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The New D&D Movie Plays Like Your Favorite Campaign


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NOTE: The following article contains spoilers for the movie Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, proceed at your own risk.

spacer.png Despite breaking some rules like a druid not being able to turn into an owlbear, Honor Among Thieves does an honorable job of feeling like the source material. The movie stars Chris Pine as a smooth talking bard with an appropriately tragic backstory who ropes a blunt barbarian (Michelle Rodriguez), a sorcerer of questionable abilitiles (Justice Smith), and a druid who with the aforementioned ability to turn into an owlbear (Sophia Lillis) to aid in his quest. Our intrepid adventuring party embarks on an adventure to save his daughter from the smarmy Lord Neverwinter (played perfectly by Hugh Grant), only to discover it's up to them to save the world. 

As a story, it's really only so-so. The plot rambles. The antagonist is barely in the movie, and never provides any real threat. The conflict resolves itself in the most predictable way possible. And yet…for players of the tabletop game, it's an absolute delight. Not only is it an onslaught of references from seeing classic monsters like the gelatinous cube or the mimic that looks like a treasure chest, but it strikes the perfect tone between classic fantasy adventure and silly humor. It's hard to complain about a one sided villain when you're watching the heroes get followed by a morbidly obese dragon or cast Speak with the Dead, only to leave a corpse hanging because they forgot to speak with him a fifth time (something that actually happened in my last campaign, btw).

On top of the references, of which there are many, the story also feels authentic because of the depiction of the characters and the performances. Chris Pine nails the performance of your one friend who thinks the story is about them and their tragic backstory. Michelle Rodriguez's deadpan barbarian lands some of the best jokes in the film. My favorite exchange in the movie is probably when Pine tells Rege Jean Page's paladin, Xenk, that they need the macguffin for a "noble reason," and she earnestly adds, "We're gonna rob somebody." And speaking of Page, Xenk's mixture of genuine goodness and annoying self-righteousness is the personification of every paladin ever. Another scene stealing moment is when he confidently walks away from the party in a perfectly straight line, choosing to go over a rock instead of around it. Watching the movie, it really felt like a really good D&D campaign -- where it's as much about hanging out with your friends as it is about the story…probably more so. And for that, it made those of us who spend an hour a week (except every third Wednesday when the paladin has zumba), feel seen. And for a big budget film about something as niche as D&D…that's really all I needed.

 

And I leave you with my favorite D&D meme:

x60cy8DP8cR7Gb1lyjYlcsrkMA85c7yI_6zp3arAjvZc_DIIdTTb-bSbxv4UpkELFQzHRxxxWFG1uUwWLqtvuKaoQZ1BEdvxnMXjg_T07xzwUhddIAhDvxpuSIutVI5OAHtpoOAoFJtO29AWFqDbfYY

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