Dorkgasm Gonzo Is God

In the Name of the King By Alison Sky             Is it just me, or is everyone and their mother writing a movie script for either an old cartoon or video game? And why does it always feel that, for the most part, they never seem to live up to the glory of the childhood memories we have of the original version? Well, when it comes to video game movie adaptations, most people think of Uwe Boll, at least that’s what I’m coming to learn. There are other ways Dr. Boll is spoken of in relation to his films… but I’m not going to repeat that here. What I am going to talk about Dr. Boll’s newest release, In the Name of the King, which I saw over the weekend. Let me preface this by saying that I’ve never played the Dungeon Siege videos games before, so I won’t be referencing how it compares, but instead how it stands on it’s own.             In the Name of the King is like your everyday fantasy movie. The world is in danger, a man goes on a quest to defend someone’s honor/avenge a loved one/save his dog… you know the story. There are no big surprises - you can literally point to characters on the screen as they come out and basically call who’s going to die.

Click image to visit the site
            However, the characters are what really keep you involved in this story. The main protagonist, Farmer (played by Jason Statham), has a strong personality and it is contrasted by the character’s soft-spokeness and his simple life. The main villain, Gillian (Ray Liotta), is best explained by his own line about how, in his world, there will be no word for madness as it will only mean power. And of course, it can only be done in a blue polyester suit, right?             Add into the mix secondary characters such as Commander Tarish (Brian White) and the humorous Norick (Ron Perlman) – and you have a script that not only shows you a familiar-but-timeless story, but characters that interact on a normal conversational manner. In the end, that is what this movie is really all about: the characters. Though I really wish a certain character had been killed way earlier in the film than he eventually was, because really, he just needed to die – preferably in a very violent way.             Oh, and did I mention the sword fighting yet? What is a fantasy movie without a huge sword fight?! And Boll delivers this in spades. Action choreographer Tony Ching Siu-Tung brought in a team that borders on martial art lightning speed with many of the fight sequences. Statham and Perlman also give their characters a bit of flare with wonderful fights scenes. Just luckily not against each other. I wouldn’t know who to root for if they had.             So what do I think? Really, In the Name of the King is no blockbuster. It’s not going to win any awards or honors. But it is a nice, entertaining story that you can see without knowing diddly about the games and still be entertained. Just don’t go in expecting Lord of the Rings. View the trailer here