In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale Blu-ray offers solid video and great audio, but overall it's a mediocre Blu-ray release
An unspeakably evil army rampages across what was an idyllic, peaceful world, destroying
everything in its path, looking to conquer the mighty Castle Ebb and vanquish the King
himself! Amidst this backdrop of war in the Kingdom of Ehb, between the evil Gallian and the
ruling King Konreid, a once simple family man named Farmer sets out to find his kidnapped
wife, Solana, and avenge the death of his son, who was killed by animal warriors called Krugs.
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 worstmovies 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 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 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 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.
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.
Fox Home Entertainment has announced that they will bring the Uwe Boll film 'In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale' to Blu-ray on December 16th, day-and-date with the DVD release. The film will come in its unrated form on a BD-50 featuring 2.35:1 1080p ...
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