“In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale” (Freestyle Releasing)
In the Name of Sanity, Avoid This Movie
“In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale” is one of those movies you know you should avoid but somehow get sucked into. Even as you are buying your ticket a small voice is whispering in your head, don’t go in there! But some will and those are the people who are to be pitied.
This movie is a collection of stars on their way up and stars on their way down. The lead role of "Farmer" is played by Jason Statham. Statham co-starred in “War” this year with Jet Li. That was a solid action adventure and made a little bit of money. This movie is going to bomb big time and Statham is going to lose ground in his career because of it.
The female lead in the movie is Claire Forlani. She plays Farmer’s wife. Forlani first came on my radar when she played opposite Brad Pitt in the film “Meet Joe Black.” I loved that movie and I loved the role she played. Since that time she has never had the next big role, but she always had potential. This movie diminishes her potential to ever break through into A list projects.
Also in the cast are Leelee Sobieski, Kristanna Loken and Ron Perlman. Sobieski also seemed on the brink of stardom at one time when she was playing opposite Tom Cruise in “Eyes Wide Shut.” Loken got her big break in “Terminator 3.” Perlman played the beast in “Beauty and the Beast” – the TV series with Linda Hamilton. They all had potential but now are reduced to playing in this medieval epic.
The worst casting in the movie is that of Burt Reynolds as “the king.” Reynolds has become a caricature of the person he used to be. He looks like his face is made of plastic and his acting skills have faded away. It is sad to see him reduced to this state and taking these roles.
The basic plot of the movie is that a kingdom is split between those loyal to the king and those loyal to his evil nephew (Matthew Lillard). There is magic and sorcery involved and a peasant who might be the one to save the day.
Nothing in the movie is very enjoyable and the running time is over two hours. That makes it painful to endure
The film is rated PG-13 for violence.
Save your money and save your time by avoiding this movie. This cast of has beens and also rans do not do anything remotely worth watching.
I scored “In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale” a winded 3 out of 10.
