Drew Donofrio – Creative Director

dcd5412@psu.edu

As a longtime fan of the “Dungeons and Dragons” franchise as a whole, the newest installment of the brand, “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” does not disappoint. 

I have been a fan of the series since I was able to read and understand basic English. My dad introduced the concept of it to me ever since I was about seven years old, watching the original “Dungeons and Dragons” cartoon on DVD. Ever since then, I have been enthralled by its typically high fantasy themes and as an outlet for my creativity. 

For those who don’t know, the purest form of “Dungeons and Dragons” is a tabletop roleplaying game, in which you play as a band of characters that you create under another person, called the Dungeon Master, who runs a story for those characters to interact with. Typically, these adventures, often called campaigns, are incredibly chaotic fun. The movie delivers on this aspect of the game entirely in a masterful way. 

The characters depict common archetypes of characters that people create: characters with tragic backstories and characters with strong goals or bonds. The spoilers-free premise of the movie is about a band of adventurers gathered together after they disbanded a few years ago, banding together again to face a common enemy and to save things dear to them. One of the main pulls of the movie is the cast of characters.

The closest thing to a protagonist, named Edgin, is a bard played by Chris Pine who seeks revenge after tragic events got him sent to jail. His companion, Holga, a barbarian played by Michelle Rodriguez is a straight-man character and grounds Edgin. After some plot, they are joined by a delightfully awkward fail-boy sorcerer named Simon, played by Justice Smith, and a deadpan druid named Doric, played by Sophia Lillis.

As a longtime enjoyer of the roleplaying hobby, these actors wonderfully depict the personalities of a typical “Dungeons and Dragons” adventuring party. Not only does the main cast shine whilst viewing the movie, the visuals of the movie are stunning as well. Some of the more monstrous species in “Dungeons and Dragons” are portrayed in the movie as well. 

Namely, there are two semi-prominent characters near the beginning of the film, a Dragonborn and an Aarakocra, who are entirely animatronic rather than full CGI. While I have nothing against the proper use of CGI, the usage of physical props and set make the film shine above some more modern movies. While most of the sets are physically built areas, a few of the places in the movie are fully CGI. These areas are some of the most visually stunning I have seen since the “Lord Of The Rings” series. 

The magic of the movie – a vital part of “Dungeons and Dragons” as a whole – is used excellently and is gorgeous. All of the spells in the movie are real spells that exist in the game itself, showing that the system can be developed into a visual cinematic format. 

One important note is that the film takes place in an already existing canon. The film’s setting is from the Forgotten Realms canon, a high fantasy setting that acts as the main default setting for many ‘Dungeons and Dragons” games. Throughout the movie, they mention events and places that took place/exist in this setting, which was a great feeling for pre-existing fans of the series but did not take away from the viewing experience who do not know. 

The latest installation of the “Dungeons and Dragons” series is an excellent romp of a movie, exciting for long-time fans as well as those who enjoy a fun adventure. While the movie has a few small flaws, it is overall a wonderful example of what could be the future of the “Dungeons and Dragons” franchise. 

I rated the movie a 9/10 due to the great cast of characters, stunning visuals, and overall accessibility the movie provides, having a nearly perfect view of what a “Dungeons and Dragons” game would be in a cinematic lens.