A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people in this hilarious and action-packed adventure.
For in-depth thoughts on Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, please see my colleague Larry Fried’s review from its SXSW debut here.
Video Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves offers a jaw-dropping viewing experience, but it is difficult to assess how large of an upgrade it is since there is not an accompanying Blu-Ray. The Dolby Vision allows the array of colors on display to dig deep when it comes to vibrancy. The distinct landscapes of this world treat you to fantastical environments filled with bright hues that pierce through the screen. There are so many elements of the production design and costumes that really come alive in this manner. Skin tones appear natural with loads of crisp detail apparent on faces such as facial hair, perspiration, makeup and more.
Highlights in the film are firmly defined with whites pure and balanced with no instances of blooming to be found. The black levels are especially strong in this presentation, staying deep and inky with great detail. The special effects blend in well so that the world feels effectively realized. This transfer allows for a monumental amount of texture in nearly every instance you can imagine. This 4K UHD presentation really wows on all fronts including impressive showings in clarity and color. The Blu-Ray is probably great, but Paramount has really shown the magic they can create with this 4K UHD release.
Audio Quality
This 4K UHD Blu-Ray release boasts an action-packed Dolby Atmos presentation that brings this to life exactly how you would want. This is a film which gets the most out of its sound design as many active environments are filled with subtle details that this disc executes perfectly. When the film kicks into gear, this disc brings the action right into your living room with a depth and clarity of sound that will knock you sideways. There is a substantial amount of activity in the low-end which will keep your room vibrating, especially in some of the climactic confrontations.
As our characters move throughout the lands, every minor change is realized in the sound design. The various environmental sounds flow out of your side and rear speakers. Each sound is delicately placed with perfect spatial awareness including incredible activity overhead which helps make the track seem more full. The narrative engages all of the channels with panning effects and sounds of adventure that really makes you feel like you are in the thick of this epic campaign. Dialogue comes through clearly without getting muddied by the score or any sound effects. Paramount knocked it out of the park with this track, so those with a good surround sound setup should strap in for a fun time.
Special Features
- From Dice To Dragons – Honoring The Lore: An 11-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss their love for the game, the process of adapting this board game into a film, how playing the game brought the cast together, striking the right the tonal balance, conceptualizing certain scenes and more.
- Rogues’ Gallery – The Heroes Of Dungeons & Dragons: A nearly 12-minute piece which takes a look at the heroes of the film, their individual stories, how the performers went about bringing them to life and much more.
- Fantastic Foes: A seven-minute look at the villains of the film, some of their backstories, the performers who play them and more.
- The Bestiary: A nearly 10-minute piece on the fantastical creatures of this world, the mixture of CGI and practical effects, the costumes and more.
- Forging The Forgotten Realms: An eight-minute look at the effort to bring this world to life in a meaningful way, the decisions to focus on the lands they did, the location shooting and more.
- Broadswords, Battleaxes & Badass Brawls: A nearly nine-minute look at the intense action sequences that make up this film including the complex stunt work, the cool weapons that have been brought to life and more.
- Gag Reel: A nearly seven-minute collection of flubbed or forgotten lines, giggle fits, goofing around, malfunctioning props and more that provide some big laughs.
- Deleted and Extended Scenes: Six scenes of unused material totaling nearly 11 minutes are provided here including some scenes with unfinished special effects. Most of these are simply extended, but there is one deleted scene. Worth checking out for fans!
Final Thoughts
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is the type of unbridled fun that Hollywood so rarely delivers from their blockbuster fare. The studios are often so focused on ticking off particular boxes in a formula that they often forget to deliver pure entertainment. This film does have its own deficiency in its plotting, but much of this is smoothed over thanks to its charismatic performers and jovial character exchanges. This is top notch fantasy filmmaking from those who clearly have a love for the material. Paramount Home Entertainment has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray with a terrific A/V presentation and a nice array of brief supplemental features. The future of this franchise is uncertain, but we would gladly take more adventures in this world. Recommended
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Paramount Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
