Review: D&D - Honour Amongst Thieves

I didn't see much more than the early trailers for this movie, so I went in expecting to enjoy the eye-candy more than the plot. D&D-type movies are tricky to get right, and often end up confused whether they're supposed to be a fantasy flick or an action-adventure movie.

I was therefore pleasantly surprised to enjoy Honour Among Thieves far more than I expected. The plot was well-paced and engaging, serious and silly moments were well-balanced, and it honestly felt like watching a game of Dungeons and Dragons.

Rather than a one-time watch, I've already seen this movie three times, and it only just came out. Found family, high-stakes shenanigans, daring swordfights and cunning plans... this movie hits all my sweet spots.

I want a sequel, immediately.

A Brief Summary

Two years ago, a heist went wrong for Harper-Turned-Thief-With-Morals Edgin, Unlucky-In-Love-Tank Holgar Killgore, and their little band.

Edgin and Holgar were imprisoned, and have spent the intervening time planning an escape. Their plan works, more or less, and they head back hoping to reclaim their lives. In the meantime, the member of the band who betrayed them, Forge Fitzwilliam, has moved up in the world as a Semi-Benevolent Dictator, and quickly reveals his sudden but inevitable betrayal.

The rest of the movie is side-quests that get the band back together (plus a new addition or two) while reluctantly encountering Personal Growth and working toward the grand plan of taking down Forge and getting Edgin's daughter Kira back. Oh, and the original plan of getting a Tablet of Reawakening to resurrect Edgin's murdered wife Zia.

Along the way, they encounter new characters and challenges, and uncover a plot. The "Evil Plan To Destroy The World" takes up surprisingly little of the film's run-time, almost more of an afterthought than a plot point, but it gives us some great shots for the trailer, and a satisfying resolution to the story.

The Good

It's rare to find a good "Found Family" storyline without a shoehorned Romance or Friends-to-Lovers taking over the plot, but Honour Among Thieves really pulled it off. The family is little, and messy, and largely comprised of a bunch of (mostly- and part-) Human Disasters, but it's family. The film does a really good job of not prioritising Edgin's grief for his wife over the family he built after her death, and there's a twist at the ending that really cements that.

Rene-Jean Page as the Paladin Zeke Yandar was a thing of beauty, and I'm not just talking about the actor. It was clear that he was having an absolute ball with the role, and while I might have wished a bigger part for him, his role didn't feel unfinished in any way.

The love stories were also a rare breed. As mentioned earlier, Romance was more of a nostalgia theme than a current distraction. Edgin gets flashbacks to Zia and Holgar has an "awkward but amiable exs" scene that made me want to reach through the screen and hug them both. Simon the Wizard's efforts to flirt with the Shapeshifter Doric are as cute and funny as they are pitiable, but they all add to the story, rather than taking away from it.

The Bad

Insert obligatory complaint about Fridging Female Characters in order to trigger Male Character Growth here. I won't say that it didn't work, and work well, in this instance, but it's not a trope I'm fond of.

In a similar vein, the movie was a little disjointed. As a D&D movie, that was to be expected, and again, it worked well, but smoother transitions from one side-plot to the next would have been a bonus.

Final Thoughts

If you haven't seen this movie yet, go do so. It's definitely worth the watch, and I haven't laughed that hard in a while. Even if you're only going for the eye-candy, that's well worth the price of admission, too.

I honestly can find very little to complain about, and a lot to enjoy.

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