Jamie Skinner reviews Dungeons And Dragons: Honour Among Thieves for his 100th film review for The Journal!

Cert - 12, Run-time - 2 hours 14 minutes, Directors - John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein

After escaping from prison Edgin (Chris Pine) and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) hatch a plan to steal back lost riches, and rescue Edgin’s daughter (Chloe Coleman).

You can tell when the creatives behind Dungeons And Dragons: Honour Among Thieves are having the most fun. It’s when they get to play with the various monsters and creatures within the world. The most entertaining sequences are those which step aside from the central ‘plan’ and simply allow for the action to pan out in the moment.

Much of this occurs in the third act where the core ensemble are thrown into various action-based set-pieces involving chases and mazes where the details of the world and its magical elements are used to good effect. Beforehand we see Edgin (Chris Pine) and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) attempting to form a team in the hope of stealing back riches which were stolen from them at the last second, and rescue Edgin’s daughter (Chloe Coleman) from conman turned lord, and former fellow thief, Forge (Hugh Grant - who at no point takes the film seriously, both for better and worse).

As we meet the likes of shapeshifting tiefling Doric (Sophia Lillis) and lacklustre sorcerer Simon (a wavering performance from Justice Smith) the clichés of the narrative become apparent. Much of the adventuring which takes up a large chunk of the film very much feels constructed with ‘we need to go to this place to meet this person to take us to this place to get this item to do this thing’. Which watchable the familiarity comes through and it stops the film from being as entertaining as it could be, despite the humour that’s present during some scenes where, again, the ‘plan’ is somewhat deviated from or forgotten for a second.

Such plotting also stops other characters from quite having the development or space they might need. In fact, out of everyone Pine seems to be the only person place truly front and centre, even Rodriguez as his right-hand-woman seems to be pushed further back on a handful of occasions - although the cast as a whole clearly understand the light tone of the film, helping to bring about some of the chuckles.

Generally, though, this is another reason why the action sequences work best as they involve everyone at once and make the most of the situation and the opportunities at hand? Just how can they escape a dead-end cave with a dragon right behind them? Most of the time the answer isn’t the obvious and is certainly enjoyable to watch.

These are the moments which truly embrace the fantasy-adventure tone at the heart of the film. Moving away from the ‘journey’ for a more in-the-moment style. An entertaining nature comes around, and there’s a likable nature to the film as a whole, even when it does feel brushed with cliché, making for enjoyable viewing. You just wish that it would occasionally dare to stray away from the ‘plan’ a bit more often.

Jamie Skinner, three stars

Thank you Jamie for your 100th film review in The Journal, we all love reading them!