When it’s at its best,Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thievesforgets what decade it’s in. There’s none of the grit and indulgence of fantasy in the ‘00s, but plenty of the charm. It’s also - for the most part - full of the levity we’ve come to expect from modern action/comedy seat fillers likeGuardians of the GalaxyandThe Suicide Squad, but without the self-pitying, self-referential humour we were all dreading.
When it strikes this balance, we’re laughing along with Honor Among Thieves, not at it. Its best jokes draw from the silliness of aD&D campaign, without putting the story on hold to tell them. Instead, we’re along for the ride as Holga la barbare (Michelle Rodriguez) hits on a halfing, because she likes short dudes. Or with the mage Simon (Justice Smith), as he tries to pull off a heist when he can barely cast a spell. It’s simple but brilliant.
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That’s the best way to describe Honor Among Thieves: simple but brilliant. Which is no small feat when we’re dealing with a setting that most audience members will be completely unfamiliar with.
Even as it opens up the huge world of Dungeons & Dragons’Forgotten Realmsto newcomers, it’s simple. We meet Chris Pine’s Edgin the bard (ha) as a prisoner, telling the parole board how he ended up falling into a life of crime. Of course, it’s only meant to distract them while he and Holga plan their escape, but it also distracts the audience, as they’re clued up on all the fantasy goings-on we’ll need to know for the rest of the film. Then, he and Holga jump out of the window and the real fun begins without us even realising it had paused for an exposition dump.
This momentum continues as we’re introduced to the big bad, and then, of course, the rest of our band of heroes who will save the day. It’s formulaic, sure, but so charming you can’t help but lose yourself in its cliches.
This is a big budget crowd-pleasing comedy, though, so the cracks begin to show as the film seems to lose its identity in places. Whether it’s the big lady liking small guys joke hanging around just a bit too long to the point of feeling cruel, or Chris Pine basically turning to look at the camera to raise an eyebrow whenever everything gets a bit too silly, it starts to feel like Honor Among Thieves has a Whedonised joke quota it needs to meet to justify its existence.
At the very least, there’s no point when Honor Among Thieves falls flat on its face. It stumbles, sure, but like a middling acrobatics roll, it’s stumbling towards a great finish. It’s an ending you’ll see coming miles away, but just like a D&D session, you’re here for the ride. It’s more than enough to keep the cynicism at bay.
Honor Among Thieves takes absolutely no risks, but it still manages to feel authentic rather than an IP cash grab. Its worst parts feel tacked on, like the MCU jokes, but it’s far more earnest than any of us were expecting, and that makes it more than worth the ride.
The best thing Honor Among Thieves has going for it is that it’s a fantasy story that isn’t embarrassed to be a fantasy story. It’s also a mid-tier movie that isn’t afraid to be mid-tier, and it’s a relief that films like this can still stick the landing. If the non-MCU blockbuster really is making a comeback, then Honor Among Thieves is proudly continuing the trend, even if it could do with being a little more confident in its own ability to entertain a crowd.
