Uwe Boll wages war amongst the inhabitants of the kingdom of Ehb. Mr. Boll might do better in finding an editor that will get this film down to about 90 minutes. This may be his first feature that has a big name cast, but some of them seem to be sleepwalking through their roles.
In the kingdom of Ehb, a farmer named Farmer (Jason Statham) is called to fight when invading hordes of Krug kill his son and kidnap his wife Solana (Claire Forlani). He and his neighbor Norick (Ron Perlman) go in pursuit of Solana and to drive back the Krug.
King Konreid (Burt Reynolds) is trying to defend the land but faces traitorous action from his nephew Duke Fallow (Matthew Lillard) as he is in cahoots with the leader of the Krug.
The evil magus Gallian (Ray Liotta) is leading the Krug by controlling the phantom generals that keep the animalistic Krug in line. Not only that but he’s also using Muriella (Leelee Sobieski), the daughter of the king’s magus, to supplement his power. The king’s magus Merick (John Rhys Davies) knows that Farmer will play a more important role in the battle then anyone will realize.
In the Name of the King is Uwe Boll’s attempt at cashing in on the Lord of the Rings hype. He even has some long shots that has four of the characters walking about scenic mountains that seems directly lifted from that much better feature. The problem is that it seems like too little too late.
Boll is a director that seems to keep turning up the money to make these films and it seems beyond reason that he is able to raise the funds. What’s more shocking is that it cost an estimated $60 million to make this turkey.
The actors probably got the majority of that price tag since there are some decent names in the cast – not that they were used well.
Statham growls his way through the role of the farmer named Farmer (I kid you not), so it’s pretty much his usual performance. Ray Liotta must’ve gained several hundred pounds since not only does he chew the scenery he swallows several sets whole.
Matthew Lillard goes way over the top, but he does appear to be the one having the most fun. John Rhys Davies seems downright grouchy – he must’ve actually read the script and smelt the LOTR knockoff.
The saddest is Burt Reynolds. He appears bored or sleepy every time that he’s on the screen and even when he’s supposed to be yelling at Lillard he doesn’t put much effort into it. You know that Burt was just biding his time until he heard from his accountant that Boll’s check didn’t bounce.
If Uwe had a decent editor he might’ve pared this down to a more pleasing 90 minute guilty pleasure. As it is the film is a two hour exercise in Uwe-vision that uses slow motion to drag things out that you’ll be reaching for the remote and the fast forward button. At 90 minutes it might’ve been watchable for the cast and goofiness. At two hours it’s just painful.
In the Name of the King is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include 10 minutes of behind the scenes footage, which is really that – footage shot of folks working on the shots.
There are also 9 minutes of deleted scenes and more of them should’ve been deleted from the feature. Finally you have the 1 minute theatrical trailer and trailers for other Fox DVDs.
I can’t see how Uwe Boll keeps getting the money, but he does and keeps making films. He’s in bad need of an editor or at least a better one. As they are they’re like watching a train wreck – you don’t want to look but you keep looking anyway. However, you’d be better off spending your two hours elsewhere unless you like seeing some big names in a crappy movie.
In the Name of the King - A Dungeon Siege Tale is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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