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Farmer (Jason Statham) has his home on a farm in the way-out village of Stonebridge. He lives a peaceful life with his wife Solana (Claire Forlani) and their dearly loved son, Zeph (Colin Ford). As he attends to his farm one day in the company of his friend and neighbor, Norick (Rom Perlman) there is no inkling or sign that something bad is coming their way, until it is upon. A marauding band of Krugs (beastly humanlike creatures) swarm and attack people in the area. Zeph is slain and Solana is captured and taken away. Grief and rage moves Farmer to search for his wife, and to bring vengeance upon the Krugs for the sorrow they have caused him. He has Norick and Solana’s brother, Bastian (Will Sanderson) to go along and help. Farmer however, soon finds out that what has happened is not just an incident but the beginning of a war. On one side are the evil wizard, Gallian (Ray Liotta), an “heir” to the throne, the covetous Duke Fallow (Matthew Lillard) and the army of Krugs; on the other side are King Konreid (Bert Reynolds) his loyal magician, Merick (John Rhys-Davies), his friends, advisors and allies. Farmer finds out that he has an important part to play in the war, on the good side.
Known for making video games into movies, Uwe Boll has come up with another one, In The Name of the King, based on “A Dungeon Siege”. The story shows a number of fight scenes, some of which are sometimes covered by the half-shadowy background. Except for one or two duel scenes, there no emphasized or close-up of blood, gore or vicious fighting. Although the cast members are not the popularly known ones, they manage to handle their characters. Jason Statham, Burt Reynolds who has not been acting for sometime, Lee Sobieski, John Rhys-Davies and Ray Liotta are among the better ones. What is breathtaking are the wide expanses of nature: rugged mountains, forests of tall trees, waterfalls and lakes among others. There are also the old castles dominating the screen. They could have been better appreciated with more lighting. Interesting also are the stunts shown, especially those of the vines that catch and tie people up and lifting them into the tall trees. However it must be mentioned here that more than half of the interesting visuals are CGIs (computer generated images).
This story of evil versus good centers on some aliens led by a sorcerer and a nephew of the King, with their army of Krugs, who want to take over the kingdom or territory of King Konreid and all those standing by him. Old age and finally death takes him. The true heir to the throne is revealed; though not interested at first, he finally sees it as a must: lead his father’s people to defeat the usurpers of their domain. Love of family, friendship and doing what is right even when sacrifice is called for are depicted in the story.
(Date Reviewed: 01 February 2008)
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