Written by: Dom and Ash at 1:21 pm
Filed under: Action,Drama,Movies
Writer: Jason Rappaport, Doug Taylor
Director: Uwe Boll
Cast: Jason Statham, Leelee Sobieski, John Rhys-Davies, Ron Perlman, Claire Forlani, Kristanna Loken, Matthew Lillard, Ray Liotta, Burt Reynolds
Rating: PG-13
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: April 15, 2008
If you have ever seen the movies BloodRayne and Alone in the Dark you are probably familiar with Uwe Boll. Whether you like him or not depends on your taste in movies. By definition, he’s not a good filmmaker. That doesn’t necessarily rule out every movie he makes, just about 99.9% of them. He is set in the videogame film genre, which by definition has never really been a good place to be.
Video games are not generally meant to transfer to film well. The stories work well as video games, but they don’t really handle the length of a movie in the same manner. In the Name of the King is actually the most positive film in Boll’s arsenal. It is actually pretty good. There are some minor things I would change, but if you go into this with the right perspective then it’s not bad at all.
I am not one to read reviews before or after my own are done. I have come across a few of these, but always stopped reading as soon as Uwe Boll’s name is brought up. I don’t feel that a director is the only one responsible for making a film bad. If that was the case then, yes, this movie would be horrific, because it can easily be established that Boll is an atrocious director with absolutely no cinematical skill whatsoever. However, there are plenty of actors here with skill. Boll got lucky because plenty of the actors here are able to hold their own. The main problem is with some cheesy special effects. Those made me laugh some, but I was entertained enough to be able to watch it again.
This is a film that will be good or bad based on your own perception of the film. If you come in expecting Uwe Boll to make a horrible movie then you might be pleasantly surprised. If you plan to watch this movie expecting Academy Award quality you won’t like it at all. It’s not an Academy Award type of movie, but then hundreds of movies that come out each year are not. It’s just an entertaining romp with a fantasy twist and plenty of big name celebrities.
Release Information:
With a $60 million budget and some big name stars you would think that In the Name of the King might have a shot at turning things around for Boll. Unfortunately, at least for him, this film has made a little over $10 million to date at theaters around the world. The film has been given bad reviews by most everyone that has reviewed it. Many base the review solely on the fact that the film is made by Boll. Others have complained that this is a knock-off of Lord of the Rings. In all fairness, I can’t comment on the Rings similarities because the movies were so god awful with the walking and the preciouses that I just couldn’t get through them. This doesn’t appear to be like what I know and did see of Rings, to me, but I suppose anything is possible.
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale was released on DVD on April 15, 2008 courtesy of 20th Century Fox. You can pick this DVD up at nearly all retailers, including several online retailers if you prefer shopping on the internet. Currently, on Amazon you can pick up In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale for under $20.
The In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale Plot
Set in the mythical land of Ehb, a farmer named Farmer (Jason Statham – War) lives in the quiet comfort of his farm with his wife, Solana (Claire Forlani – CSI NY), and their young child. Farmer is an unpretentious man, only needing his farm and his family to keep him at ease. Rather than realizing the world is as vast as it is, Farmer lives his life only coming in contact with the mentor who is like his father, Norick (Ron Perlman – Teen Titans) and very few others around his quiet farming village. However, not long after Farmer’s wife and child go to visit her family, a pack of blood-thirsty Krugs set out to destroy Farmer’s land and the land of all the farms around his.
The Krug are being controlled by one of the last Mages left in the land, Gallian (Ray Liotta – Bee Movie, Wild Hogs). While Gallian is power hungry, it is obvious that he isn’t working alone. He is working with the nephew of the King, Duke Fallow (Matthew Lillard – Scooby Doo), who seems to be as drunk on the thought of power as Gallian. As the Krug fight to destroy the land it is up to King Konreid (Burt Reynolds – The Dukes of Hazzard) and his men, which are led by Merick (John Rhys-Davies – The Lord of the Rings) and Commander Tarish (Brian J. White – The Game Plan, Brick).
After Farmer’s wife is carried off to enslavement, where he is unsure if she is alive or dead and their son is murdered, Farmer rallies with her brother Bastian (Will Sanderson – AcceleRacers: The Ultimate Race) and a few other countrymen to save the lands from evil. In the midst of everything, Farmer receives some shocking news that turns his world upside down, but causes him to fight harder than he ever has before.
The fight comes to a head when Merick’s daughter, Muriella (Leelee Sobieski – The Wicker Man) and Elora (Kristanna Loken – The L Word), a member of some leaf-dwindling forest nymphs akin to the Gorean Panther girls, join the fight intent on bringing down Gallian and restoring peace to Ehb.
The story is entertaining though it’s certainly not going to win any Oscars. If you look at it as a fun and entertaining romp, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem, though there were some issues here that deserve to be mentioned. Ray Liotta was just shocking as the power hungry Mage. He was just so over the top that it ended up making me laugh. If I wasn’t laughing he was making me wonder why he was acting so insane. I’ve seen him do a much better job than he did here. Meanwhile, other characters are all but wasted, by being used only to further the story in small parts. This is shown perfectly in Leelee Sobieski’s character. Otherwise, I don’t think the film is so bad. It offers some pretty interesting fight scenes and some gorgeous scenery.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting: 
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
Out of fairness to the finished product I am leaving out the rating for this DVD in the areas of vision and sound. We received the screener from 20th Century Fox and often that means that the finish product is not included. There were numerous compression issues and some blur in this copy, which leads me to believe there will be plenty of changes to the final product. The finished DVD is supposed to have an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 in an anamorphic widescreen format.
The audio is done in Dolby Digital 5.1 with closed captioning and subtitles in English and Spanish. The audio comes through much better than the video on the screener, though this may not be the case in the finished product. Overall, it is hard to explain how good or bad this will be without having access to the final product.
Bonus Features:
There are some average special features here that offer some additional content for fans of the movie. Things start off with the standard trailers. In addition to trailers for other films, there is also a theatrical trailer included, as well. There is a behind the scenes featurette that explains some of the motivations for the movie and offers some added behind the scenes information. Finally, there is a selection of deleted scenes. All in all, I’ve seen DVDs have a lot more and a lot less in the way of features. This section, while average, could have been a whole lot worse.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale is one of those films that is entertaining, but average. I had a good time watching this and feel that it’s been given a bad rap due to the fact that it has a horrible director. That being said, I’ve seen plenty of films that are better. In the end, this is probably going to be appreciated more by people that have never seen a Uwe Boll film. You might want to rent this one just in case, as it may save you some money in the end. Fantasy lovers might be able to put aside the small problems in the film and enjoy the film for what it is, but renting it first will ensure you know what you’re getting yourself into ahead of time.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: Movie, DVD Review, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, Fantasy, Burt Reynolds, Jason Statham, Ray Liotta
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Written by Dom and Ash - Visit Website
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