DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES | It's Better Than It Had Any Right To Be 

Wow it feels good to be wrong. Subverting expectations done right.

Been wanting to see this since I heard it announced. But like a lot of people got hesitant when the article came out. Thanks for being honest about the movie. I am absolutely going to check this one out.

As a guy that has been playing D&D for 20 years now, I can say this movie is great. 8.5/10. No wokeness, no pandering / political bullshit, many easter eggs for the fans, humor that lands and an honest to god story about a "father trying to be better and actually does without him being made an ass or hated on" by hollywood in 2023...

Watched it yesterday with friends and honestly we were all surprised by how good it was.

I started playing D&D in 1978. I have been waiting for a good movie to come out. Really enjoyed the movie with the grandkids. A couple of jump scares and hiding faces (but I was ok 😂)! Didn’t really see any woke issues I heard about. Enjoyed seeing Michelle Rodriquez who looks incredible and fits the part. Rege-Jean page was a great paladin and probably the toughest dude in the movie. I would have loved a shout out to the video game “Iron and Blood” if he had picked up one and body slammed one of the undead ninjas and said “Feel His wrath!”. A great fan call out to the cartoon at the end. I pointed it out to my kids who looked at me strangely. A great Sunday afternoon with the family. The marketing department did a “John Carter” on this movie!

I had a friend go see it yesterday and I asked his opinion, and he said yeah it's a must see. And we started D&D together back in 1992 with AD&D 2e. In a tent in my back yard with just a PHB and DMG because we could only afford one set of dice between the two of us and one book each.

I wasn't going to bother Now, because I trust your opinion 95% of the time, I'm giving it a go

YEAH. That cameo from the cartoon gang was SO cool. Oh, and hey, I work at a movie theater. You'll all be pretty happy to know that it's actually holding its own against John Wick. It's SO good and word is spreading about it. I actually liked Chris Pine's character the most, because I always play Bards myself and that feels like *exactly* how I would play a Bard. These guys really knew what they were doing.

I watched it twice in 1 day yesterday 😂 Mainly for the audience reactions. A good, old fashioned woke-free blockbuster.

A good review from Thorias. I was always going to see D&D:HAT with my family, despite i'm a creator that could have suffered under the OGL.2.0 revision.

I guess I’m glad it’s not awful, but my new policy is - if they run their mouths before the movie opens, I am not giving them a chance! I am not a reviewer, so I don’t have to, and Hollywood people need to learn to keep their mouths shut!

I definitely enjoyed this way more than i expected, waaaay more. Especially as a DnD player

watched that kill bonsoon and at the end is some of the best cinematography i have ever seen, saying that never seen it done before. if you know anything about samari, before they draw their sword, they battle each other in their minds. the way they do it is just brill

I was really on the fence about this one but after seeing your review I’m definitely checking it out, I was also a fan of the animated D&D show. 👍

Sounds like the D&D curse is lifted. On my to watch list.

I was genuinely shocked. This was basically a perfect movie. Incredibly entertaining.

Well said. I gave them some benefit of the doubt because when your men are playing Bards and Wizards, they shouldn't be the up front fighters and I'm glad to see that I wasn't wrong on that.

As much as I was concerned I actually liked Michele Rodriguez character. She does give a lot of good laughs here. 7:48 PS the scene where Chris pine revives her instead of his wife was the best scene in the movie.

Saw this movie, but had reservations because of the shoddy advertising campaign. Holy heck, am I glad I did. This thing is f*cking amazing! Seriously, I loved every second of it (from the interparty banter, to the jokes about the paladin being so on the straight and narrow that he refuses to go around). This thing was just brilliant, and I'd happily go for a repeat viewing.

Thank you Thorias, due to the article I decided to give up, but you made me change my mind!

I need to provide context for NON-GAMER. In the game their are classes you play: fighter, Wizard, bard, Barbarian etc each has a role they play. Michael Rodriguez is the Barbarian so she is MET to kick ass!! The bard is the FACE they do the fast talking and ironically make the plans 😅

My reaction when I first heard it - I don’t mind male characters being imperfect and facing challenges, and there is nothing strange about seeing Michelle Rodriguez kick ass! But after everything Hollywood has done to us in recent years, to open your mouth and say what they said … wtf are you thinking, if your movie is any good?!

yes that chase scene was brill.. glad you said it..

It's been years since I heard people clapping in a movie theater. That one got it and with an audience bigger than any of the movies I have seen in the last 5 years; on a matinee showing. I played D&D from 1980 to 1995 and a few sporadic sessions since then and this movie was spot on on so many details, gamers most of all will appreciate it (you can even spot where they roll a 1 or a natural 20 or failed an IN check!). It was made by fans of the game for fans of the game yet fully enjoyable by everyone.

Someone who plays Dnd for about a year now it was actually good how Lore accurate it was for a flexible table top game. It is very clear that everyone involved respects the source material and actually enjoy the game and you can tell.

Ever since first hearing about the movie, my wife and i had been excited to see it, even with all the OGL drama and articles we were still excited and looking forward to seeing the movie, and we weren't disappointed at all (except for the lack of memorabilia in our country (Australia)). The movie was an absolute blast and i hope it will mean we get sequels and spin offs.

Its good if you want a goofy parody of Dungeons& Dragons. It doesn't feel or look like anything I know...except the monsters.

I watched it having hope for it and I was happy I did. A good “let’s see a movie and forget about the world” movie: Action Comedy Heart All paid off, a D&D 2 IF MADE correctly can be a next year summer hit. IF MADE correctly.

Have to admit those bad articles threw me a bit against seeing it, but decided to go see it anyways with my eldest son (who's an avid DnD fan and he got me into it with him). It was surprisingly good, not just in plain entertainment value but also in how authentic it is to the various rules and lore of the pen-and-paper game. Someone who isn't a fan of DnD probably would miss a bunch of the references, but stuff like Attuning to an item, spell concentration, displacer beasts, mimics, etc...they're all there and accurately portrayed!

I notice the cartoon character and I got all the Easter egg references. One reference had me go “oh shite”

I liked the trailer to this movie but was hesitant, especially after the emasculating comments, but I'm excited to see I was wrong. I haven't watched it yet because I'm not big on going to the theater but I am getting this when it comes out on bluray. Great review as always Thorias, I'm sold.

They got to fire that advertisement group they had they were selling a Disney Marvel imitation with Ghostbusters 2016 dynamics. When the story it actually tells is completely different and much better.

It was an alright movie. The part about it that I liked most though was it is the story of a loving caring father which Hollywood needs mode of!

I'm 58 and I've been playing D&D on and off since my teens. I saw this movie and felt like I was watching a D&D session being LARPed. It was two hours of pure entertainment, which is what I paid to see.👍

Turns out the guy squatting over out plates didn't crap out a turd for once, but instead gave us a chocolate souffle.

Thank you for your video. Now I have a reason to go to Sendai tomorrow... I think I will watch it tomorrow. Even on the chance I don't like it, I enjoy the cinematic experience, in a theater, and well usually we seem to like a lot of the same things (not always, but mostly). I'm still going in skeptical. I live in rural Japan though, I have 2 days left on vacation, and I'm going to to see it.

ok so i need to get a slot to see this movie. great work as usual

Cheers mate. I absolutely was going to ignore this.

Appreciate the review. You’re one of my go-to guys for critiques of current era product. I’ll happily fork over my hard earned money for something that is actually good as opposed to insulting for a change.

Taking one for the team paid off this time. Thanks for the update brother.

You sold me. I'll go see it this week or weekend.

Good to see as I'm seeing it on Wednesday.

I remember seeing helga and her ex and thinking aww thats pretty funny but its a race in dnd and didnt think it was an emasculation thing. The ex actually came off very well and respectable which is not something we see a whole lot

I've never played D&D either, but I watched the cartoon back in the '80s, and I had some of the action figures. Even if it weren't for the misleading article, I really didn't have much of an interest in the movie, but honestly, the more I see of it, the more it kind of looks like what the Willow series *should* have been, and I loved the movie _Willow._ I might just check this out when it shows up on streaming.

It had a road trip from the 2000 vibe going on.

Another example of why Thorias makes (as I’ve said since subscribing MANY YEARS AGO) the most honest and entertaining reviews online.

Ok, you've convinced me to try and see this thing before it's out of theaters. Creed 3 is doing fine but this isn't so I'll see it first. The article's headline first brought me from mildly interested to "nevermind", and then we had Michelle Rodriguez bragging about growing out her underarm hair. Wanted no part of this😂. They did themselves no favors with their marketing choices and that article, and I hope this all serves as a wake up call to the right people. John Wick 4 is awesome if you haven't seen it by the way. Top notch action scenes and beautifully shot. Going to try and see that at least one more time before it's out of theaters.

it was reasonably fun and funny. the leads had flaws and they also failed a lot and didnt punk on the men. all the characters got moments to shine. it was decent. the cartoon versions are in 3-4 scenes not exactly blink and you miss it. they are in the background or flash to them briefly but yeah they dont get speaking parts. its too bad they didnt use this as a launch pad for a live action tv show for them.

I heard it's actually quite funny. Well written funny, unlike the first D&D movie. There is a low budget serious film called Hawk The Slayer and it's actually probably the closest to a D&D game. It doesn't hold up well, but it's very serious. I did enjoy Game Night a ton. The real question is making a character dumb for laughs. Guardian of the Galaxy sadly did that to Drax who is completely different in the original comic. He's almost immortal and almost completely serious. Sounds like these two writers should do the next Star Trek with Pine. Thank you Thorias

I had already abandoned seen this movie. Now, with your review, I really want to see it. Thanks, man

Thank you! I was one of those who were judging it based on the previews. You and Jeremy Jahn’s reviews are the ones I trust. ❤

Whether we like it or not marketing and media presence is what gets people apt up for something and it has a lot of impact and the directors ended up shooting themselves in the foot with that dumb article and so let this serve as a lesson for those who think that any marketing is good marketing?(IT IS NOT!!!!!) So next time those directors say anything stupid like they did, DO NOT!!!!

A really good movie

I liked it and my 7 and 8 year did too, knowing nothing of D&D themselves. I enjoyed the references to locals i've already spent hundreds of hours exploring in games and see that translated into something worth watching. My only geek-gripe is that for all the undead they faced, and despite having a Paladin available, we saw no use of Turn Undead or other anti-undead/evil abilities. That aside, I'd rate it 8/10 would watch again.

Nice to see you enjoy something now and again. Good for the spirit. 👍

Great review man

first i hear about it, as a none-d&d play, but one that love the idea of d&d, i was hyped, then i hear about it being woke and such, and was like damn, oh well guess i ain't gonna watch it. after this review i have chose to see with a friend. ty for telling me about it.

If I happen to get a ride to a theater, I'll keep the movie in mind.

This is Hope for the return of good movies.

As a huge fan of the original animated series & the previous two live action films. I absolutely had a blast with this film & had a good time. great new review for it, by the way. Thorias. :)

A great movie by the sounds of it.

This makes me wish they'd give us a new D & D cartoon. I know we have Vox Machina, but we need something for the young players.

I was really shocked how long they ran with the 1980's kids dnd easter egg.

Glad to hear this. I might check it out at some point but this isn’t my type of subject, however, I will say Chris Pine looked like a decent comedic relief. And I tend to like him.

Nice to see a positive video, thanks.

I'm glad I gave this movie a chance. This was a pleasant surprise

The usher at the ticket booth told me This movie was actually doing better then John Wick. Though I went at a rather early afternoon showing on a Monday so it was pretty dead in the whole joint. Would have loved to see what it was like in there with people to listen to react to certain moments. The level of Dnd think for some action scenes though left me giddy as all hell just telling myself 'yes, this is just like the style of DnD big brain so stupid it works' that I can imagine the players above board patting themselves on the back for as their DM allows the rule of cool to guide the action.

And here I was worried for a moment because when I first saw the trailer for the movie I laughed and thought it would be a good movie, but I heard about the interview and got turned off. Then my mother saw the commercial for the movie and wanting to watch it too but I still had my reservations from the interview... Now if one of the most BRUTAL RU-vid critics on the platform is saying this is a damn good movie then I guess I got no choice but to give it a shot and see if my initial assessment was right on the money.

AY UP THORIAS

I always come here for recommendations. I am going to watch this one

Watched it twice and seeing it again. I WANT a sequel.

SOLD!

Good to know

I would 100% agree with your review. Saw it this Saturday. Pleasantly surprised by it actually being good

Initially I was NOT going to watch this, but my favorite RU-vid creators' convinces me to give it a chance🙂

It's more fun than the old D&D!?! Yeah Sure!

People keep saying this movie is woke. However I didn't see any: 1) "I'm better than you because I'm a woman or my skin color." 2) Chris Pine's character, while flawed, was a leader and had moral clarity. He was definitely the main character and had legitimate motivations. 3) No LGBTQ+ nonsense whatsoever. Honestly refreshing. 4) The importance of fatherhood. Again, Chris Pine's character might be flawed, but everything he does, he does for his daughter. He might have gotten depressed when his wife died, but he didn't abandon his responsibilities at the end of the day. Even Hugh Grant's character learned how awesome it is to be a father. I mean, where do I go wrong here?

Well alright, looks like I got to schedule a movie weekend

Literally never even knew this film existed till seeing reviews.

So about the transformation: I'm glad they're not sticking to Vancian casting rules, and I'm looking forward to seeing it on Corridor Digital's VFX Artists React segment

you don't say... like you i've been burned by the first one so i was pretty sure this was gonna be a mess.. i guess i'll check it out now

7:00 Please tell me again how hard it is as filmmaker to create long takes in the age of volumes, CGI and A.I imagery. It may was still hard in the early 2000's but nowadays that isn't even a feat anymore.

Movie suprised the heck out of me It was really good 10/10 my favorite of this year

I took my daughter and was very surprised. We had a blast. You are right. That article did not do it any favors.

One of the unmentioned heroes of the movie is Jonathan, he deserves more respect. Taken hostage twice.

again no gold starts for being better than the garbage we all expected

Nice.. Finally a movie that I may see at the cinema..👌

agree with everything and the nods to the game fans were rewarding lots of practical characters that could have been cgi'd were great

Maybe one of these days we will get a D&D movie that is actually more serious than comedic. They had a trailer for it before John Wick Chapter 4 and it looked awful to me. However i will say this it does seem that Hugh Grant was enjoying himself. I think John Milius would be a good choice to write and direct a D&D movie. He wrote and directed Conan the Barbarian movie, he helped Francis Ford Coppola write the script for Apocalypse Now, he wrote and directed Red Dawn. One can dream of getting a more serious D&D movie.

Hugh Grant was just too funny

ty to this I will try an see again👍

Great review as always 😎

I'm not a DnD fan, but I really respect this guy's opinions on movies. As a non DnD fan, should I give this movie a chance or will I be confused as hell?

I am glad I watched it🙂

I didn't even know about the article until after I saw the movie. And like you said many times anything "Woke" in this film you have to look for and nit pick it out, otherwise its not even there. But i find that about alot of things people complain about being "woke" in this day in age. Not all, there are things out there that just slap in the face, and you can't ignore it. However, Honor Among Thieves doesn't do that. Its a great fun movie, it gets the feel of a D&D story, while feeling like a group of friends sitting around a table and playing this very game. The Directors take the "Rule of Cool" and use it very well, without completely transforming something into "Artistic Expression." Spoiler: Even the Intellect devourers scene, though they did changed them up from the mechanics. That joke still landed extremely well, and I was laughing out loud. i might smile, and give chuckle in a movie, but it rare for me to find myself laughing out loud.

In current year, laughing about “emasculating your male character” will have a very obvious effect for very obvious reasons. If that isn’t really in the movie, then that was more than just a stupid thing to say, it was a shot in the head.

Great to see you enjoy a film every now and... well, never. Still love the rants though.

As someone who actively plays DnD, my play group and I were going to go and see it. We had decided that early March. I was put off by the article as well, and the first trailer didn't blow me away by any means. The first sequence in the movie with the pardon had me hooked though. It took the ridiculousness and resourcefulness that people can associate with the game and brought it to the big screen. On top of that, it was just well written. I do think that playing the game gives an elevated experience, especially when watching it with others who are in the same boat, because of the references, but I have told non-DnD fans to watch it. Maybe not go out of their way to the theater, but definitely check it out once it hits streaming services.

Thorias What is your opinion? Should the movie have a after credit scene with a DnD Table Session?

Great movie! Too bad it wasn't that successful at the box office. I sincerely hope for a sequel.