For the most part, films directed by Uwe Boll provoke indignation and fierce criticism from both film critics and ordinary viewers. Sometimes he is referred to as the “worst director of all time”, and Ball’s comparison with Ed Wood, filming hack-work, is also hardly a compliment. Films of Uwe Boll regularly get into the TOP-100 of the imdb site. Actors of the film “In the Name of the King” (franchise) refuse to comment on this matter, because at different times they actively collaborated with Uwe Boll.
The first film of 2006
“In the Name of the King: A Story of a Dungeon Siege” (front-end actors D. State, D. Rhys-Davis, M. Lillard, L. Sobeski, R. Perlman) is a film directed by Uwe Boll based on the computer games Dungeon Siege.
This creation of Ball can not be called mediocre, if only because of the good cast. The main character was played by Jason Statham, who, to be honest, is more suitable for the roles of the inexorable guys in modern action films, but in this picture he looked organically, convincingly and pleasantly in every way as a farmer. A more vivid and memorable character was created by Matthew Lillard - a cheerful actor with an extraordinary comic talent. Ron Perlman in this film does not shine in comparison with Hellboy, but his colorful appearance and courageous appearance will leave few people (especially among spectators) indifferent. Lily Sobeski and John Rhys-Davis are incomparable, it is surprising that their filmography is predominantly filled with minor, empty films. Not impressed by Claire Forlani, who failed to convey the pain of loss, Kristanna Loken, whose forest resident Elora turned out to be extremely fresh. Ray Liotta in the image of the magician Gallian did not look menacing and scary.
In general, the cast is quite strong, there are no special complaints about their game and the disclosure of the characters' characters. One of the virtues of the film “In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale” is actors.
Plot
The story underlying the script is interesting and remotely resembles The Lord of the Rings. The protagonist is a simple farmer Damon, after a treacherous attack by orcs called gaiters, eager to get to the evil magician Gallian and get even with him for the murder of his son and the abduction of his wife Solana. To achieve the goal of the hero help friends - Norik and Bastian. Then there will be a little magic and a lot of battle scenes, fights and an almost successful ending. And if you consider that the director of combat choreography was Siu-Tang Chin ("House of Flying Daggers", "Hero"), then there is definitely something to see.
2011 sequel
“In the Name of King 2” (actors: D. Lundgren, L. Monroe, N. Malta, K. Yastrzhembska, A. Paunovich) - a sequel to the sensational first part. Director Uwe Ball continued to delight and annoy his fans at the same time. Pleasing with the release of the sequel and disappointing with the quality of direction. But this is precisely what makes his original approach to the embodiment of original non-standard ideas interesting.
Unfortunately, from the first part of “In the Name of the King: The Story of a Dungeon Siege”, the actors did not go over into the second part; they were probably afraid of the sudden surging wave of universal adoration and love. The director was not at a loss and called a film veteran, a star of the militants of the 80-90s Dolph Lundgren.
Advantages and disadvantages of the sequel
Lundgren is the only one from the cast who has shown professionalism and skill. He showed all the emotions of his character, unlike his colleagues, who were present in the frame with wooden faces.
The film has three main locations - the forest, the castle and the army camp of darkness. All of them look extremely cheap, absolutely like the costumes of the characters, similar to rags, and not to combat armor. While watching this picture, involuntarily with nostalgia I recall the first part of “In the Name of the King: The History of the Underground Siege”: actors, beautiful scenery, breathtaking beauty of the landscape.
The work of the cameraman Matthias Neumann is also rewarded with a lot of complaints, during the action scenes the viewer is completely unclear what is happening. If in the first part this drawback was paid for by the presence of gorgeous landscapes, then the second, except for the unimpressive forest and the ridiculously looking castle, can offer nothing.
The plot of the sequel
The actors received the script for the film “In the Name of King 2” immediately after signing the contract, before that they were only familiar with the abridged version. The whole story revolves around the personality of the protagonist - a former military Granger, now teaching children martial arts. Once he enters the magical kingdom through the portal. There he meets both the evil king, and the warrior princesses, and all the other standard set of fairy-tale heroes. Granger has to deal with the main villain and save the world.
The third part of 2013
In 2013, the third part of the cycle with the predictable title “In the Name of King 3” was released (actors: D. Purcell, R. Paskaleva, D. Simeonova, P. Gocheva, M. Dakova). In the third episode of the franchise, the permanent director Uwe Boll managed to remove Dominic Purcell. How he managed to attract the star of the TV series “Escape” to work on the project is not clear. His hero, the mercenary Hazen Kane, according to the story, is carried over during the existence of real dragons. He has to save the inhabitants of the kingdom and traditionally - the whole world.
Among other actors stands out Ralitsa Paskaleva, who embodied the image of the lady of the heart of the protagonist.
The impression of watching the movie is hopelessly spoiled by the terrible tastelessness in the selection of costumes for the main characters. The scenery is cheap, creating a terrible unnatural surroundings. The graphics are disgusting.
Unfortunately, the plot narrative boils down to a banal reception - a contemporary hero is transferred to the past, where he has to defeat the villain. Moreover, this story is presented in a rather tasteless way, from what is happening on the screen is inexorably drawn into a nap. And the name of the picture does not justify itself, since the characters are fighting with each other clearly not in the name of the king.
Director provocateur
With the advent of each subsequent part, the optimism of others and the belief that Ball's next project will be ingenious, disappears like a morning haze, but the harsh reality proves the opposite. It seems that Ball intentionally provokes others, so all of his films are so disgusting. Critics vied with him prophesying a sunset in his career, a disappointed viewer swears that he will not go to his creations for any kind of haircuts. And Uwe Ball listens and continues to shoot.