01/04/2023
Took me a couple of days, but here it is...
What about D&D Honor Among Thieves? A review.
The short version, in case this all seems TL;DR. This movie is a lot of fun, it will entertain gamers and non-gamers alike. Go see it!
With that out of the way, here is the long version.
I've waited for a great D&D movie for a long time. My introduction to fantasy, and gateway to role-playing games was varied, the Conan and Elfquest comics, reading The Hobbit, playing with the D&D toys before I really understood what the game advertised on those one-page ads in comics really were. But more than anything else, my love for fantasy grew out of movies.
I watched Conan the Barbarian in a theater in 1982 when I was 9 in NYC during a trip with my uncle and grandfather. A year before I saw Excalibur. Within these two years there was also Clash of the Titans and Dark Crystal. On VHS I saw Krull, The Beastmaster, and perhaps the one I watched the most of all, the animated Fire and Ice. The 80s D&D cartoon was also a primer for the game. These, and more, were part of my fomation ad a fantasy lover, role-player and Game Master.
When the 2000 D&D movie was announced I was, needless to say, excited. What a disappointment that was! But there were other movies and series through the years. The 13th Warrior and Record of Lodoss War are among my favorites. We've had amazing TV series like Game of Thrones and the spin-off House of the Dragon, and of course, the epic Lord of the Ring movies. These days Vox Machina, and Criticam Role, is such a large presence across media, and such a huge influence with D&D players. So in this panorama of great fantasy, do we need a D&D movie?
I skipped the made for tv movies, so when the new D&D movie was announced, I could only conjure images of blue lipped villains, terrible CGI dragons and Jeremy Irons channeling his inner Shatner. I was hesitant to say the least…
But I'm a glass half-full kind of guy and what I saw in previews and trailers was encouraging. I was looking forward to this! And then the WotC/OGL debacle happened, and my possible enjoyment of this movie was threatened. The outcome of the situation was ultimately positive, for now, and I told myself "It's OK to watch the movie", but my initial enthusiasm was dampened.
Still, when I got tickets I was incredibly excited. I felt like a 13 year-old all over again throughout the day. When the time came I put on my Old School Essentials t-shirt, in honor of the game's origins, and went to the theater. This 9 PM showing on a large-format screen on opening day in Puerto Rico was sadly empty, twenty people at the most, and I knew about half.
When the movie started I was thrilled, had a big smile, and then a little dissonance creeped in… allow me to explain!
When I started watching Vox Machina I was really turned off by the humor. It pulled me out of the fantasy story, and I turned it off in episode 2. Many friends recommended I continue, and valuing their opinion, I did. And I'm really glad I did. Vox Machina is a great fantasy series. Because of its origins as actual-play, Vox Machina feels like watching a session of a role-playing game.
This movie is similar in that it plays (pun intended!) like a session of D&D. You're watching a movie that feels like a retelling of an adventure played by friends around a table. I believe this is positive, and a great way to show what the game is about. That coupled with the format was a little jarring to me initially. This is an action-comedy similar to many Marvel movies, specifically Guardians of the Galaxy.
Another aside, and forgive my endless distractions, but I want to provide context. Despite being a huge Marvel fan, and really enjoying the Guardians of the Galaxy in particular, I'm burned out with the action-comedy. I feel that while there are movies where this formula works, there are just too many movies in this vein. Thankfully the action-comedy formula works here.
Once I got over my initial dissonance with the two above points, I really got into the movie. This is a great fantasy movie. If you're a fan of D&D, and Forgotten Realms in particular, you'll love this. Even casual fans, or even people who've never played, will have fun. We've been primed to enjoy a good fantasy yarn by pop culture, and this is certainly it.
The movie plays to so many tropes and strengths of the game! The backstory as an introduction in the film. The class strengths and stereotypes, without making them caricatures. The use of a certain spell to comedic effect… no spoilers, but we have all wasted a question in a similar way. You'll know!
It's nice to know the kids from the 80s D&D cartoon are still around!
There are so many easter eggs for games, from spells, to fantasy species, to locations, enemies and creatures. The movie does not call them out, it just uses them. If you know, you know, if not you'll enjoy it regardless. You can feel the love for the rules and setting, but it smartly avoids needless adherence to said rules when it benefits the story. The rule of cool prevails. Just as it should be at the table!
It felt like an adventure, a quest, with side-treks, crazy plans gone awry, crazier player plans to fix the first failed one. It was a great script. Great direction, cinematography and set design. The FX was not flawless, some of the practical creature work particularly seemed off, but the look and feel generally reinforced the D&D vibe. This is a great introduction to what modern D&D feels and plays like.
To my older readers who, like me, learned the game in the 80s, be aware, this is modern D&D! Characters are more like super-heroes, there are lots of different species in the cities and towns. If you grew up with fragile characters killed on the first trap, and just humans, elves, dwarves and halflings, this is a different game! Those three species are there, but there are also tieflings, dragonborn, aarakocra, and tabaxi.
This is not bad, I'm not talking about bad-wrong-fun. You do you! I'm actually happy for the diversity the modern game has. I love the classes they selected for the movie, their backstories. The plot of the movie also feels fresh and poignant. The characters being scoundrels feels like a nod to the Sword and Sorcery inspiration of the game, but the characters' motivations feel personal, the stakes meaningful.
D&D Honor Among Thieves is a wonderful movie that I hope brings a lot of new players to the hobby, and thrills many longtime fans. A great D&D movie we deserve. Definitely go see it!
Now I just need my epic, LotR style, Dragonlance adaptation, thank you very much.
