Just a Roll of the Dice...Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Review!
SPOILER WARNING!
When it comes to tabletop games, there is one that almost everyone has either heard of, played or has interest in playing and that is Dungeons & Dragons. I myself would be under the category of has interest but have never got around to actually playing it. In fact, my knowledge of D&D is very little so when I saw there would be a movie called Dungeons & Dragons, I was a little iffy on going. Fast forward to premiere night and I ended up going and seeing "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" and having a great time! Let's review!
Before we start, let's look at the cast:
Chris Pine- Edgin
Michelle Rodriguez- Holga
Rege-Jean Page- Xenk
Justice Smith- Simon
Sophia Lillis- Doric
Hugh Grant- Forge
Chloe Coleman- Kira
Daisy Head- Sofina
As I mentioned earlier, my knowledge about D&D is very little, but I do want to learn the game and even play it some day and having that interest was one of the reasons I wanted to actually see this film in theaters. It's about that time to start looking at the positives and negatives of this film and I'll start with the negatives then end with positives. This might not be a huge negative for most, but for me it was a bit concerning and that would be the marketing of the film. Now don't get me wrong, I saw the trailers and such but they weren't selling the movie to me and they were on the shorter end in length so I would gain interest and then lose it. I may have been watching in the wrong places, but that is what I saw so when I lose interest that fast, it's pretty much game over. I had to do my own research for this movie just to hear chatter from other people and see what it was all about, and I eventually gained that interest in full. This next point could be in the negative category or in the positive, so that that as you will. If you were to ask me about the similarities and differences between this film and the actual game, I would have a blank face because I have no clue if there are any! I went into this film being very cautious about what I should know and what I don't but when I walked out, I was satisfied with what I just watched. The movie could have references, monsters and characters in there that D&D fans would know, but I didn't, and it never made me feel like I should. With only a few negatives that I honestly would consider self-negatives and nothing about the actual film, let's take a look at the positives!
Let me start this off by saying my expectations were low due to the knowledge I had but I would be lying if I said I didn't have a great time watching this movie. Everything about this film left like something I would do or be interested in; from the characters, the story and even all the monsters that we saw, everything was just fun to me. I thing an underrated part of the film has to be the relationship between Edgin and Holga. The two are your typical best friends who have totally different attitudes but still get along really well. One thing I really liked about their relationship was that I never felt like it would end in a romantic one, and I think it was for the best. Edgin has his eyes set on one thing and that is to revive his wife but things and people get in the way of that so he must find a crew to help him on his journey. Now, the characters are another bright spot for me as they were funny, down to earth as much as one could be, and had inner struggles that get fixed along the way. That is what an adventure movie should be about and that's exactly what I saw in this film. From Simon overcoming his own personal doubt to Doric who has major trust issues, everything was told on this journey and that was great to see. I talked about it briefly but the comedy in this film was great to me. Justice Smith had me laughing to myself in a few of his scenes and even Chris Pine delivered some good one liners! Finally, "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" was simple and easy to follow. The story wasn't complex, the characters didn't have crazy backgrounds and the pacing was just right. This is how an adventure movie with fictional characters in a world that is based off a tabletop game should be.
Overall, I think this movie was a treat. I went in not having a clue what to expect and walked out with a smile and feeling satisfied. "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" deserves to be seen in theaters by everyone.