How well do you know Dungeons & Dragons? This role-playing game has been around for decades, and it’s had a cultural resurgence in the last few years.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves wasn’t the first movie that attempted to bring the game to the big screen. Unfortunately, its $208.2 million worldwide take just wasn’t enough to justify a sequel.
That’s unfortunate, because this isn’t just a great D&D movie, it’s also a fantastic film that blends fantasy, adventure, action and comedy seamlessly.
Netflix subscribers only have a few more days to enjoy this flick, which is why we’re sharing the reasons you need to watch Honor Among Thieves before it leaves the streamer.
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Chris Pine Carries the Movie With His Charm
Honor Among Thieves needed a strong presence in the leading role of Edgin “Ed” Darvis, and that’s exactly what the movie got with Chris Pine. The Star Trek actor may be aging, but his on-screen charisma remains intact. Ed narrates the movie at certain times and reveals how this formerly vitreous member of the Harpers became a thief after his wife was murdered. Ed also lays out his very platonic friendship with Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez), a barbarian woman who helped him raise his daughter, Kira (Chloe Coleman).
Pine plays Ed with more than a little resentment over the loss of his wife, but his cynical nature doesn’t take away from the character’s innate charm. Some of the jokes in this film are at Ed’s expense, but he never loses credibility as a hero, even when he’d rather just make off with the loot. This should have been a breakout moment for Pine, but his performance helped make the movie what it is.
The Rest of the Cast Is Also Very Impressive
It’s an understatement to call this movie well-cast, as even the supporting characters get their chance to shine. Rodriguez’s Holga doesn’t always get to wear her heart on her sleeve, but there are times when she’s truly overcome by emotion and longing for a former romantic partner. It says everything about Holga’s bond with Ed that he knows how to raise her spirits from her moment of despair. In a more conventional movie, these two would have found love with each other. Instead, Honor Among Thieves doubles down on their ride or die friendship.
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Hugh Grant looks like he was having the time of his life playing Ed and Holga’s former friend, Forge Fitzwilliam. Years ago, Forge got away while Holga and Ed were sent to prison. In the present, he’s stolen Kira’s love from them and taken over the city of Neverwinter. For an ex-rom-com actor, Grant is very good in his first real villainous role.
The former star of Netflix’s Bridgerton, Regé-Jean Page, has what amounts to an extended cameo as Xenk Yendar, an ally of Ed and his party. It feels like the movie would have been even better if he had stuck around for more scenes. Thankfully, Sophia Lillis and Justice Smith nicely round out the main cast as Ed’s allies Doric and Simon. All of these performers are very entertaining to watch, and we’d still love to see them return for a sequel.
It Brings New Life to ‘Dungeons and Dragons,’ Even For Non-Fans
Not everyone can easily slip into the fantasy world of Dungeons & Dragons. The genius of Honor Among Thieves is how it condenses the mythology of D&D without watering it down for a broad audience. This movie doesn’t treat viewers as if they’re idiots, but it still explains things in an easy-to-understand way that makes the world feel more relatable.
For fans of the game, there’s a lot to enjoy as well, including callbacks to the Dungeons & Dragons animated series and a scene with Xenk that may remind you of the hardcore D&D fans in your life. This fantasy world has a lot of rules, but the film never loses sight that it’s also incredibly fun.
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‘Honor Among Thieves’ Is Genuinely Hilarious
Some action comedies tend to force the latter rather than letting jokes flow naturally. Honor Among Thieves manages to strike a balance between its lighter tone and genuinely high stakes without ever slipping into farce. When the movie leans into humor, it’s often funnier than many modern comedies. The party’s brief resurrection of the dead is a prime example of this, and what could have been a creepy scene became one of the funniest parts of the movie.
Honor Among Thieves handles its humor with such conviction that it manages to close out the story on a throwback gag to the opening minutes of the film. It’s such a great time at the movies that we’re still stunned it didn’t do better. But if you’ve never seen it before, you still have a chance to enjoy Honor Among Thieves before it leaves Netflix.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is streaming on Netflix until August 25.
