2023 seems to be becoming the year for franchises to have another crack at Hollywood. Recently we had The Super Mario Bros. Movie well and truly putting 1993’s disastrous attempt at recreating our favourite plumbers for the silver screen behind them, with a fun, easter egg filled, family comedy.

Here Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves manages to avoid all of the traps and pitfalls of its early 2000’s predecessors, creating a movie which should appeal to newcomers, and fans of the tabletop RPG, alike.

Taking place in the Forgotten Realms, escaped convicts Edgin (Chris Pine) and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) must put together a ragtag group of misfits to rescue the formers daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman) and in the process get revenge on Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant).

The first thing to say is that Hugh Grant is terrific. For someone who found fame in the 90’s and 2000’s as the romantic hero, he is currently enjoying a second life, playing villains, cads and - as is the case here - rogues, and he is clearly relishing every minute of it.

He plays Forge with an easy charm, making it easy to believe that he can con an entire city, and makes the most out of every line that he has.

Away from Hugh, the rest of the cast are perfectly placed as well. Chris Pine plays Edgin with a bravado that does not quite manage to mask the pain of losing his wife, and the threat of losing his daughter, and Michelle Rodriguez is excellent as barbarian Holga.

Doric (Sophia Lillis) a Tiefling Druid with a distrust for humans is well portrayed, but is let down somewhat by the writing. Her character, shape shifting with an abandon not allowed by the actual game has some excellent action scenes, but their is little characterisation outside of what is explained in the first 5 minutes of her being introduced.

While the other characters do seem to go on a journey throughout the film, Doric is less pronounced.

If they do make a sequel it would be interesting for them to focus more on her character as Lillis does do a good job with what she’;s given, I would have just liked her to have been given more.

I think one worry whenever any film like this comes out, is how accessible is it going to be to those who have no prior knowledge of the franchise, and thankfully this is something Honor Among Thieves passes through with flying colours.

Whilst I do play D&D I’m not someone that knows huge amounts about the lore, and while there is plenty of fan service, and easter eggs, for those that do, it is also a film that you can enjoy completely independently of the game that spawned it.

You will still be able to understand the plot, enjoy the action and relate to the characters even if this is your first foray into the world.

And that is impressive, especially when you are tackling something that a lot of people hold dear to them, as you are always at risk of alienating newcomers and angering die hards. The fact that Honor Among Thieves doesn’t do either of these things is a real credit to the screenwriters and directors.

The directors (John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein) last film, Game Night, was a film clearly made by people who understand jokes, managing to be a consistently very funny action comedy, and they bring those same comedy-attuned senses to Honor Among Thieves.

While the jokes here are perhaps not quite so consistent, they do, more often than not, hit the mark. The dialogue is sharp and the visual gags work well. Overall it is a fantasy film which, much like some of the best D&D campaigns, does not take itself too seriously, and this is perhaps the films biggest strength.

Its biggest weakness is, perhaps, it’s length. While it never felt like it was dragging to me, a running time of 134 minutes may be enough to put people off giving it a chance.

Making a film based on a game so beloved by many was never going to be the easiest of feats, but while Honor Among Thieves may not be a natural 20, it is so much better than the natural ones that have preceded it.