27. Review: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023 film)

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Episode 27 - Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023 film)

Audio recorded on April 14, 2023

I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy the film adaptation of “Dungeons & Dragons” (full movie title “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves). I went into the film knowing very little about the world of DnD other than it has been around for many years and has a very enthusiastic following. Then the reviews for this film came out after it’s premiere at the South by Southwest festival. The result is one of those great experiences where expectations are low and then the reviews come out saying it is one of the most entertaining films of the year. That piqued my curiosity and I went to check this one out in the theaters. You know you have a smashing hit when the die-hards, the uninitiated, and the critics all are shouting their praises for a movie. “Honor Among Thieves” is definitely one of these movies. It was a big sigh of relief for me because with few recent exceptions (“The Last of Us”, “The Witcher”, “Halo”, “Sonic the Hedgehog”, “Sonic the Hedgehog 2”, “Angry Birds 2) there have unfortunately been so many bad game adaptations (the cult-classically awful 1993 “Super Mario Bros.” with Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo, the 2005 film “Doom” and every adaptation of “Resident Evil” to date). This film is just right at just over 2 hours in running time (2 hours and 15 minutes). Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez are fantastic in this movie. They bring a great balance of action and comedy to the film. Regé-Jean Page also has some pretty great scenes and laughs in the movie too. The team behind the camera includes writers and directors from movies like “Game Night” (funny movie if you haven’t checked it out - Jesse Plemons steals the show) and “Vacation” so you know you are in for a good time with this one. The movie also has an expected cameo in it. Questions I have from this movie: is a strong fan-base for a globally enjoyed game and A-list of talent in front and behind the camera enough to make this movie a hit? Also will Chris Pine be able to break free of his curse of movies that are made with Paramount Pictures (Paramount made this DnD movie) ? I love this studio and all the characters and stories that they have created but for some reason even though he has had success with work at other studios, Paramount and Chris Pine have never had a successful (box office success) film together. Paramount is a great studio and Pine is an entertaining actor. This curse that they have when working together needs to end.

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