In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
Cast: Jason Statham, Ray Liotta
Director: Uwe Boll
Rating: **
It’s one of those ‘once upon a time’ fables, full of sound and sorcery, signifying nothing. To be sure, there are intermittent fiery action interludes. Predictably, too, the plot premise hinges on vengeance and retribution.
The trouble with In the Name of the King.. is that we have seen it all before, since time immemorial, when the have-nots battled evil, and walked into that all’s-well ending. In fact, there is no reason for director Uwe Boll or anyone to have attempted such an outdated saga fuelled by dollars in the multi-million bracket.
Anyway since it’s there right before our eyes, let’s see what Mr Boll has to say. It seems, that long, long ago there was a farmer whose parents had rather, presciently, named him Farmer (Jason Statham). He is quite a peace-loving man till one fateful day, the animal warriors Krugs strike. Farmer’s son is killed and the beautiful Mrs Farmer is kidnapped.
Consequently, the merciless bad element Gallian (Ray Liotta) must be exterminated. Thereby hangs a very tiresome tale that takes over two hours to limp to its end.
Some oddity-spotters will notice a rather despondent Burt Reynolds in the role of a a helpless monarch. And to think once, he was a symbol of machismo as well as the No 1 draw at the international box office! Statham has a cult following as an action hero but, as Farmer, he is hardly in his element, whether he’s chucking a boomerang or flaring his nostrils.
{{/usCountry}}Some oddity-spotters will notice a rather despondent Burt Reynolds in the role of a a helpless monarch. And to think once, he was a symbol of machismo as well as the No 1 draw at the international box office! Statham has a cult following as an action hero but, as Farmer, he is hardly in his element, whether he’s chucking a boomerang or flaring his nostrils.
{{/usCountry}}Adapted from a video game, this film is like its inspiration – more flash than dash. Entirely missable.