I’ve heard a fair bit of anti Uwe Boll talk on the internet over the last couple of years. It seems like the guy has a reputation for making terrible movies and with a 4% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, In the Name of the King wasn’t looking too promising a film to dispel his reputation.
On the upside, it does have Jason Statham and John Rhys-Davis, though this is off set by the inclusion of B-Grade king Ray Liotta.
Sadly, Even Jason can’t save Boll’s reputation, and ends up playing himself in a role that doesn’t suit his personality. This really isn’t Jason’s fault however, as Boll, in the role of director should really be able to direct his actors into their roles. John Rhys-Davis does ok in his role but only seems to be acting in a ‘the contract says I have to do this movie’ kind of way.
In fact the only actor who seems to be enjoying his role is Ray Liota, in B-Grade, cheesy heaven, playing the bad guy with all the power.
In the Name of the King plays out like a poor man’s Lord of the Rings; the director lacks the passion and vision of Peter Jackson and the special effect and costume making abilities of Weta Workshop, what is left is bland and un-inspiring.
It’s a predictable run of the mill plot that offers little in the way of suspense and only a few nearly exciting action scenes.
To be brutally honest, the only real bright spot in the whole movie is the inclusion of Burt Reynolds, and only because he seems to know that he’s only there for the curiosity factor and not his acting talent.
All in all, In the Name of the King is one movie to avoid, it doesn’t even fall into the so bad it’s good camp, and the only reason to see it would be if you were a die hard, have to see all his movies, Jason Statham fan.
Reviewed by: Jonathan Read. Rating: M – Contains fantasy violence. Release Date: November 25th, 2008 Stars: Jason Statham, Ray Liotta, Leelee Sobieski, Burt Reynolds, Kristanna Loken, John Rhys-Davies, Ron Perlman, Claire Forlani, Matthew Lillard, Brian White, Mike Dopud, Will Sanderson Media Format: DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Languages: English Supported Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo Director: Boll, Uwe Studio: 20th Century Fox/Roadshow
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