#honor amongs thieves

[sunshine304]

Movies watched in 2023: Dungeons & Dragons - Honor Among Thieves

(crossposted from Dreamwidth)

I had a blast watching “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves”! Everyone who wants to have a good time and doesn’t have an intense hatred of all things fantasy should go and watch this, because I want this movie to be successful and have many sequels. Not necessarily with all the same characters, because some character arcs seem to have come to a satisfying conclusion, but in this world and with this general tone of delight in the subject matter. That would be great!   What I love especially about this movie by directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (“Game Night”, which already should be an indicator for quality comedy) is that it’s very accessible even for people who are unfamiliar with the whole DnD world/game. I’ve never played it and I only know a little bit about how it works. I guess that a DnD player will get a whole lot more out of this movie than I did, because I’m sure there are many fun things to discover for fans in this movie. I also know that players found many scenes very relatable, easily imagining what that scene would look like being played around a table. But even if you're totally unfamiliar with DnD, this movie is very entertaining.

But what is the movie about?

Roguish Bard Edgin (Chris Pine) and his best friend Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), a taciturn Barbarian, finally get out of prison, where they’ve been for two years after a heist gone wrong. They immediately try to locate Edgin’s daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman), who was left in the care of their former colleague Forge (Hugh Grant). Turns out that Forge really went up in the world, now being a Lord and ruler of a kingdom. Also turns out that he betrayed Edgin and Holga and told Kira all kinds of lies about her father. Fleeing from the city for now, Edgin is determined to not only get his daughter back, but also steal the Tablet of Resurrection from Forge – the fabled artifact that their heist-gone-wrong was all about and that he wants to use to resurrect his dead wife. But how to get his revenge? Well, they’ll definitely need a sorcerer for this, and a druid would be great as well, which is how former teammate Simon (Justice Smith) and his acquaintance Doric (Sophia Lillis) join their team. But that’s only the beginning of their quest…   Chris Pine is perfect as the disillusioned bard. He has to do a lot of heavy lifting with exposition, but he sells it so well that it’s never grating. The whole cold open is a big exposition scene and not only hilarious but also quite moving, too. He’s a strong enough actor to also carry the more emotional scenes, and his talent for comedy is well utilised. I also really liked the team as a whole; Rodriguez, Smith and Lillis work well together, and especially the friendship between Edgin and Holga is very believable. (Also, how refreshing to have a friendship between a man and a woman that is loving and trusting but also still stays a friendship without any forced romance crammed in?!) Doric is a great character and gets some cool scenes with her shapeshifting powers, and Simon also has a little arc of his own that is well done and has a cool pay off in the end.   Hugh Grant obviously is still having a blast to play smarmy villains and he does so to best effect here. At his side is Daisy Head as sorcerer Sofina, her dead-eyed stare truly chilling at times. And of course a special shout to Regé-Jean Page as Paladin Xenk, whose role isn’t as big as the trailers make it seem, but who is a hilarious addition to the quest and seems to bring huge joy to all DnD players as his character type is very recognisable.

I loved the tone of the movie. It is frequently funny, sometimes hilarious, with great quips and one-liners or entertaining dialogue and sight gags, but – and this is important – it laos gives emotional moments time to breathe. It doesn’t feel the need to undercut a sad or poignant moment with a quip, it’s really genuine in how the characters interact and it takes its characters seriously. A great example is the scene were Holga meets her ex again. The scene starts out funny and predictably awkward, but as it progresses, it actually becomes a quite heartfelt scene with two adults being mature about their break-up.   The special effects were great for the most part, and I also loved that they used many practical effects and also shot a lot on location. The movie was expensive but it shows. The world we’re presented with feels lived in, like there are stories around the corner. Really good production design, the costumes were awesome, too (check out Xenk’s armour! XD), and a lot of opportunity for horse girls like me to appreciate pretty horses. I also really enjoyed the action sequences and set pieces; for once, they weren'r edited to death or being dragged down by unnecessary shaky cam.

I also want to thank the movie for the decision to not end on a cliffhanger. There was a moment where a cliffhanger could easily be used, and looking at online discussions, many people basically expected the movie to end there. But they didn’t do that, they actually told the story completely and it was a good decision. And another heartfelt thank you for being proof that "set up - pay off" works for a reason!   Some stand out scenes in no particular order that either were incredibly funny or really, really cool:   - "JARNATHAN!" MVP character right there XD - that dragon! XD (shame that the dragon is in the promo, they should've kept it a secret) - the whole graveyard interrogation XD - botched guard distraction XD (Which will likely become a new meme or something) - the whole final battle in the streets - the brain eater monsters XD - the fucking bridge! XD XD (But basically that whole part of the quest was amazing.) - “He walks in such a straight line…” XD   Can’t recommend this enough! Really give it a shot in the cinema if you can. The trailers don’t do this movie justice, it’s far funnier and a real feel good movie!  

[animentality]

[startreklesbian]

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES 2023, dir. Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Dale

[augory]

I’ve been skimming John Francis Daley’s (director on D&D: Honor Among Thieves) twitter and I continue to be so completely blown away by the movie’s commitment to practical effects and/or minimized CGI where feasible. I mean holy shit look at all this

[izzy-hands]

Edgin + being completely normal in his reactions to Xenk

[crowcaws]

My favourite thing about the D&D movie is it never stops trying to be a D&D movie even down to the most minute, unsung details. There's initiative order gags (I'll go last!) there's rolling a 1 gags (setting off the trap on the bridge by inexplicably just walking up to it) there's stat gags (nobody had high enough Intelligence to be in danger from the Intellect Devourers). Almost every spell is identifiable, from Xenk using smite to Sofina whipping out Finger of Death. Simon's character arc is about his self-confidence being tied to his mastery of magic because Charisma is the spellcasting stat for sorcerers. The era of movies based on games being afraid of their source material is over.

[offonaherosjourney]

A man and a woman platonically raising a child together and not falling in love has to be the biggest plotwist in the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie AND my favorite part

[danielsarmand]

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) dir. Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley

[oakenshieldbaggins]

make me choose @jodieliker asked: Xenk when he’s hot/badass or Xenk when he’s funny/literal/overly serious

[alivedean]

dungeons & dragons: honor among thieves + text posts bonus:

[hashtagloveloses]

the dungeons and dragons movie is good bc some silly gay person WOULD make a bard named EDGING and go “noooo it’s pronounced ED-GIN” and their depressed gay little friend would go “this is my sorcerer. he’s cringefail and his name is simon”, and some fucking dm would go “this is my super mega paladin npc xenk with a sad backstory who fights good that i made to help you guys not die in the next encounter” and everyone at the table goes “ok but can i fuck him though”

[singing-not-sleeping-beauty]

I don't want a direct sequel to the DnD movie

I want more DnD movies with the same cast, but they play totally different characters every time, except for Xenk, who is the only recurring character in the entire franchise

[animentality]

[startreklesbian]

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES 2023, dir. Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley

[gorgynei]

is this not the coolest shit you've ever seen. why did practical effects ever fall out of fashion (answer: capitalism)

[corviiids]

ive now watched the movie and it turns out that's his name