Movie review: In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale

Farmer is a simple man with a simple life until an army of violent creatures called Krugs kills his son and kidnaps his wife. Farmer, learning the Krugs are controlled by the evil Gallian who hopes to kill King Konreid, sets out to claim vengeance and recover his wife.

Jason Statham (Farmer), Leelee Sobieski (Muriella), John Rhys-Davies (Merick), Ron Perlman (Norick), Claire Forlani (Solana), Matthew Lillard (Duke Fallow), Brian White (Commander Tarish), Ray Liotta (Gallian), Burt Reynolds (King Konreid).

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale launches right into the middle of a story already in progress. Though we don't get a lot of character background or development up front, a lot is presented as the plot continues to roll along and the film does a decent job of holding our interest. As the story takes a few turns, we see some depth and as action picks up the film develops a good pace with a nice mix of action, adventure, sci-fi, and a definite dramatic aspect. Of course, we are left with the expected Happy Ever After ending.

Acting was reasonably well done with Statham delivering nicely as usual. Sobieski was okay but definitely underused. Rhys-Davies supported nicely as did Perlman and Forlani. Lillard was completely mis-cast and felt out of place entirely. Reynolds was only slightly better cast, but at least tried to fit his role. Liotta, as always, made a good bad guy.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were well done. Blended with CGI, the film had a nice substantial, big-budget feel which helped. Effects were pretty good though minimizing details of the Krugs felt like a mistake. Dialogue was enjoyable and fairly reasonable. Sound and soundtrack were both well done.

Overall In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale is a sci-fi fantasy flick with a fair amount of action and a reasonable plot that should entertain a wide range of audiences. Ignore the poor reviews and give this one a shot if you are an action sci-fi fantasy fan.

With some intense violence and possibly disturbing creature images, save this one for teens and above.

Released: 2007
Reviewed: 1.12.15
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Foreign Action & Adventure, Action & Adventure, Action Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy Movies

copyright ©2015 Dave Riedel

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