Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a crowd pleasing, fantasy adventure set in a popular game world! The film is co-directed and co-written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. The duo co-wrote Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). This film uses the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s playbook for entertaining heroes and using humor to lighten the geeky moments. So this movie is open to everyone not just gamers. The story is by Chris McKay who has directed Renfield and Michael Gilio who wrote and directed the comedy, Kwik Stop (2001).
Dungeons & Dragons is the first role-playing game created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. It was published in 1974 and went through five editions before getting to the latest D&D Next. The game inspired bookshelves of adventures (modules), novels, computer games and yes, the infamous film in 2000. At a frozen landscape, we have horses bringing a cage to a building with a tall tower. The prison is named Revel’s End. The prisoner, a Hobgoblin (like an Uruk-hai in Lord of the Rings), Gorg (Spencer Wilding) is taken into custody. He is taken to the cell that has the persuasive, de facto leader, and Bard, Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine) and the practical and savage Barbarian, Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez). Pine was in Don't Worry Darling. Rodriguez is returning as Letty Ortiz in the upcoming Fast X.
Gorg notes that he hasn’t been in a cell with a female and Edgin tries to warn him, “Holga doesn’t like to be disturbed eating her potatoes.” He brutally finds out why Holga should be left to her potato! Outside, the prisoners are cutting ice blocks and Edgin breaks out singing until a guard stops him; a nod to Frozen? The next day, the duo are taken to the Absolution Council to give their appeal to their sentences. This is grand larceny and skulldruggery. On the council is Chancellor Anderton (Nicholas Blane) and Baroness Torbo (SarahAmankwah).
Also, there is Chancellor Norixius (Bryan Larkin), a Dragonborn, but I thought he was a Triceratops man. Edgin points out that he was expecting Chancellor Jarnathan, but starts with his story. Earlier, he had joined the Harpers Faction and took the Harpers’ Oath, these are a group of heroes going around Faerûn trying to help people. The world is part of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (1987) which was created by Ed Greenwood. It has become popular with novels, comics, and computer games. Edgin met and then married Zia (Georgia Landers). She is representing by a sapphire dragonfly that spooked Edgin and she released it.
They have a daughter named Kira. He is returning home when Edgin sees Red Wizards of Thay riding away. They are an ancient and evil cult recognized by everyone. Edgin returns to his cottage to find Zia dying killed by a Red Wizard’s blade with no cure. She points to a hidden cabinet and he finds his infant daughter inside! At the funeral pyre of his wife, he abandons his Harpers’ Oath, and we see a blue dragonfly float above the flames. Edgin meets Olga in a tavern, he explains that she was cast out of her tribe for falling in love with an outsider. Her Uthgardt tribe is the Elk Tribe, identified in expanded material, so we would need to see them in a sequel or other material.
Olga helps raise the now teen Kira played by Chloe Coleman. The actress also starred in this year’s sci fi movie, 65. Olga gave her a piece of jewelry from a robbery and finds out that it is a Pendant of Invisiblity! They soon add awkward Sorcerer, Simon Aumar (Justice Smith), and con man Rogue, Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant). Smith returned to his character, Franklin Webb, in Jurassic World: Dominion (2022). Grant was Phillip in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022). Edgin tells the council that they never hurt anyone on their adventures. At another tavern, common meeting place for adventurers, they meet a wizard named Sofina (Daisy Head). The actress is in the fantasy series, Shadow and Bone.
Sofina wants them to break into the Harpers building, Korinn’s Keep, to take the treasure. Forge adds that there is a Tablet of Reawakening that can bring back Zia! This is the MacGuffin that drives Edgin. He has Zia stay safe at home. Edgin uses his Harper pin to enter Korinn’s Keep, and Zofina has found what she was really looking for a magical Red Horn. There was a magical horn in Conan the Destroyer (1984). The bard finds the tablet, but there was an invisible trip wire that brought in the guards! Zofina casts a Chain Lightning spell blasting the guards back.
We don’t really see the Harpers for the rest of the film. Then, she casts Time Stop sending out a bubble that captures Olga, and this starts to take in Edgin’s legs. There is a similar time sphere in the sci fi movie, Tomorrowland (2015). He throws the tablet to Forge and asks him to care for his daughter. He admits to the council (and himself) that the worst crime was “robbing my daughter of her father.” Jarnathan (Clayton Grover) finally arrives, he is an Aarakocra, basically a large, man crow. Chancellor Anderton is about to make his decision, but Olga and Edgin fight the guards with Jarnathan helplessly part of Edgin’s escape plan!
The duo make the long journey back to Edgin’s cottage, but find Kira and Forge are gone! In the hidden cabinet, Edgin finds his lute. At another tavern, they discover that Forge is now Lord of Neverwinter and has brought back the High Sun Games! They travel to one of the greatest cities in Faerûn and wait to see Kira. She runs to hug Holga and they find that Forge has taken the riches from Korrin’s Keep to become the ruler of Neverwinter.
He has also taken Kira as his ward and has convinced her that Edgin left her for the “Tablet of Riches.” This kinda doesn’t make sense since she trusts Holga and she is still adventuring with her father. They also find that Forge has taken Sofina as his advisor, shades of Melisandre from Game of Thrones! “Uncle Forge” shows Kira her father’s wanted poster and this convinces her. The duo is angry and try to get to Forge, but Sofina casts a Transmute Rock spell that sinks their legs into the carpted floor! Forge calls his guards to take them away. A guard has them on their kness, Holga praises a guard’s axe, and stalls as she pulls up a stone to attack the guards! Outside of Castle Never, Edgin says, “We’re going to need a team.”
The duo make the long journey back to Edgin’s cottage, but find Kira and Forge are gone! In the hidden cabinet, Edgin finds his lute. At another tavern, they discover that Forge is now Lord of Neverwinter and has brought back the High Sun Games! They travel to one of the greatest cities in Faerûn and wait to see Kira. She runs to hug Holga and they find that Forge has taken the riches from Korrin’s Keep to become the ruler of Neverwinter.
He has also taken Kira as his ward and has convinced her that Edgin left her for the “Tablet of Riches.” This kinda doesn’t make sense since she trusts Holga and she is still adventuring with her father. Grant has fun almost stretching the part to over-the-top levels. They also find that Forge has taken Sofina as his advisor, shades of Melisandre from Game of Thrones! “Uncle Forge” shows Kira her father’s wanted poster and this convinces her. The duo is angry and try to get to Forge, but Sofina casts a Transmute Rock spell that sinks their legs into the carpted floor! Forge calls his guards to take them away. A guard has them on their kness, Holga praises a guard’s axe, and stalls as she pulls up a stone to attack the guards! Outside of Castle Never, Edgin says, “We’re going to need a team.”
They head first to the town of Triboar to find Half-Elf sorcerer, Simon, and find him on stage with a small crowd. He uses the cantrip (minor spell) sending a candle-like flame on his fingertip. Edgin notes to Holga that Simon is brilliant since he has been magically snatching away the crowd’s jewelry! Simon notices his friends and the surprise makes the riches fall! The townspeople are angry at the deception and Simon accidentally uses spells to escape them! Later, Edgin says that they will need someone to sneak into the castle. Simon says he knows a Druid named Doric.
They travel to Neverwinter Wood and find a group of soldiers. Simon points out the Owlbear is Doric (Sophia Lillis). She tosses around soldiers and transforms back to her Tiefling form. I’m wondering about Doric’s Tiefling background, she has horns and a tail from her demonic heritage, but this doesn’t play into the movie. Doric joins the group to protect her people in the Emerald Enclave. They are later joined, briefly, by the too perfect Paladin, Xenk Yendar (Regé-Jean Page). The adventures are always lively, but the jokes, characters in danger wears thin, and the end gets a bit predictable, but still the characters are endearing! There are a number of gamer Easter eggs and a Monster Manual of beasties! Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves introduces fun characters and a great introduction to the D&D world!
Four Tablets of Reawakening out of Five!
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