With video game developer Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3‘s instant success with fans and Paramount Pictures’ Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves‘ warm embrace by movie critics earlier this year, the fantasy genre is experiencing another mainstream resurgence. Honor Among Thieves is now winning over new fans on Paramount+ and is the perfect movie to complement Baldur’s Gate 3‘s recent release.
Gamers eager for more high-fantasy thrills will dig Honor Among Thieves‘ visually stunning cinematic quests, and anyone looking for more colorful creatures, brave heroes, and excellently executed escapism is sure to love the latest — and best — Dungeons & Dragons movie. Here are three reasons why Baldur’s Gate 3 fans should watch Honor Among Thieves if they haven’t already.
No prior Dungeons & Dragons knowledge is needed
With a franchise that’s spanned nearly 50 years’ worth of publication history and countless multimedia productions outside of the source tabletop game, it can seem intimidating on the surface to tackle something Dungeons & Dragons related. However, thanks to the inherently episodic approach to this D&D project by directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, Honor Among Thieves effortlessly introduces a slice of this fantasy universe without getting too bogged down in explaining jargon or demanding that audiences to be thoroughly familiar with any lore.
Someone with no experience with this franchise — tabletop games or otherwise — can find just as much enjoyment in Honor Among Thieves as someone with decades of thorough knowledge of the property. As easy as it is to feel like an outsider to this IP, this easy accessibility is something that Larian‘s Baldur’s Gate 3 possesses as well. Both movie and video game can be enjoyed by newcomers and experienced fans alike.
A thoroughly entertaining standalone adventure
In a modern landscape of big franchises selling the idea of sweeping cinematic universes, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is perfectly content with — and succeeds at — being a fun standalone adventure. It’s an aspect of Goldstein and Daley’s movie that carries over to its accessibility to new audiences while also being a fun throwbackfor longtime players.
While it does delicately sow a few seeds for a potential sequel, Honor Among Things is an entertaining and focused romp that is primarily concerned with telling a complete story, as opposed to feeling like an extended commercial for whatever might come next. Even if the movie’s disappointing box office run means this is probably the last audiences will see of Edgin, Holga, Simon, Doric, and Xenk, Honor Among Thieves is thoroughly satisfying and a great movie to watch on its own.
An homage to friendly Dungeons & Dragons campaigns
Even as beginner-friendly as Honor Among Thieves is, the movie is still a loving homage to the fun and nostalgic experience many longtime fans are used to with their Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. The franchise is certainly no stranger to grittir dark fantasy storytelling, but Honor Among Thieves delightfully emulates the bombastic fantasy hijinks a group of friends can get entangled in through a tabletop campaign.
The movie does well meshing comedy with swashbuckling action to strike this tonal balance, with Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, and Hugh Grant’s performances being particular highlights of this. It’s a refreshing spotlight on the zanier side of high fantasy that Dungeons & Dragons can be a great sandbox for while capturing the essence of what made James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy so successful. Honor Among Thieves pairs lighthearted comedy with a lovable band of misfits, but it makes sure to not undercut all of its emotional beats.
Paramount Pictures’ Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is available to stream now on Paramount+.
