In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale Blu-ray Movie Review

Uwe strikes again...for almost three hours.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 26, 2009

Only fools give their life to kings.

Normally, after watching something like In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, one might ask, "what went wrong?" With this movie, there is no point in asking, for the answer is simply, "everything." It all starts at the top, with oft-besieged director Uwe Boll (Postal), who really doesn't make the worst movies of all time (he just comes close), failing in practically every facet of the filmmaking process. He cannot manage to squeeze even a mediocre performance from any members of his cast, despite the terrain being littered with a fairly impressive list of stars; the director fails to make the story either cohesive or interesting; and the action sequences are dull, duller, and dullest, although possibly not in that particular order (and does it really matter?). What begins promisingly enough, or at least passably entertaining, becomes a drag, thanks to a bloated runtime and the film's insistence on embracing, yet somehow failing to capitalize on, nearly every Fantasy film cliché in the book, most notably that of a humble peasant, named "Farmer" no less, learning that his destiny lies somewhere other than in the rows of vegetables he harvests.

Farmer fends off the critics.

Farmer (Jason Statham, Transporter 3) is a peasant doing what he loves, tilling his soil and chopping wood (and really, what more is there for a peasant to do?), keeping his family fed and warm. With his wife and son out of town, his homestead is attacked by a group of dark creatures known as the Krugs. He fights them off and sets out to ensure his family's safety along with his neighbor, Norick (Ron Perlman, Hellboy II). The pair arrive in the midst of another Krug raid, resulting in Farmer's son's death and his wife Solana's (Claire Forlani) capture. Farmer, Norick, and Bastian (Will Sanderson), Solana's brother, then set out to free her from her captives. The man behind the attacks is a magi named Gallian (Ray Liotta, Wild Hogs), who is in cahoots with King Konreid's (Burt Reynolds, Deliverance) nephew, Duke Fallow (Matthew Lillard), who hopes to ascend to the position of King of Ehb. The King and his trusted magus, Merick (John-Rhys Davies, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring), choose to fight Fallow and Gallian with the help of Farmer, whose destiny at the end of this quest is far greater than he could have ever imagined.

In the Name of the King, and this extended cut in particular, will challenge even the most stalwart of cinema fans, the film a mind- and body-numbing experience. While the very basic plot is not all that difficult to grasp, it takes some time to sift through the characters and attach a name -- and motive -- to the faces scattered about the picture. By the time it comes together, it's too late; the film has meandered and lost focus, plodding along with heavy doses of back story, failed attempts at humor, boring adventure, and perhaps most disastrous, terrible performances from most of the lead actors. Although the film features an impressive cast, none of them offer anything above an average outing. Jason Statham is one of the more reliable actors in Hollywood; he's a known commodity that is expected to deliver first-rate action while also playing his more dramatic segments well enough. Though one of his weaker performances, he is suitable in In the Name of the King, and with a script this bad, that's to be commended. The remainder of the cast -- who make up a long list of dependable actors -- all turn in laughably bad performances (with Matthew Lillard leading the charge), though it seems clear they simply gave up, realizing the project was doomed to mediocrity at the very best, and simply over-acted and had a bit of fun with the experience. One wonders why actors like John Rhys-Davis, Burt Reynolds, Ray Liotta, and Ron Perlman even bothered, given Boll's reputation.

In the Name of the King plays out, technically anyway, as a very standard Fantasy/Adventure film that shifts between several stories and sets of characters that will come together by film's end. The trio of Farmer, Norick, and Bastian (they, and all the characters, seem named straight out of the Fantasy Film Handbook) encounter everything one would expect them to along the way -- difficult terrain; traps in the forest; new, at first untrusting, allies; and a healthy dose of witty banter and physical humor gags that sometimes work, and sometimes don't. Once the film reaches its most critical juncture, an extended battle sequence, those still awake or tuned in will find it unrealistic (an excusable flaw given the nature of the Fantasy film), repetitive, and clumsy, with any novelty and excitement wearing down to nothing in practically no time flat. This action sequence isn't a case of "seen one epic sword battle, seen 'em all," this is almost a new low for a large-budget production, featuring terrible special effects and a seemingly endless barrage of repetitive hack-and-slash shots, with only the occasional novel moment that features a villain clumsily shooting arrows at a hero, or Farmer running atop the shoulders of the combatants. To cap off a terrible cinematic experience, the film ends with Farmer saying to his wife, "There's something I've always wanted to tell you...I love you." What? He never said that to his wife before? It's the worst line in a movie full of atrocious dialogue, and a fitting conclusion to a confused and dull motion picture.

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale comes to Blu-ray with a decent, but slightly underwhelming, 1080p, 2.35:1-framed transfer. Fine detail is lacking throughout, but there are instances where it appears as sufficient. Medium and wide shots do not enjoy razor-sharp clarity, but rather feature soft edges, little resolution, and only a slightly-above average level of detail. Many near field and close-up shots appear only moderately impressive. There is virtually no "pop" associated with the transfer. Colors are often muted, and there is little in the way of vitality to the image. Black levels and flesh tones are good, two of the stronger points of the transfer. Film grain is retained over the image, though it never helps to provide a quality cinematic appearance. While not an inherently bad image, this one is, simply put, dull and boring, and never approaches the level of excellence of the finest Blu-ray releases.

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale raids Blu-ray with a strong DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Once again, Fox delivers a quality sound presentation, even though the movie is lackluster at best. In this case, the film enjoys an active sound field, with music and effects, both subtle and aggressive, pouring through all five channels. Loud and forceful orchestral music plays in nearly every scene; it never fails to sound good, even if it often feels like it's trying to mask the weaknesses of the film, or perhaps add an epic feel to an otherwise dull experience. Bass is hefty during the action sequences, and the rear channels carry nearly as much of the action as the front. Often, the music and action collide to envelop the listener with a quality presentation that far surpasses the actual film. Dialogue reproduction is strong throughout. In the Name of the King sounds fine on Blu-ray, but the age-old question remains: if a soundtrack is good, but no one is listening, does it really make a sound?

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

In the Name of the King offers only a few supplements, headlined by a feature-length commentary track with director Uwe Boll. It takes the director all of a minute to make a comparison with The Lord of the Rings, and a full two minutes to step away from the microphone to bring his dog into the room, which serves as the highlight of the track, at least until he stops to answer his cell phone and proceed to have a conversation in German about the film "Far Cry." During the normal segments of the track, the director describes the picture as The Lord of the Rings meets Gladiator. He discusses the origins of the production, shooting locations, the plot, the characters, the actors, and all of the expected angles. Next is The Making of 'In the Name of the King' (480p, 10:20), a bland piece that simply shows behind-the-scenes footage set to a serene piece of music. Also included are three deleted and extended scenes (480p, 9:37) and a 1080p trailer for The Happening.

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If there was ever a reason to give a Uwe Boll film serious consideration at this point in history, it would be the fine ensemble cast he managed to put together for this film. Unfortunately, The film's otherwise fine cast does not step forward in the tradition of carpe diem to save In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale. The film isn't horribly composed and is generally technically sound; it just suffers from mediocrity at its very best -- and there are a few decent moments scattered here and there -- and snooze-worthy at its worst. The script is too jumbled, the action too dull, the acting too poor, and the film too long to make it worthwhile. Nevertheless, it's here on Blu-ray for those curious to see it, and while it isn't Fox's finest effort, the technical side of the disc remains solid. The picture quality is somewhat weak, though it may be a case of a deliberately soft and uninteresting visual style on the part of director Uwe Boll. The audio is generally rousing and exciting, clearly the strong suit of the presentation. The disc is a bit short on supplements, though. In the Name of the King is definitely not one to buy before giving it a rental first.