Action. Adventure. Fantasy. Comedy. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves has it all, offering a little something for everyone in its 134-minute runtime. Chris Pine leads a cast that includes Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Sophia Lillis, Justice Smith, Hugh Grant, and Daisy Head. Pine plays Edgin, a bard and a charmer – but really a thief – who leads his crew to stealing a powerful lost relic. But when they’re double-crossed and it falls into the hands of a twisted sorcerer, they have to get it back or the world is in trouble.
Honor Among Thieves is getting rave reviews for its bombastic action and laugh-out-loud comedy, buoyed by the chemistry of its cast. All due respect to the 2000 Dungeons & Dragons movie, but Honor Among Thieves is the first adaptation of the tabletop game that actually taps into why its so beloved. Unsurprisingly, all the elements that have garnered Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves such good reviews are exactly what make the original game so much fun, leading to a resurgence in its popularity in the past few years.
Pop Culture Has Put Dungeons & Dragons Back In The Spotlight
With geek culture now being just pop culture, what was once seen as nerdy is now cool. We live in an era now where fantasy, superheroes, sci-fi and the fantastic reign supreme on our TV screens and in our movie theaters, normalizing genres that were once seen as niche. Stranger Things has been one of the most culturally impactful shows of the past few decades, and its liberal use of D&D throughout the story has certainly helped lead to an increase of interest from an entirely new generation who jumped into the game that the fictional Hawkins kids love so much.
Likewise, YouTube and Twitch streams of live Dungeons & Dragons gameplay have created loyal communities who watch each new campaign session like a new episode of a TV show. Among these, Critical Role has forged an incredibly popular fanbase, known as Critters, leading to a whole franchise. The online stream led to an animated adaptation, The Legend of Vox Machina, on Prime Video, and there’s another spinoff in the works based on the Critical Role Mighty Nein campaign. From an adaptation standpoint, Dungeons & Dragons is an untapped goldmine for Hollywood.
D&D Offers Escapism At A Time We’ve Never Needed It More
Beyond the influence of pop culture, playing a Dungeons & Dragons campaign offers players an experience that is as close to possible to actually being in one of the fantasy TV shows they love or in their own video game. The most recent edition of Dungeons & Dragons, 5E, offered a simplified version that was meant to entice new players to the game, and it worked. The sky is the limit with a campaign – only the players’ imaginations and whatever parameters the dungeon master sets limit what’s possible. Playing Dungeons & Dragons is a Choose Your Own Adventure book with limitless options.
And let’s be frank: we’ve never needed escapism more. With the constant onslaught of social media and bad news, the ability to unplug and focus on a world where you and the dice control your fate is very enticing. The monsters of the real world are giant, corrupt systems that seem impossible to slay; Dungeons & Dragons offers literal monsters that can be killed with an enchanted weapon, a well-placed punch, or a clever spell. For a few hours, players immerse themselves in a world that is directly shaped by their actions and walk down the path of a narrative that is laid by their own decisions. There’s a lot to love about that.
Dungeons & Dragons Is Just Plain Fun…And Free
The allure of Dungeons & Dragons also being all but free shouldn’t be underestimated, either. All you need is a bag of dice, a printout of your character sheet, a fresh pencil, and you’re set. Sure, you can get fancy and buy expensive dice, character figurines, dungeon maps, and the rest. But all you really need to play is some cheap dice and a pencil. You and your friends do the rest. It’s easy to see the broad allure of a game that offers hours of fun and intrigue for pennies.
With a good group and a solid DM, Dungeons & Dragons is incredibly entertaining. Gathering a motley crew together for a quest is a bit like herding cats at first, but once the party starts to gel and powers and abilities start leveling up, everything takes off and you’re sucked into the adventure. It’s that spirit of being just plain fun that Honor Among Thieves has captured so well and why it honors the game so perfectly. Whether on the table or on the screen, Dungeons & Dragons offers a bit of real-life adventure for everyone. What’s not to love about that?
Get tickets to Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
