After over two years of waiting, “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” finally hit theaters March 31. On the day of release, D&D and fantasy fans rushed to theaters, some even going cosplayed as their own characters.

Months before the release date I, a D&D dungeon master, made plans to go see the movie the moment it was released. Having played D&D for over two years, I was immediately intrigued and excited by the idea of a D&D movie and knew that I had to see it. I saw the movie at Marcus Twin Creek Cinema in Bellevue.

The story follows the misadventures of Ed and his party of misfits as he tries to get his daughter back after breaking out of prison. He travels with his closest friend, a potato-loving barbarian named Holga; Simon, a timid sorcerer; and Doric, a fierce cleric who wants to save her forest.

Going into the movie, I was worried about how well it would be able to cater to hardcore D&D fans without being super confusing for general viewers who don’t know much about D&D. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it actually did an amazing job of appealing to both. As an experienced player and dungeon master, I was able to recognize every single spell cast as official D&D spells with the exception of one, and I recognized all the creatures shown from official books. Even without that knowledge, the spells looked interesting and didn’t require further explanation for other viewers. For more obscure monsters and spells that did need further explanation, the movie did a great job of explaining it without making it sound awkward or forced. The combat scenes were also incredibly dynamic and eye-catching. The spells were flashy and the swordplay was smooth, easy to follow and exciting. 

As a player and dungeon master, I found myself relating the characters to my own. They really managed to capture the experience of playing D&D with witty banter, running gags, and deep interpersonal relationships between characters. They also managed to mix classic D&D shenanigans with more intense moments to make a great balance between comedy and drama.

My favorite part about the movie and the biggest takeaway I got from it was how it managed to capture what I believe the true meaning of D&D is: family. At the end of the day, what D&D is all about is bonding with friends. After being in a party together for a year or longer, you start to become family, and I feel the movie really captured that. In the end, when Ed was asking if he was going to return to his people, he looked at his party and said he was already with them and that’s the real point of D&D.

Overall, I feel the Dungeons & Dragons movie really managed to capture the meaning of the game and put it into an amazing experience that can be enjoyed by everyone.