

They are all captured and Edgin begs that they be put into the center of the deadly game arena. When everything seems stacked against them, can this noble squad of second-rate heroes come up with a plan to succeed and overcome the Lord of Neverwinter? Will they be able to defend against the powerful Red Wizard Sofina, and prevent her from turning the poor townsfolk into mindless zombies?

Can the magical thing-a-ma-bobs finally be controlled by Simon the Wizard? Can Doric help to win the battle to protect her Druid homeland? Can Holga use her battle-tested strength to fight against the troops of Neverwinter? Will Edgin find a way to bring back his beloved wife, or has he found a more important use for the magical tablet?

“Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” is a nice little fantasy movie that is improved with an excellent cast. It is self-aware that most of the creatures and places belong in a fantasy world, and it does not mind digging into that part of the story. On occasion, the magic conjured up seems to lean into convenience of the moment. But that does not make the adventure any less grand.

Chris Pine does a hale and hearty job as Edgin the bard, getting just the right amount of world-weary scruffiness in his character. Hugh Grant is very enjoyable, seeing him crew up every bit of the scenery is completely marvelous. Regé-Jean Page is also dashing and suave as the mysterious Xenk.

“Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” allows you to role-play with the campy, yet lovable, antics of a band of rogues and misfits on a Quest.