Alright! Today I'm reviewing the epic fantasy film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, a movie based on the superbly popular roleplay game that was the #1 cause of demonic inclinations in the 1980s. The movie adaptation, the second after an ill-fated 2000 attempt, features an overconfident bard played by Chris Pine as he creates a team to take down an evil magistrate, a red wizard, and win his daughter's trust back. 
One of my favorite aspects of Honor Among Thieves is the accessibility. It doesn't matter if you can roll a nat. 20 or how many parties you've played - this movie is, first and foremost, a fun fantasy adventure that anyone can understand. While it's definitely marketed towards those who are familiar with the concepts of elves, witches, and medieval governments, it's readily accessible for a post-Harry Potter world and quite enjoyable when compared to a post-Endgame blockbuster landscape.
The epic fantasy aspects were some of my favorite parts of the whole movie. I first noticed this appreciation of mine for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, but dropping you into the world head first is such a fresh take after so many origin stories and prequels that have polluted theaters for the past decade. No giant exposition dumps, no ending the movie on the thing we actually paid money to see. Once it establishes Chris Pine's motivations (the dead wife, while unoriginal, works) the movie launches off at rocket speed for a fun and charming adventure with a great ensemble.
The ensemble was one of Honor Among Thieves' strongest parts and comparatively blew the 2023 competition out of the water. There is no arc where a character realizes they "are not a dick" and renounces the side of evil. Everyone here ends up being a well-balanced, trope-subverting, emotionally resilient character with surprisingly potent or hilarious big finale pay-offs while also utilizing their abilities in creative ways throughout the movie.
I give this movie all the love for the fight scenes - with such a large cast, it would be easy for some to take the backburner during them, but each one is expertly used to the fullest of their abilities, be they brute strength, smarm, wizardry, or shapeshifting, impressively used simultaneously in truly ingenious setpieces (The gelatinous cube one was particularly great). With such a large roster of characters to look out for, one might be worried about if the VFX people got to see their families - luckily, all of the visual effects, while not revolutionary, were more than serviceable and never detracted from the film.
I also loved the scope of the movie, namely that it felt like they actually went outside to film it instead of a studio in Atlanta. Tons of eye-catching locations, beautiful actors in front of beautiful vistas, and large sets make the movie feel more real and grounded than most big-budget movies today, eerily reminded me of kid-friendly early 2010s comedies such as Mirror Mirror and The Sorcerer's Apprentice rather than the "Princess Bride post-Marvel" movie I feared it would be.
Yes, I do realize I'm praising the movie for more or less being up to bat with average movies from ten years ago, but one must note how rapidly the cinematic landscape has changed in that time. I'm surprised a movie as sweet, charming, and as fun as this one made it through such a rigorously corporate environment. Maybe it's that it came out after Quantumania and Fury of the Gods, but Honor Among Thieves just feels like a throwback to when franchise flicks were easily accessible while also being fun.
However, the film isn't perfect. It's about ten minutes too long and never as consistently funny as I would have liked it to be (Fun and funny are different beasts), and the druid character is definitely the least developed among the heroic ensemble. The villains were also vaguely generic outside of their costuming and makeup, with vague "take over the world" threats and plans that make less sense the more you think of them. I'm also told by my friend who is active in the D&D world that it was infinitely disappointing that the (hilarious and scene-stealing) paladin never used Divine Smight.
But ultimately, D&D: Honor Among Thieves is an airtight adventure with excellent costumes, world-building, a fun cast, big set pieces, and enough drama to root all of those qualities in one of the most rousing action comedies of the year. While it's certainly made better by lackluster superhero contemporaries, there is no doubt that it's fantastic both as a stand-alone comedy and as a movie continuation of a 40+ year game.
Overall, I give Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves an 8/10. "Surprisingly apt at everything that makes movies good, Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a fun time for all."
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