A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers embark on an epic quest to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.

The fantasy role playing board game ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ was first released in the 1970s and became popular with a generation of young people who I guess would have been referred to as nerds or geeks at the time. In recent times it has seen a renewed spike in interest and popularity, in part as a result of its inclusion in ‘Stranger Things’, and a general reappraisal of pop culture that would have previously been seen as uncool or nerdy. Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley have the task of bringing ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ to a mainstream audience in ‘Honor Among Thieves’, a fitting role for Daley in particular who some may remember as one of the ‘geeks’ in the short lived 1999 TV show ‘Freaks and Geeks’, where indeed his character and friends played this game.

‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ introduces us to this world of D&D through the eyes of Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine), a bard who has been imprisoned after he turned to theft after his wife was killed by the disciples of a Red Wizard. After he breaks out with the help of the barbarian Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez, very well cast), he sets off on a quest to retrieve his daughter Kira and seek the Tablet of Reawakening to revive his wife, which are both in the hands of his former accomplice Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant, in another brilliantly villainous turn after ‘Paddington 2’). Trust me, this will all make a lot more sense if you watch! The plot takes Edgin, Holga and a couple of others across the landscape to the castle where Forge now rules, bringing them into contact with a variety of friends and foes, as they learn that Forge may not quite be the friend they thought he once was.

I can’t say I’ve had much exposure to ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ previously beyond seeing it played and referenced in various other movies and TV shows, but I found myself enjoying this movie. It’s well acted, has a decent plot, and more importantly it is actually pretty funny and I did (almost) laugh out load on a few occasions – which is pretty rare for me! I enjoyed the references and subtle homages to other fantasy movies, specifically ‘Lord of the Rings’, and while it is too long as most of these blockbuster movies tend to be, I was invested in the story and enjoyed seeing how it played out, even as it plays it somewhat safe in the final act. I’ll probably go and see a sequel should they make one, which is pretty much an endorsement!

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley

Starring: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Hugh Grant, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Chloe Coleman, Daisy Head and Jason Wong

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2906216/