Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Delivers High-Rolling Success

     It can be seen as being an enormous undertaking with taking a tabletop role playing game and transforming it into cinematic form given the previous attempt at doing so with  2000's Dungeons & Dragons. That one ended up being such an astounding critical and commercial misfire, that fans unanimously choose to pretend it never happened. Thankfully, that wasn't the only attempt at bringing this world to the screen as Paramount Pictures takes another shot at bringing the popular game to the big screen with their newest effort, Dungeons - Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, finding the correct balance of humor, excitement, and heart to craft a crowd-pleasing piece of entertainment that both fans of the game, as well as general audiences can enjoy. 

      Dragons plot has a common thief (Chris Pratt) and a band of unlikely adventurers embarking on an epic quest to retrieve a long lost relic. However, their journey ends up going dangerously awry when they encounter dangerous villains. Honor Among Thieves plot stays true to the game that inspired it, while finding a way to cinematically adapt its story in a way that the 2000 film couldn't do. The new film gives audiences a story that's engaging and straightforward, along with a colorful batch of characters who are likable. What could've easily ended up being another major disappointment for devoted fans of the fantasy board game, turns out to be a genuinely pleasant surprise that's epic, exciting, funny, and sincere in its desire to do right by its fans and source material. 

      One of the key components that makes the board game such a fun experience for players is the role playing aspect of it with pure dedication being demanded in order to bring believability to the games scenario. The same applies here with Dragons cast delivering performances that are not only stellar, but completely convincing with each actor and actress being on-point. Chris Pine makes for an excellent lead as former member of the Harpers and bard, Edging Darvis. Pine's performance is a brilliant combination of seriousness, humor, and emotion as a father desperately trying to get back what was lost. Sharing the screen with Pine is Michelle Rodriguez whose equally charming as Darvis friend and barbarian, Holga Kilgore, who acts as a surrogate mother for Edgin's daughter, Kira, and was banned from the Elk tribe. Pine and Rodriguez showcase terrific buddy-movie chemistry with the rest of the cast backing them up with strong work. Hugh Grant is perfect as ambitious con artist Forge, whose a former member of Edgin's crew and has been taking care of his daughter Kira. Chloe Coleman impresses as Edgin's 14-year-old daughter Kira who falls under the sway of Forge following her father's imprisonment. Rege-Jean Page excels as Paladin Xenk Yendar along with Justice Smith as half-elf magic sorcerer Simon, Sophia Lillis as tiefling druid, Doric, and Daisy Head as Red Wizard Of That, Sofina.

      With Dragons directing duo, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley do a fantastic job of finding the right balance of comedy and adventure that doesn't allow them to fall into spoof territory. There are certain scenes shown which give off a Lord Of The Rings feel including an epic bridge sequence that screams comparisons to that of Balrog's in The Fellowship Of The Ring. The story is full of tons of fantasy action violence shown, which includes swordfighting, crossbows, and magical battles largely consisting of life-or-death moments that lead to lots of death and destruction. At 2hrs & 14 mins, Dragons remains steadily paced with the film allowing ample time for its plot and characters to grow without compromise. The soundtrack is full of many exciting and thrilling tracks that compliment the films bold action, while also being appropriately emotional when focusing on key characters and plot points. Overall, Thieves directing duo does a remarkable job of bringing the popular role-playing game to the screen and doing so with clear enthusiasm and love for its universe and its characters. 

     In terms of themes, loss plays a significant role throughout the story with the death of loved ones, possessing guilt, trusting others, greed, and getting back what's lost also being at play. Despite these themes, the film is first and foremost an adventure story with teamwork being heavily encouraged here. Although the main characters are essentially thieves, they're shown to be loyal to each other while also helping others rather than just themselves. The female characters are shown as being strong-willed and capable of doing things on their own with the films romantic elements being reduced to brief flashback sequences showing what was before tragedy struck. Edging's character is presented as being a thief who wants to regain the family he lost with bringing his deceased wife back to life in addition to rescuing his daughter from the clutches of Forge. As a whole, Dragon's script appears to be well-rounded with each character receiving just the right amount of character development with the humor never feeling excessive, but cleverly sprinkled throughout the story to give off a feel good vibe that's in contrast to the high serious tone of Lord Of The Rings.

      Whereas the 2000 Dungeons & Dragons adaptation often felt like it lacked the devotion of both its cast and crew to make it work, that isn't the case here as Honor Among Thieves ensemble and creative team give their absolute all in making it work. It's tremendously fun, extremely faithful to its source material, and evenly balanced in regards to its tone with the end result being a highly honorable effort that amounts to being a high- rolling victory for fans of the game. 

Final Verdict: A must see for fans of the game or those looking for a well-crafted yet goofy adventure.