In the name of entertainment worth watching (In The Name Of The King (DVD))

Member Name: bike-dude

Product:	In The Name Of The King (DVD)
Date:	17/06/08 (173 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A very good film for all the family to enjoy, something for everyone

Disadvantages: Its not an epic but thats not really important

In The Name of the King- A Review by Addy

After seeing a trailer for this film a wee while ago I recently got myself a copy and unwrapped the DVD in great anticipation and sat down with my family to enjoy. Allow me to tell you that we were far from disappointed. In the Name of the King is a fantasy film set in an imaginary realm with swords/ armour and all the vital ingredients of a quality fantasy film, In fact the film is very much like the Dungeons & Dragons game put on film or if anyone remembers them the Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone Role Playing books.

Who's In It & What Role Do They Play?
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Jason Statham (Farmer)
John Rhys-Davies (Merick)
Ray Liotta (Gallian)
Matthew Lillard (Duke Fallow)
LeeLee Sobieski (Muriella)
Burt Reynolds (King Konreid)
Will Sandeson (Bastion)
Ron Perlman (Norick)
Claire Forlani (Solana)
Brian White (Commander Tarish)
Kristanna Loken (Elora)

The Film
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The Magi are all but a thing of the past, powerful magicians that are now down to just three left. One of which called Gallian has plans for using his powers to conquer and become ruler. To do this he adopts a three pronged approach. Firstly he takes command of a race called Krug. The Krug are biped monsters that have no problem with fighting, pillaging, and murdering. The second method utilised by Gallian is the manipulation of the daughter of another Magi called Merick. His disillusioned daughter by the name of Muriella believes that Gallian loves her and is generally an all round jolly nice sorcerer and does not yet truly understand her father's issues with Gallian. The third method used by Gallian is to get to king Konreid by treachery from within.

So the scene is set with the arch enemy being a twisted Magi hell-bent on world domination, and it really isn't too long before we come to the hero of the film called Farmer. Farmer lives a simple humble life with his wife and son and even though his friend Norick keeps on trying to encourage him back into a life of working as soldier, Farmer is having none of it. So when Solana, Farmers wife takes both herself and their son on a visit to the village of Stonebridge, Farmer stays home and is soon attacked by Krug. After dealing with these he heads to the aid of Norick, and together they go to warn steonbridge. By the time they arrive Stonebridge is swarming with Krug and the arrival of these two is far from enough to stop Solana from being taken as a slave along with others and ultimately Farmers son is slain by Gallian. Now with two intentions, freeing his wife and killing the murderer of his son Farmer heads of with Norick and Bastian to fulfil this mission.

Meanwhile an immense invasion force is on the move and King Konreid has problems of having enough men to deal with this threat to his kingdom, and his problems only get amplified when someone from inside conspires his demise as an ally to Gallian. Also can Gallian use Muriella to succeed with his plans on that front or will she come to her senses and open a can of whoop ass on him? Additionally she is very competent with a sword and is immensely keen to prove herself in combat but often as obstacles in the way of doing this, such as her father and sexism from others. However, she is not easily dissuaded, tut, tut.

A Viewers Opinion
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This is not by any means a Lord of the Rings film there are no rings, hobbits, wraiths or Gollum's. The similarities begin and end with them both being fantasy genre. In the Name of the King is a fantasy film in its own right and a damn fine one. It is a shame about the Lord of the Rings films because I feel many viewers will try to make this film fit with those and in doing so then look to draw comparisons, just to criticise In the Name of the King for falling short of being a LOTR film.

Acting
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It can be argued that this film has a strong cast and as such it adds heaps of strength to the film. Jason Statham dominates and owns the hero role and simply does not err in this film in this role. He has a very strong on screen presence and his martial arts skill in this film make for some highly entertaining combat scenes as he cuts a swathe through the Krug with his sword and boomerang.

LeeLee Sobieski is in great form and shows off an acting talent that got her many nominations for gongs at the young age of seventeen. She looks fantastic in armour and is damn good with a sword onscreen. As one of the main characters the development is excellent and she even gets to be in the final showdown scene.

Matthew Lillard for me in this film is a treat and in many ways owns this film. His character portrayal of a mad as a hatter, eccentric, power hungry, traitor is outstanding. The danger is that Ray Liotta's character is the main arch bad guy of the film but for me Matthew Lillard outshines him and steals the limelight as a bad guy whenever he is on screen. I fail to forget him playing Shaggy in Scooby Doo, and in this film he was almost like a Shaggy gone sinister. Matthew gives an outstanding performance.

Burt Reynolds is so experienced and in many ways adds weight to the film but for me he is never really convincing as King Konreid. I don't know what his problem is but he often comes across as feeling awkward in this role and sometimes his acting shines through but occasionally for me it gets a little painful. When he is sitting on his arse in the castle he tends to be in his element, but in the battle scenes you kind of feel he simply can't be arsed and he gets a little wooden. However, the other actors bring the film up to standard and this factor can easily be forgiven.

Ron Perlman is quite witty in the film and works very well alongside Statham. Sadly he is not in the film too much of the time but his characters banter and whining with Statham's character is enjoyable and his repertoire of acting skills do not fail him in this film also.

Kristanna Loken for me was a disappointment for two reasons. Firstly I have another fantasy film with her in where she plays a warrior queen of Iceland and her acting as well as her combat skill is exceptional yet you don't get to see any of this in this film, aaargh what a waste. Secondly she only plays short part randomly dipping into and out of the film, what a crock. She is a good actress and would have given a lot more to the film given the opportunity, of that I am sure. Perhaps king Konreid should have been cast as a queen instead with Loken in the saddle to play her.

Ray Liotta is himself typically. Whatever I have seen him in he always seems to be the same person but just weraing different clothing, and this film for me is no exception to the rule. Is acting is on the ball and is adequate but he just is. He is even quite a convincing bad guy but is outdone in that field by another as I have mentioned. It is like Simon Cowell would say "your performance was good, but forgettable" I am yet to see Liotta really shine is what I am trying to say but his part in this film is good nevertheless.

Overall the acting is generally very strong with lots of main actors on the screen at any one time. Even the fight scenes are a real acting extravaganza. Granted Statham is a martial artist, but all of the actors and actresses perform excellent fight scenes. Matthew Lillard as an excellent sword duel with Brian White playing Commander Tarish. Script lines are delivered well and to all intents and purposes the younger less experienced actors/actresses upstage the veteran old timer Burt Reynolds, How's that for not teaching a granny to suck eggs?

Soundtrack
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Oh, was I in for a treat when it came to this films soundtrack. Many of the films songs I already have since some of the bands on the soundtrack are Blind Guardian, Threshold, Epica (legendary Goth metal band) Him, Nightwish and Hammerfall. These are excellent power metal/ folk with tinges of medieval melodies. The second that these tracks started playing I was like oh my Gawd I have these tracks and I easily recognised the distinctive voice of Joachim Cains of Hammerfall. Needless to say the soundtrack rocks big time and is immensely apt for the films fantasy/warrior theme. I went into a power metal Neo classical metal cacophony of ecstasy whilst listening to some of my fave bands rocking this movie.

1.Farmer's Son / The Big Battle (Film Score)
2.Blind Guardian - Carry The Blessed Home
3.Hammerfall - The Fire Burns Forever
4.Nightwish - Amaranth
5.Him - Wings Of A Butterfly
6.Sonic Syndicate - Enclave
7.Amorphis - The White Swan
8.Avantasia - Lost In Space
9.The Darkness - Dinner Lady Arms
10.Disturbed - Land Of Confusion
11.Blind Guardian - Skalds & Shadows
12.After Forever - Energize Me
13.Dream Theater - I Walk Beside You
14.Threshold - Pilot In The Sky Of Dreams
15.Pantera - Cemetery Gates
16.Epica - Chasing The Dragon
17.Soilwork - Exile
18.Mastodon - The Wolf Is Loose
19.Muriella Dining / Forrest (Film Score)

Check out that music, it is a proverbial who's who of metal heaven! Please note one of the tracks is by Avantasia. You are best to read/rate my prior review on Avantasia, The Scarecrow album to grasp a firm comprehension of what to expect from this banging soundtrack. You know it makes sense.

Special Effects
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The special effects in the film are very impressive. There are a lot of scenes of magic/ sorcery and they are spectacular to watch especially in the battle scenes. In fact if one was to draw comparisons with LOTR then these are scenes of sorcery that even Gandalf would be impressed with. Fight scenes are brilliantly choreographed and the props, costumes etc are excellent. At least the armour is made out of metal and looks the real deal as well as the weapons unlike some films where they are blatantly some kind of plastic or the like. Sometimes during the film you also get to see from first person perspective through the eyes of the Krug and that is quite a unique treat. The only minor fault is the Krug themselves where on occasion they fail to look menacing and a tad unconvincing. However with the films PG-13 certificate was this intentional. Yet in the battle scenes when in rank by file they do come across as a more realistic threat and look pretty darn good. In the fight scenes they also fight convincingly which is a blessing.

The Rest
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The film is quite long and really needs to be for all the characters to be developed well and have more than a mediocre part in the film. It is also necessary to develop the plot well and make the storyline shine. There are also many phenomenal fight scenes with some large scale extended scenes of battle with armies clashing and war machines etc. I noticed that the choreography was done by Chinese choreographers and they do an amazing job. The film as aforementioned a PG-13 and can be enjoyed by young and old alike there is something for everyone and my children of varying ages loved the film, as did my wife and I. There is something special about these types of fantasy films where the viewer can give their mind a treat. The Krug's have black blood keeping it pleasant for concerned parents and it is kept to a minimal and there is no nudity etc. But for the adults the action and acting is intense as well as the plot and the magic scenes will be pleasing to all concerned. The film also has a couple of interesting plot twists to it which adds nicely to the drama and gives the viewer some pleasant surprises making the film more gripping. Admittedly I do have a penchant for these types of movies but I firmly believe this is a very pleasing film.

Specs
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Directed: Uwe Boll
Produced: Uwe Boll & Dan Clarke
Written by: Doug Taylor
20th Century Fox
Released: Jan 11th 2008 (U.S)
Genre: Sword/Fantasy
Certificate: PG-13

Uwe Boll's other films:
House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark, BloodRayne, BloodRayne II: Deliverance, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, and Postal.

Extras
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Behind the scenes featurette
Deleted and extended scenes
Theatrical Trailer

Official Website
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http://www.inthenameoftheking.com/

This site also contains a trailer for your viewing.

All that remains for me to say is thanks very much for reading/rating my review, Addy.

© June 2008

Summary: A gem of a fantasy movie. something different to LOTR