As someone who has taken the time to try and organize a D&D game only for it to be pushed back and inevitably canceled, I was thrilled when the Dungeons and Dragons-inspired movie, “Honor Among Thieves” was announced.  

The movie mainly follows Edgin (Chris Pine) and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) as they try to rescue Edgin’s child, Kira, after being arrested for a robbery gone wrong. In typical D&D fashion, shenanigans ensue and betrayals occur. The two are faced with reassembling their old crew to take on new missions, such as taking down capitalism, among other things.

Every actor feels perfectly cast in their roles. The standouts among the cast are Pine and Rodriguez with their perfect buddy adventure banter helping to balance the entire movie. 

I also was not expecting the movie to be as beautiful as it was. It is filled to the brim with gorgeous locations and great camera work. Every specific shot felt like it had a purpose.

While I was drawn to the movie as a D&D fan, the film doesn’t exclude newcomers to the game. With only small references to the D&D community, the movie never relies on a deeper knowledge for any plot detail or character moment. I was surprised that the movie avoided any meta moments, however, anyone familiar with how the game tends to play out will be able to hear the would-be players’ conversation at the table. 

The way events unfold reminded me of how my players would constantly switch up plans. This surprisingly doesn’t ruin the pacing of the movie; instead, it made the movie flow better from scene to scene.  

My favorite part of this movie however was the dragon, Themberchaud, which makes it a 10/10. (Ok it’s really like an 8.5 if you don’t have a friend to make fun of the dragon with, shout out to Noah).