SXSW 2023 Review:
"Dungeons & Dragons:
Honor Among Thieves"
![]() Release Date: March 31, 2023.
Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 134 minutes Lasting eight days, the SXSW Film & TV Festival must be approached as a sprint, not a marathon. Otherwise you won’t make it to the final Friday or Saturday of SXSW in one piece. To this end, SXSW typically selects an opening night film that does not tax the brain (in addition to being a high-profile world premiere that can generate plenty of press). No one wants to be mentally exhausted hours into the start of a long and demanding festival. And Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is everything SXSW wanted in an opening night film. Star-studded. Easy on the eyes. Bursting with undemanding laughs. A good time. As much as that sounds like a backhanded compliment, there is more to Dungeon & Dragons than your typical big-budget studio spectacle. Unlike the 2005 adaptation of the popular role-playing game, memorable only for the villainous Jeremy Irons’ scenery chewing, this Dungeon & Dragons leaves you with the immediate and lasting impression that it is made by folks who know the number of and the function of the dice required for gameplay. If not, at the very least, writers/directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley have done their homework in regards to the game’s many adventures and campaigns. Which is only to be expected from the duo responsible for Game Night, which has developed a loyal following since its 2018 release and is the source of that oft-used Jesse Plemons meme. Yes, this means Honor Among Thieves is an action comedy. But its smart laughs are executed in service of its characters and its story, not at the expense of the game or its millions of game. And Goldstein and Daley’s dynamite ensemble cast—led by Chris Pine—is in on the joke. They do not mind poking fun at themselves while maintaining the integral of the game. Heck, Pine clearly understands that his down-on-his-luck bard, formerly of the peacekeeping force known as the Harpers, is somewhat superfluous to Honor Among Thieves’ campaign until he can regain his self-respect and sense of purpose. Hallowing in self-pity, Pine leads Michelle Rodriguez’s barbarian, Sophia Lillis’ shapeshifter, and Justice Smith’s sorcerer set off in search of a magic tablet with the power to bring Pine’s slain wife back to life. Easier said than done as they cross paths with Hugh Grant’s con man turned noble lord, Regé-Jean Page’s kindly paladin, and Daisy Head’s evil Red Wizard. The charismatic Pine and the taciturn Rodriguez make for a perfect work couple; Smith mines much humor in his sorcerer’s crippling lack of confidence; and Lillis revels in the opportunity to make her mark as an action star. Grant offers a slight variation on the self-absorbed, curmudgeonly villains he’s played in recent years, but he’s as hilarious as usual. Honor Among Thieves’ secret weapon? Page, who delivers a masterclass in the deadpan as a wise, all-powerful but humorless holy knight. Head, though, fails to make as impression as Honor Among Thieves’ big bad, but that’s more a function of not being able to do much with an underwritten role. Otherwise, Goldstein and Daley are as much concerned with character development as they are with offering the best visual effects money can buy. (That said, the funniest scene in the film—involving Pine and his lute—is positively Looney Tune-ish in both look and execution.) Goldstein and Daley also bring lightness and energy to a self-aware sword-and-sorcery epic that never outstays it welcome and is filled with many Easter Eggs for “Dungeon & Dragons” fans. Whether Honor Among Thieves inspires non-players to seek out the game remains to be seen. But current players will definitely feel seen and appreciated by Honor Among Thieves. Robert Sims Posted: March 21, 2023. Web sites: https://schedule.sxsw.com/2023/films/2079266 https://www.paramountmovies.com/movies/dungeons-dragons-honor-among-thieves |
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