In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2007)

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale is a 2006 fantasy action film directed by Uwe Boll, inspired by the Dungeon Siege video game series. It was produced by Brightlight Pictures and distributed by Freestyle Releasing and Vivendi Entertainment in the United States and Canada. 20th Century Fox took distribution overseas. It premiered at the American Film Market on November 3, 2006. It was released in Germany on November 29, 2007 and was released in the United States on January 11, 2008.

The Plot

Set in the kingdom of Ehb, the story follows a man called Farmer (Jason Statham), an orphan who was adopted by the village. When Farmer's wife, Solana (Claire Forlani), and his son leave to sell vegetables at the town of Stonebridge, his farm is attacked by creatures called Krug. With the help of his friend and mentor, Norrick (Ron Perlman), he fights off the Krug and travels to Stonebridge. However, the Krug kill his son and capture his wife. Accompanied by Norrick and Bastian (Will Sanderson), his brother-in-law, Farmer intends to find and rescue his wife.

The Krug are being controlled by the wizard Gallian (Ray Liotta) who is amassing an army to overthrow King Konreid (Burt Reynolds), with the assistance of the King's nephew, Fallow (Matthew Lillard).

Reviews

The film received extremely negative reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 4% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 44 reviews. Not only that, it was ranked 49th in Rotten Tomatoes's 100 worst reviewed films of the 2000s and in 2009, Time listed the film on their list of top ten worst video games movies. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 15 out of 100, based on 11 reviews — indicating "extreme dislike or disgust." IMBd rated it with a 3.8 out of 10. Many critics bemoaned the film's close resemblances to other fantasy films, especially the popular Lord of the Rings films.

The film was nominated for five Razzie Awards, including Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, Worst Supporting Actor (Burt Reynolds) and Worst Supporting Actress (Leelee Sobieski), with Uwe Boll winning Worst Director.

The Cast

Jason Statham as Camden Konreid/Farmer
Leelee Sobieski as Muriella
John Rhys-Davies as Merick
Ron Perlman as Norrick
Claire Forlani as Solana
Kristanna Loken as Elora
Matthew Lillard as Duke Fallow
Ray Liotta as Gallian
Burt Reynolds as King Konreid
Brian White as Commander Tarish
Mike Dopud as General Backler
Will Sanderson as Bastian
Tania Saulnier as Talwyn
Gabrielle Rose as Delinda
Terence Kelly as Trumaine
Colin Ford as Zeph