Alright. I’ll admit it – I never thought I would like Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, but here we are.
Look, everyone knows I love fantasy movies. I’m a huge lover of Harry Potter, and have recently gotten into The Lord of the Rings movies, and have pretty much watched every fantasy show under the sun, like Shadow and Bone, The Witcher, the obvious Game of Thrones, and so many more. But, here’s the thing – for some reason I always believed that Dungeons and Dragons was a little too nerdy for me.
I know, I know. It sounds stupid on a surface level, but I always saw how much work went into those game campaigns and how long they could last (I knew a group that had one that lasted for two years), and I just always said “nope” to it, because I don’t have the mental capacity to play a game like that for so long. Then this movie was announced and I decided to give it a shot, because I like fantasy, and I like Chris Pine, so why not?
And wow, I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did, but this is my reality now. It’s freaking awesome. These are some of the thoughts that ran through my head while watching – and something that should fuel you to go see it as well.
Chris Pine Is So Hilarious And Deserves More Comedic Roles
For real though. He’s so funny.
I’ve watched Chris Pine in movies for a long time, from his role in The Princess Diaries 2 to Into the Woods to obviously, the lovely Star Trek franchise that is still in production hell on a fourth movie. He’s a great actor that I think deserves a lot more attention and is slowly becoming my favorite Chris of Hollywood.
But, like, did anyone know he was this funny?
Pine is such a fantastic dramatic actor, but his comedic timing in Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was the best part of the movie. Every line he said was delivered in such a way that I literally laughed about half the time he talked.
He deserves way more comedic roles. I would gladly watch him walk around as a bard any day, as long as he kept delivering his lines like that.
The Action Is Freaking Amazing
I’ve said before that I’ve never considered myself a huge action lover. I only just watched the John Wick movies for the first time, so fights never really impressed me, aside from the Cobra Kai fights, that is. However, the action scenes in this movie were so well-choreographed.
From every sword fight to brutal battles and everything else, I was 100% locked in, staring in shock at the pure insanity that was taking place. Everything hit so perfectly; it felt like a well-oiled machine. Whoever choreographed these scenes deserves a big raise.
I’m So Glad Justice Smith Is Doing More Movie Work
I have been following Justice Smith for some time now, ever since I first saw him in The Get Down, one of my underrated Netflix picks that you should certainly watch. Let me say, it has been a pleasure to watch him become an actor who lands bigger projects.
While it was great to see him in movies like Pokemon: Detective Pikachu and the Jurassic World films, he just feels bigger in this role. He has a much larger screen presence and you can tell that his acting has improved so much over the last decade of his career. I thought that him being in the Sharper cast was going to be his big break but honestly, he was awesome in this – and also needs more comedic roles. His timing was amazing, too.
Regé-Jean Page Needs To Be In More Fantasy Movies
Yes, I was one of the girlies who was obsessed with Regé-Jean Page when he blew up thanks to the lovely Bridgerton on Netflix and was sad when he left, because who wouldn’t be? Obviously, he’s also a great actor who deserves the opportunity to play other roles, so I don’t blame him for leaving the show.
However, while I think Page is a good dramatic actor, I need to see him in more fantasy movies. Now.
He was so good here. He had the charm, the wit, and the fighting skills, and I would fully support watching him in literally any fantasy movie. He is exactly who I would picture when thinking of a suave fantasy character, and he rocked it in literally every scene. Someone make him a wizard, please.
The CGI Isn’t That Bad
This was one thing I didn’t get – in a lot of earlier reviews for the movie, I saw some people not liking the CGI and I don’t really get why. It’s not that bad. I’ve seen far worse.
I believe that in this day and age, more and more people are expecting every film to be Avatar: The Way of Water level-quality when it comes to CGI when in reality, that’s just not feasible. Even the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has been using CGI forever, isn’t always at its best, so we can’t expect every film to be perfect.
At least for me, the CGI didn’t interrupt the entertainment factor. Were there some shots that obviously looked fake? Yeah; it’s a fantasy movie, what are you expecting? But I would not call it bad. I’d say they needed a little bit more time to work on it, maybe, but it was still enjoyable.
Sophia Lillis Is Quickly Becoming One Of My Favorite Actresses
I’ve loved Sophia Lillis since she was in IT and Sharp Objects on HBO, but I did not expect to love her as much as I did in Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Her character, Doric, was the epitome of badass.
She was clever, quick, and a great partner in this crazy adventure that the main group went on, and I especially loved her transformation scenes. You want to hear something even better? As I was watching the film, I heard a little girl behind me exclaim, “That’s my new favorite character, she’s so cool!” And that just put a big smile on my face.
Hugh Grant Isn’t A Super Good Villain – But He Is Funny As Heck
I wasn’t expecting much when it came to Hugh Grant as the villain. I feel like he’s mainly known for a lot of his comedic roles that are mixed in with drama, so I was never expecting him to be menacing. Even with the Red Wizards, with whom he was working, I didn’t really feel intimidated by them – but you want to know what he was? Hilarious.
There’s nothing more disappointing in a movie than having a villain you can’t take seriously, and I couldn’t really take Grant’s character super seriously. With that in mind, however, what makes up for it is that he was so funny, and instead of being annoyed at the idea of his villain being “meh,” you laugh as you root for his downfall because he was hysterical, so it’s a win-win.
Sequels, Please!
Yeah, I would gladly watch a sequel of this movie. In fact, I would go so far as to say I would try out the actual Dungeons and Dragons game after this, at least once.
This film was just a heck of a lot of fun. The main Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves cast had such an electric energy that it almost felt as if I was following a bunch of players of the game instead of a cast of characters, as they tried to adventure their way across this vast land.
They were hilarious, and the action was entertaining, and the movie, surprisingly, had a lot of heart. I would love to see a continuation of the story, whether that be with this crew, or another band of misfits.
If you haven’t seen Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, I would fully recommend it. Even if you haven’t played the game, even if fantasy isn’t your favorite genre, you’ll find something to love about this movie.
