This is refreshing, I guess. A fun, fun, family-friendly picture that hasn't been painstakingly wrung from a comic-book series like the last, lonely dregs of toothpaste from a long-dead bottle is that vanishingly uncommon phenomenon, and Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves is it. Jeremy Irons featured in a critically panned adaptation of the fantasy role-playing game in 2000; a made-for-TV sequel and direct-to-DVD third episode followed. This isn't the first movie based on the enduringly popular fantasy role-playing game. But, Honour Among Thieves is more than just a remake; it is a fleshed-out, complex work of world-building with instantly likable characters, a lot of face-crunching, axe-based battle choreography, and a running joke about potatoes.
Congratulations to Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley for co-writing and co-directing the film. Together, they have worked on board games and reboots; they co-wrote Spider-Man: Homecoming. They also co-directed the comedy-thriller Game Night. They successfully blend character and action in this picture while ensuring that the digital effects serve the narrative rather than the other way around.
A charming thief attempts a daring robbery with a group of odd adventurers to steal a priceless artifact, but things go wrong when they cross paths with the wrong people. In a funny and action-packed adventure, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves takes the rich universe and lighthearted spirit of the renowned roleplaying game to the big screen.
Its comfort and regularity are not a hindrance. Several stunning action scenes are inserted at regular intervals to keep us interested. The most memorable sequences are the team's pursuit of the formidable Red Wizard, the shape-shifting Doric through a crowded metropolis, and their battle with an obese dragon in a dungeon.
Even the writing of the lesser characters is humorous; everything serious is given a coat of humor. On the mission, for instance, Xenk plays a crucial part, but he also serves as a mocking example for other similar gallant guys who always walk on a straight path. Even Bradley Cooper's brief appearance as a tiny person and Holga's old boyfriend is entertaining. The biggest praise, though, should go to Chris Pine for his amazing comic timing, upbeat demeanor, and charisma. The pinnacle of it all is a sequence that takes place in a graveyard and requires Edgin and the crew to use magic to dig open corpses so they may be questioned.
All of this comes together to take us on a jolly good ride, which is orchestrated by directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who also wrote the script with Michael Gilio. Similar to the well-known role-playing game it is based on, the plot unfolds in a series of sequential events, like rides, over a template script executed to the highest standard. There is plenty of pleasant humor and mesmerizing color.
