Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was pretty much slated to be a box office flop from the get go. We’re in a post Covid 19 theatrical world where box office hits are few and far between, with a majority of the movies coming out are remakes, reimaginings, or memberberry nostalgia bait films (some done well, some not so well), not to mention a whole host of streaming only exclusives that have simply over saturated the market with mediocrity. Not to mention that the last Dungeons & Dragons attempts on the live screen was the incredibly painful 2000 film of the same name with Marlan Wayans and Jeremy Irons (well, there was a DTV sequel that came out a couple of years later, but it was barely a blip on the radar). Couple all of that with some tumultuous behind the scenes rumors about the directors/writers making their own story and just “using D&D as a vehicle to get their story told” and long time fans were VEEEEEERRRRRYYYYY leary of the production, myself included.

So color me more than a little shocked when I pulled up the disc to review and actually ended up having a blast. First time I watched the film this last week I thought I HAD to have been drunk. No way was I actually enjoying this film for what it was. Sure, I had only 2 beers, but they MUST have been heavy duty imperials or something, because as I said, there was NO WAY I should be enjoying this film. Watching it a second time with the wife as litmus test, I came to realize that I may not actually be crazy or drunk, because we both enjoyed it. Let that sink in. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was actually a fun movie, no matter how you slice it.

The story is your typical D&D quest style tale, with rogues, dragons, wizards and barbarians, all working together for a common goal. Edgin (Chris Pine) was once a noble member of the Harpers, trying to keep peace and goodness within the realm of Neverwinter, only to fall prey to his own greed, invoking the ire of the Red Wizards who end up killing his wife, leaving him with a newborn daughter to raise. Unfortunately for him, Edgin falls into the role of a thief to survive, robbing the wealthy and noblemen with his barbarian partner Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) while they raise a young girl (Chloe Coleman).

Things go haywire when Edgin and Holga team up with Con Artist Forge (Hugh Grant) in order to raid a treasure vault. Edgin doesn’t want to play with so much danger, but decides to go for it due to the fact that within the vault is a magical artifact that can be used to bring back his dead wife. As you can guess from the trailer, things go sideways when Forge and his wizard friend (who turns out to be a red wizard, surprise surprise) betray the group and allow Edgin and Holga to get caught. Years later the two escape from prison and head home, only to find out that Forge has used the spoils of their botched job to become the lord of the town, and the defacto “step father” to Edgin’s daughter Kira. Determined to pull the rug from under the slimy two faced con man, Edgin and Holga hire a few more nerdowells and associates to form a team capable of doing the job, embarking on a quest to save the fair maiden, get rich, and of course take down the guy who screwed them years ago.

I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. There is no way I expected Honor Among Thieves to be a good movie. Just from the trailer alone (let alone the online hubbub and rumor mills that hinted at massive problems) I was expecting this to be another stinker ala the 2000 Dungeons & Dragons film. Instead we got a movie that was more true to D&D lore than anything before it, filling the entire flick with cameos and D&D lore Easter eggs galore. The film itself isn’t spectacular, but it plays out like an actual D&D quest, while winking and nodding to the audience in regards to well known, and overly played out tropes (Xenk alone was worth the price of admission, as was the chubby dragon Themberchaud).

Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga with her typical “tough girl” charm that she’s perfect over 25 years, and Chris Pine is decidedly likable as the down on his luck Harper. However, it was Rege-Jean Page as Xenk and Hugh Grant as Forge that stole the show. Xenk is your typical “hero” schtick played to the mage, and Hugh Grant knows how to play slimey characters so well that you were just CHEERING for him to bite the big one. All in all, it’s a competently acted film, with plenty of D&D lore behind it, in what turns out to be a sleeper hit.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for fantasy action/violence and some language




4K Video: Video:

I’m going to gripe on this till the end of times, but I really wish Paramount would go back including the Blu-ray ALONG with the 4K UHD to make a combo pack like days of old. It’s one of the few gripes I have with them, and it’s more of an OCD collector mentality than anything, but it is what it is. That little gripe aside, Honor Among Thieves is a fantastic looking film in 2160p. It was shot on 4.5K digital cameras and mastered in native 4K, resulting in an absolutely stunning looking image. The movie is distinctly colorful and rich, with loads of bright colors, shiny armor, and richly tapestried background objects and locations. Fine details are excellent from the get go, showing every crease and scar on Chris Pine’s face, as well as individually nuanced clothing designs. There were a few minor scenes that looked a TAD soft (such as us going to the Tieflings forest home as it was incredibly CGI heavy), but overall the colors popped with the Dolby Vision application, as well as DEEEEEP and rich black levels that show no signs of the typical banding and crush. I don’t say this often, but the encode is pure demo worthy and top tier perfect 5/5 rating from this cynical critic.








Audio:

The film’s Atmos mix is heavy on the action, and uses a LOT of directional shifts around the sound stage. Object orientation puts discrete sonic placements over the head in many battles (the Underdark quest most obviously) and the surrounds literally zip around all other the place with arrows whistling, or the screams of a bloodthirsty crowd coming from all angles during the final maze. I did notice that bass could be a bit inconsistent at times. Dialog was spot on as was surrounding effects, but there were times that the bass was absolutely crushing it, yet other times where you would EXPECT heavy bass, and it was rather flat and soft. Nothing that truly would make for an unpleasant listening experience, but a definite odd choice in the mixing department.







Extras:

• From Dice to Dragons: Honoring the Lore— Go behind-the-scenes with Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and the cast and crew to witness the thrilling journey of bringing the classic board game to life in the ultimate D&D experience.
• Rogues' Gallery: The Heroes of Dungeons & Dragons— Get an in-depth look at the heroes of the film as the cast delves into their characters and reveals the secrets behind bringing them to life on screen.
• Fantastic Foes— Explore the dark side of D&D with a look at the film's complex and fascinating villains.
• The Bestiary— Check out the cutting-edge visual effects, prosthetics, and intricate costumes that went into the creation of the movie's magical beings and fantastical beasts.
• Forging the Forgotten Realms— Discover the secrets behind the exciting sets and breathtaking locations in far away lands!
• Broadswords, Battle-axes & really cool Brawls— Dive into epic fight sequences with a behind-the-scenes look at the mind-blowing stunts and powerful weaponry that went into this heart-pumping action adventure.
• Gag Reel— Don't miss the hilarious gag reel with bloopers and outtakes.
• Deleted and Extended Scenes— Uncover even more of the action with deleted & extended scenes not seen in theaters!

Final Score: ​

Again, I’m not saying that Honor Among Thieves is a gloriously great film. It’s not even a really good film. But it IS a genuinely fun film in what has been a post apocalyptic wasteland of films during the last 3 years or so. It doesn’t have a ton of super political or social commentary in ways that tick off the audience (audience bait as a plot device has become over used as of late), and everyone involved is having fun. It’s simply what the 2000 era D&D film SHOULD have been. A light hearted quest based romp that made table top D&D players grin. That’s it, that’s all, and I’m glad it is what it is. The 4K UHD disc is pretty much demo worthy, with a near demo worthy audio mix as well. Add in the decent amount of extras and this is a definitely worthy of checking out as a fun fantasy romp.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Rege-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Hugh Grant
Directed by: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
Written by: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Michael Gilio
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), Spanish, (Castilian), Spanish (Latin), French, French (Canadian), Italian, Japanese DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Slovak, Swedish
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 134 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: May 30th, 2023

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Never saw it in theater but will check it out on streaming.

 

[JBrax]

I thought the trailer was funny. The wife and I will be spinning this at some point.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

I enjoyed it on Kaleidescape, but found the score to be flat. Like recorded/mixed flat, not slightly out of tune. I also noticed the inconsistent bass, but the score stood out to me more. Nobody else seems to corroborate my findings, so I may have to rewatch and see if I was just having an off night.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I own this... need to watch it. It's on the Bass Hunters list, Travis!

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

It's not as if the bass is weak. It just doesn't always seem to properly match the scale of the onscreen action.

 

[Michael Scott]

It's not as if the bass is weak. It just doesn't always seem to properly match the scale of the onscreen action.

yup, that's the best way to describe it. I didn't find the score flat on the 4K disc, but the bass IS weirdly inconsistent.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

I watched previews of this the other night and thought it could be a fun movie to watch. After reading your review, I'll definitely be watching it... thanks!

Dig the Led Zeppelin song in the trailer too. I'm assuming it's not part of the movie.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Is there some classic rock in the sound track?

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

Is there some classic rock in the sound track?

I don't remember from the soundtrack, but the trailer had some.

 

[Michael Scott]

it's pretty much the trailer and promo bits. the Sound track is new creation material