In The Name Of The King (2008) - Movie
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Movie Plot |
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An epic fantasy adventure based on Microsoft's popular Dungeon Siege game series, "In The Name Of The King" follows the journey of Farmer (Jason Statham) from simple family man to heroic leader. An unspeakable evil army rampages across what was an idyllic, peaceful world, destroying everything in its path, looking to conquer the evil Gallian (Ray Liotta) and the ruling King Konreid (Burt Reynolds). Farmer sets out to find his kidnapped wife, Solana (Claire Forlani), and avenge the death of his son, who was killed by the evil animal warriors called Krugs.
User's Review and Ratings |
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Another Game to Movie letdown
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
What I loved most: It ended
What I really hated: They made it with insufficient budget and horrible direction
Based on the Dungeon Siege game series, this movie attempted to start off with the game's opening of one's playable character which is introduced as a farmer (hence the movie's hero is nicknamed Farmer). You start off with your village invaded by mediocre low level monsters called Krugs, which the movie implemented into the story, then eventually venture your way to ultimatley fight some really bizarre monsters in a variety of environments ... which is what this movie could have followed but failed miserably at. What we get is a prolonged draggy battle with Krugs, Krugs , Krugs and then more Krugs then ends with a supposed climax of the battle with an evil-wizard who uses very cheesy 'magic'. The cast tried to bring life to characters in the movie but it was beyond saving, it might have been better if they just let Jason do his Transporter fighting scenes throughout the movie and cut out the long-winded and uninspiring 'war'. Think Dungeons & Dragons, Street Fighters and Super Mario life action movies and you'll get what I mean by utter disappointment.
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CO's Review |
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"In The Name Of The King" is a 'rojak' (mix-and-match) sword-and-sorcery flick adapted from the videogame by German director Uwe Boll. Now, those familiar with the works of Boll - like his 2005 "BloodRayne", "House Of The Dead" (2003) and last year's "Seed" - would consider this bad news since Boll has been known for churning out turkeys and D-grade stuff year after year.
However, the 'good news' is that this is an improvement on the rubbish Boll has been serving lately. At least he has the good sense to 'borrow' ideas from epic blockbusters like "Lord Of The Rings" and recycle them in this unabashedly derivative flick.
The hero of the piece is a man called Farmer (John Statham), a guy who just wants to till his land, harvest his crops and take care of his wife (Claire Forlani as Solana) and son. However, his plans change when a horde of zombie-like soldiers pillages his village and kidnaps his wife. Farmer soon realises that in order to rescue his wife, he must also help to save the kingdom of King Konreid (Burt Reynolds) from the evil designs of sorcerer Gallian (Ray Liotta).
Teaming up with his foster father Norick (Ron Perlman), brother-in-law Bastian (Will Sanderson) and the king's wizard Merick (John Rhys-Davis), Farmer has to go through the same sort of odyssey as Frodo the Hobbit to fulfil his destiny. Of course, this odyssey involves a whole lot of Orc-bashing like those of "LOTR", an encounter with nubile tree-dwelling nymphs led by the elf-like Elora (Kristanna Loken) and the usual palace intrigues provided by the deceitful Duke Fallow (Matthew Lillard). As if these were not enough, Boll also throws in some "Matrix'-type moves and Jedi swordplay from "Star Wars".
Don't expect too much from the action in this US$60 million (RM200 mil) production. All through the movie, we would remain detached from the proceedings because it has nothing to get us involved in. The sword-fighting scenes are rudimentary - with just a glimpse of Statham doing a flying stunt - and some rather ridiculous 'magic' sequences.
As expected, Boll demands very little of his cast. Statham is miscast and he has the emotional depth of a fashion mannequin. We half expect Reynolds and Liotta to burst into laughter while mouthing those lame lines. Among the A-list cast, only Lillard seems to earn his keep as the low-life nephew of the King. Rhys-Davis does his usual eye-popping schtick in his Merlin-type role while Leelee Sobieski provides a little eye candy as his beautiful daughter, Muriella.
Technically, "In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale" offers delightful cinematography and some breath-taking landscapes. The background music can be rousing at times. It is just too bad that it is so deficient in other departments like acting, scripting and editing. At over two hours, the repetitious and irrelevant sequences are too much of a bore to bear.
To be fair, we should not write off this Boll effort like we did for his previous outings. It is passable for a mindless pastime, just like the videogame upon which it is based.
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 Jason Statham |  Colin Ford |  Colin Ford | ||
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