Donjons & Dragons : L'Honneur des voleurs

I didn't expect much, as I know nothing about the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing universe. The trailer was nice, so I thought I'd give the movie a chance, and it turned out to be one of the best films of the year! Everything is well-done - the actors, the story, the action, the twists, the universe, absolutely everything! And of course, for once a good original film comes out, there's no promotion, at least not in France... I read that the film is a box office failure, and it's all the producers' fault for completely missing what could have been a very profitable franchise...

Don't hesitate, go watch this movie, you won't regret it.

My 'Dungeons and Dragons' knowledge isn't very vast, but I have always really liked the idea of it, despite never playing the game, so, I decided to see 'Honour Among Thieves' on a somewhat of a whim, I felt like going to the cinema, this was playing, I heard good things, so, I thought why not.

This film was an utter surprise, my expectations were rock bottom, I thought it would be passable at best, but, instead I got one of the best blockbusters I have seen in years.

The film follows a thief called Edgin, played by Chris Pine, as he gather a crew to rescue an old artefact.

In a landscape dominated by some of the most abysmal of blockbusters, 'Honour Among Thieves', stands out as, while nothing exceptional, it showcases a level of filmmaking quality usually absent in these types of blockbusters, especially in DC and Marvel's recent efforts. There feels like there is genuine passion here, an effort to make something visually distinctive, it actually feels like a filmmaker's vision.

The script, while riddled with clichés and some pacing issues, is surprisingly tight, and most importantly: funny and engaging. This film has several great laughs, but more surprisingly some genuinely impactful emotional beats, which the comedy never intrudes upon. Its characters are all distinct and memorable, they don't feel like cardboard cutouts of film protagonists.

The cast are also great, and have great chemistry, Chris Pine in particular surprised me with his fun and charismatic performance.

In short, 'Honour Among Thieves' is by no means perfect but it is a throughly refreshing and fun blockbuster that felt lost to time, I would recommend to D&D fans and non-fans alike, it's a real winner that I would love to watch a sequel to.

I heard some rumblings that this one might be better than it's early year release date and it has easily become my first real surprise viewing of the year and I think it deserves to be ranked amongst some of the best fantasy films in the genre. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a fantasy film with a journey/heist at its center that takes a likable group of thieves (really just misunderstood heroes) through imaginative locations, encountering creative characters/creatures, and giving us some memorable action set pieces with castle chases and even pudgy dragon fights. Calling it a Guardians of the Galaxy for the fantasy genre is a bit simplistic, but it's also not that far off. Another way to put it would be that this is to Lord of the Rings what Shrek was to Disney Princess films. The director/writers here were the writers from 2018's Game Night so that might help give you a clue as to the layered humor to expect and also hope for a juicy Jesse Plemons role in a future sequel.

Three things make this fantasy-action-comedy stand out to me. First, it's just a fun story to watch filled with actors who genuinely feel like they are enjoying their roles. Chris Pine gives a charismatic lead performance here that brings a lot of comedy and still finds some strong dramatic notes. Pine plays the character a bit like if Jason Bateman had been cast as Star Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy instead of Chris Pratt. There's a moment Chris Pine breaks into a song and it's not just played for laughs - it's meant to be for levity and it really works. Hugh Grant, like in Paddington, gets to sink himself into another smarmy villainous role and there's even a delightful little surprise cameo that had me rolling. Second, the film is bursting with creative imagination and features plenty of practical effects to pull it off. There's lots of real-life locations, practical builds, and costumes mixed in with stages/CGI to ground the film. Also, you never feel like they over rely on magic just for the sake of getting some CGI moment into the trailer. Finally, the relatively simple stakes of the film, recapturing a lost family, are refreshing for such a big blockbuster. Sure, they backdoor a bit higher stakes during the overstuffed finale (some trimming and focus would have really helped to nail the landing here) but it's light and takes a backseat to the family stuff. On one hand, it's heartening to have only one entry here and just let this story and world be a one off. On the other hand, they've developed such likable characters and such an interesting and fun world that it would be a shame not to revisit it. If that's a problem, that's a pretty good one to have.

D+D is what the adventure-comedy/fantasy genre needs to take notes from. In a world saturated by superhero films and remakes/retreads of old favorites, this was a breath of fresh air. It was fun, funny, and generally entertaining. The characters made sense, and the funny parts weren't focused on awkward or cringe situations that are totally unnatural, unlike most modern films.

The casting of Hugh Grant here is inspired. He's been doing some tremendous work in all of the films he's been in lately, and it is awesome to see him taken seriously as an actor beyond just his old rom/com days. He's good as a villain, and the rest of the story plays off of him very well here. Likewise, the main cast all does a great job playing both for and against type.

Admittedly, I don't know D+D lore, so I don't know how well this satisfies true fans, but I think it works well as a basic story/film. It reminds me a bit of Firefly/Serenity- a not too serious take on a well-worn genre that manages to do a lot more right than it does wrong.

I went to watch this a few days ago with no prior knowledge of anything about D&D. I didn't even watch the trailer. It was extremely funny, I was laughing all through it. It was very silly, but it held itself together very well, similar to Thor Ragnarok. I can imagine that serious D&D players might not enjoy that aspect, though I'm not sure how serious the game gets, all I know is that it is meant to last ages. Cris Pine was great, Hugh Grant was fantastic, and everyone else was also super funny. The plot wasn't super original or anything, but I would recommend this to anyone, and I already have to about twenty people. It is well worth the money as it is a great action/adventure/fantasy/comedy. A bit of a cross between Indiana Jones, Lord of the rings and The Princess Bride. I was laughing out load for at least twenty minutes throughout. So go watch it. Definitely.