After premiering in theaters on March 31, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves began streaming on Paramount+ free with a subscription on May 16, 2023. Previously, the movie was made available for early digital purchase or rental on May 2. The release of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves on Paramount+ predates the disc releases including 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on May 30, 2023.
Movie
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves scores a 91% on the Tomatometer, and an even higher Audience score. Tapping into the Dungeons & Dragons franchise, its the best film yet following the much-anticipated but unsuccessful Dungeons & Dragons (2000) and its two sequels.
This light-hearted adventure comedy about a small band of thieves who battle immortal beings stars Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, and Hugh Grant. The movie was directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. Daley co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Gilio based on the story by Chris McKay and Gilio.
Here’s a review of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves in 4K on Paramount+.
Video
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves streams in 4k (2160p) resolution with Dolby Vision HDR. The movie plays at around 20 Mbps, which about the highest most streaming services offer.
Exceptional sharpness and detail in shadow areas give Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves a significant upgrade over HD formats. Just about every tattoo on Holga’s arms is legible on larger screens.
The color palette is more earthy and realistic than some of the promotional materials may have suggested. You could, of course, boost the color saturation and contrast on your TV for more punch. But
What about visual effects? A lot of the CGI in the movie is used to transform Doric (Sophia Lillis) into different creatures.
Her first appearance as the owlbear at 33 minutes might be our favorite creature in the film. The way the fur and shape of the owlbear move are impressive out of computer generation. We see the extent of Doric’s powers later when she starts as a fly, then a mouse, then a hawk followed by a deer (the least believable of the bunch).
The size of Olga’s ex-lover (the halfling Marlamin played by Bradley Cooper) seems like an attempt to replicate what Peter Jackson did with the Hobbits in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, but doesn’t match its believability.
Overall, the visual experience is worthy of a second or third watch, but we’ll be anxiously awaiting the arrival of the 4k disc to view this movie in the highest bitrates possible in home theaters.
Audio
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is formatted with Dolby Atmos audio, providing height elements to the audio experience on supporting systems. Without Atmos, the surround sound will sample down to 7.1, 5.1, or 2.1 formats.
The dialogue is clean and never submerged in effects or music composition. The mainly frontal approach keeps most of the dialogue delivery from the screen, the preferred positioning of most movies and TV series.
But surround sound enhances the well-balanced soundtrack. The spell cast by Xenk Yendar at 12 minutes channel through all discreet channels in a way that you feel immersed in the spell.
The quick battle flashbacks at 2 hours and 52 minutes have some brief surround sound distributed through most speakers. The final battle scene with Yendar offers a wide range of audio frequencies, hitting multiple speakers in a 7.1-channel setup.
“That’s one pudgy dragon.”
Want some subwoofer? The “pudgy” dragon at 1 hour and 12 minutes delivers some low-frequency audio as does the giant chain that falls in the dungeon. Bridges crumble and caves collapse with dynamic sound, activating multiple speaker locations.
Overall, the movie provides a good audio experience that is highlighted by excellent separation of dialogue from the other audio sources. Surround sound effects are not always prevalent, which is OK, but we wish rear speakers were part of the mix more often.
Scores
Movie
3.5/5
Video
4/5
Audio
4/5
Extras
NA
