An endearing thief must bring together the most unlikely team of bandits to save his daughter and rescue his city.
Release date: 7 April 2023
Directors: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Adapted from: Dungeons & Dragons
Cinematography: Barry Peterson
Produced by: Jeremy Latcham; Brian Goldner; Nick Meyer
Cast: Sophia Lillis, Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Daisy Head, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Chloe Coleman
Summary
The movie delves into what is surprisingly a delightful tale about magic and loyalty ad family. Our protagonist saves the day by bringing together a band of misfits: a groggy barbarian, an inexperienced wizard, a shapeshifting druid, and a paladin with absolutely no comedic bone in his body.
It tells the story of a man who has to fight the consequences of his past actions, and reminds me of how people use the power of storytelling and fake-news to weave impressions about you to others. Luckily, there’s always a path to redemption in the end and this tale delivers a brilliant rendition of the restoration arc of a charming thief.
Story
This is one of my favourite comedy flicks this year. It’s effortlessly hilarious. From the very beginning you are greeted with the promise of a story that will fill your mind with fantasy and your belly with laughter. I enjoyed the several tropes that ran throughout the movie but my favourite was that Simon could do anything with magic: from attuning to the helmet, to talking to the dead, to paying for their drinks. Top marks for humour.
Speaking of talking to the dead, that graveyard scene was beyond hilarious. I don’t know how they managed to make something so macabre seem so funny, but they definitely pulled it off. I couldn’t stop laughing. I think about that scene sometimes and I wonder “How do you sharpen a gourd?”
The theme of Honour Among Thieves comes strong right from the onset when you quickly realise that the protagonists have been betrayed by their very own. And runs right to the end where the betrayer is betrayed by his very own. There are several moral lessons to be gleaned from this movie, and I enjoyed this tale a lot.
Costume and Setting
The costumes didn’t work for me. Particularly for paranormal creatures like Aarakocras. They just kind of seemed like the costumes were worn instead of simulated or animated. I did like fact that pictures and drawings moved, akin to most fantasy tales that we have grown to know and love. It was all very Harry Potter-esque.
I will say that the other costumes (like the Red Wizards and the corpses in the graveyard scene) looked pretty decent. I’m not sure if it’s the same VX studio that was in charge throughout but it seems like some parts were very well done, and others were a tad lacklustre. Certain scenes left me satisfied, visually, but many did not.
Cinematography
The cinematography is pretty clean. Laudable, actually. From the spider web breaking to the time stop effects in the thieving scene where they get caught, and the one take scene watching the Druid morph from a metaphorical fly on the wall, into different animals while trying to escape Castle Never in the first act. A gorgeous cinematic experience. Especially when she falls through the chimney and promptly turns into a cat so she can land on her feet. Genius. The more you observe, the more amazing the cinematography is.
Every scene is perfectly shot, and the settings are so beautiful and picturesque. It’s an amazing visual experience, I’ll give you that. There are so many scenes worthy of mention, but the one where they sneak into the chariot using the ‘hither tither’ staff is definitely one that tickled my cinematography senses.
Acting
I loved seeing Michael Rodriguez’s portrayal of Holga. She seems to be a quiet, broody character that is to be taken seriously but somehow manages to also be unwittingly and effortlessly hilarious. She’s also the image of the strong, independent woman that many Hollywood movies attempt to portray, without the overbearing quality of the infallible, insufferable female that we are forced to love without question (looking your way, Captain Marvel). She bounces off effortless chemistry with Chris Pine’s Edgin Darvis in a beautiful, aromantic manner that I feel is rare to find in today’s cinema. Top marks!
Bradley Cooper as Marlamin was a pleasant little surprise, and that’s not even a reference to his size. That man has so much range. Regé-Jean Page on the other hand, seemed to reenact his character from Bridgerton, taking himself way too seriously, as usual. It’s perfectly fine if that was the intention from the script, but I hope he doesn’t find himself typecast in these roles. I did love his fight scenes though. He should take on more action packed roles. An on-screen beaut. Chef’s kiss.
Rating
4D
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Delightful. Dynamic. Delirious. Different.
A strong 4D rating for this masterpiece, please! It’s actually pushing 5. This movie is a great example of how expectations can either make or mar a movie’s experience. I walked in expecting to see an okay flick, and walked out positively impressed and delightfully entertained. The feature is full of silly moments, quirky highlights, and downright ridiculous lines that will leave you wondering if its genre is fantasy or comedy.
A delightful experience. I highly recommend.
