Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) is a movie my wife and I watched in theatres this evening. The storyline follows a father who is left to raise his new born daughter on his own after his wife is killed due to his mischievous ways. He meets an outcast, Holga, they become best friends, and they raise the baby together. When they set out on a mission to find a magic stone to bring the mother back to life, they are caught, imprisoned and the daughter is taken by a friend to raise her. The father and Holga will need to find a way out of jail, track down the daughter and restart their life...

This movie is codirected by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who worked together on Game Night, and stars Chris Pine (Wonder Woman),Michelle Rodriguez (The Fast and the Furious),Regé-Jean Page (Bridgerton),Hugh Grant (Four Wedding and a Funeral) and Daisy Head (Wrong Turn).

We loved this movie. This reminded me of Guardians of the Galaxy in a lot of ways. There is a lot going on in this movie - but I adored both the good guys and bad guys. The three villains in this are tremendous and Hugh Grant was perfectly cast for this role. His facial expressions and body langauge was hilarious. The same could be said about Chris Pine, who was perfect as the lead character. The action choreography is out of this world. Every fight scene is tremendous. The CGI used for the magic and creatures was excellent and they did a great job of creating the universe with various creatures and species throughout the movie. The storyline has more depth than you may expect and the final fight was a 10/10. There's even some great jump scares in here you don't see coming.

Overall, this is a tremendous addition to the fantasy genre that's an absolute must see. I would score this an 8/10 and strongly recommend (my wife gave it a 9/10).

LIKES:

The Pace -The movie is not one of those that gets lost in the set up and meandering to get the character's introduced to help with controls.

-No, it instead picks up and gets things going right off the bat, as we get right into a heist and the adventure at hand.

-That adventurous pace works so hard for me, and it keeps that momentum going, a fantastic movement that feels like a compact adventure that is not devoid of sustenance.

-And maintaining that pace... it's hard, but Daley and the crew really achieved this goal for me and may have the best paced movie of the month for me.

The Visual Effects -And the visual effects have surprisingly really gotten scaled up in the decades since that first attempt.

-The costumes are stellar, homages to impressive cosplay and design that I just love to see made homage in the films and the fans that made the series what it is.

-While not LOTR, the movie really does have great character creations and I quite enjoyed seeing the engagement depending on the character's status.

-the CGI work is great, while not fully realistic or smooth, it does a hell of job bringing everything to life and making the fictitious world as lifelike as possible.

-Dragons, spells, and the non-human denizens, have fantastic design and animation, and I just love the investment in giving it familiarity but adding that touch of personality to make it belong to this movie. Such great details.

The Surprising Story -The movie is not the most original vision, and truth be told is very much hybrids of fantasy movies of the past.

-Yet, it blends so many things together that the cliché story really feels a tad fresh and just fun to enjoy and see what they pulled from the archives of this world.

-There is some heart to it definitely, an investment that might be as sincere as others, but still worked for me in the way they come together in this band of thieves.

-And yet, there is a lot of setting pieces for future installments that holds adventure, action, and potential stakes in the times to come. All with that dab of humor to help even things out.

The World Building -It's a movie that has to cater to both old and new fans potentially, and you know what... I feel it works.

-D&D veterans are going to know the map and intricacies more and find those easter eggs that you'll surely pick out with multiple viewings of this movie.

-New people though will get plenty of elements and a basic foundation without being too overwhelmed to remember every place on the map and how they connect.

-The way these creatures are built. Learning about the bad guys and cults, are all there to a simple level, but yet have enough bite to help make things stand out and give you that movie fell to it.

-I loved the introduction this movie serves and not getting lost in it that the movie lost momentum and just feel this movie did it right to always intrigue you to come back for more in this universe.

-Plus, the visuals just make it pretty and the editing only further helps with keeping the world building exciting to see what comes next.

The Action -The movie surprised me by how good the action was and not dropped into that pseudo action, comedy stuff that we get in these movies.

-But yet, this movie really surprised me by the things they did and the adventurous action that was contained in the movie.

-Sword fighting choreography might be a bit planned, but the flow is incredible and still containing savagery and risks that give it heat and energy with a little mixed martial arts into the choreography.

-Magic battles feel like advanced Harry Potter moves, where actual elements and advanced level castings blow the light show of the series away, but again has this element of edge that works.

-And even the survivalist running holds some merit to it, and I loved how it mixed with the other elements to give every exciting moment some splendor.

-So much, that I wanted more action to help give just a little more splendor and complete feeling to some of the built moments.

The Fun -The movie is indeed just that... fun.

-The humor shows how much fun the movie has with itself, ribbing, lighthearted, and lightening up a rather darker story that works to keep in theme with the energy of D&D.

-And yet, the movie often does not get so lost in that humor that it loses the fantasy/adventure element, nor the emotional spectrum the movie is covering.

-Together, the movie just really works for me in just how much I enjoyed it, and though not perfect, nor a mimic to everything about the world, it's a good shot of incorporating so much into one genre.

DISLIKES:

Cut Some Corners On The Story -I'll admit, my knowledge of the full lore is still in the works, but movie wise, there are noticeable cuts to the story.

-Predictability serves it well in that these simple explanations and clips help give you enough to piece together, but LOTR still shows the ideal balance of story and action delivery in my opinion.

-Still, it's not bad given everything else this movie contains.

More Of the Arena: -There is an arena in this movie and that's all I'll say, though you have seen some glimpses of it in the trailer.

-It's a decent part and time commitment, but something was missing for me that needed just a tad more oomph to maximize.

-Something about it needed this finish and a little more time to give a few more eventful moments that would have culminated in getting the full buildup of these games.

-Still, they did not skimp too much on it, and the gradual part it serves in the grand plan, really does work for me.

A Little Forced On Humor/Mid-Credit Scene -Some jokes did not work for me like others, mostly the ones I've been bombarded with in the marketing for this movie.

-Some were a tad used too long, and others were just too forced for me to be funny, but again few and far between in the grand scheme of things.

-The balance really helps keep most of the jokes funny, and the writing is mostly well crafted to fit into the film instead of being shoved in.

THE VERDICT: Wow... this movie proved to be much better and exemplifies how games turned movies can work with the right focus, attention to detail, and respect to the franchise. Honor Among Thieves is certainly one of the biggest surprises for me in just how much fun and how good the film is in the grand scheme of things. It's got this heart that just is one part comedy and one part adventure, in a world that holds so much lore and cultural icons. And for me... it just works to be one of the most balanced movies I've seen in a while. The visuals are there without robbing the story of the majesty of it, and the special effects look great and add this level of immersion. Fantastic world building with lore building, but yet not too stuffy in terms of delivery accomplishes so much in such a little time. And the action reads the moment and is diverse, but often does not feel cheap or an afterthought, making it really feel like a tabletop game loaded with exciting scenarios. This film sets up a great world to go play in, and I can't say I would mind another go into the world, whether with this band or some other group in the near future. Either way, this film is one of my recommendations for watching and preferably in theaters. It's a quest worth taking.

My scores are:

Action/Adventure/Fantasy: 9.0 Movie Overall: 8.5-9.0.

A surprisingly strong blockbuster - surpassing my initial low expectations (I'm not even slightly a gamer, don't know the source material & am well aware adaptations usually tend to falter when put to the big screen) - so despite my inability to comment on accuracy when translating ideas from one format to another, I am genuinely impressed by the strength of "Dungeons & Dragons" (in terms of judging the piece solely as a movie, in & of itself),from first impressions.

Although far from being a masterpiece, the fantasy film doesn't necessarily have to be in order for it to be an entertaining watch (or valid, as "Honour Amongst Thieves" isn't trying to be profound - quite the opposite; revelling in the fact that it never takes the story too seriously - resulting in some honestly amusing moments that triggered audible laughter from the audience, repeatedly) & there are a plethora of attributes to appreciate; the genuinely funny, self referential humour, sharp wit, continuous narrative pay-offs, effective utilisations of practical FX throughout (blended amongst VFX for maximum impact) & ingeniously inventive magical sequences (of pure cinematic spectacle) that advance the plot brilliantly & enhance fight scenes - in ways no previous filmmakers have seemingly ever thought to try before (despite the existence of numerous / similar brands like "Harry Potter", "Doctor Strange" etc. The wizardry here is actually uniquely realised & visually original) & therefore, I seriously recommend seeing the release at the cinema - since it's well worth your time.