Six months after it hit theaters, I saw the best film Uwe Boll has made. Here is my June 30, 2008 review:
To my great astonishment, this wasn't complete trash. No, it wasn't
exactly good but nor was it the typical disaster of a Uwe Boll film.
It is one of his best rated films, managing a 3.8 on the IMDb. I
thought it was about a 5. I suspect many of those who rated it lower
just did so reflexively when they saw the name Uwe Boll.
I've never played Dungeon Siege so I have no idea how well or how badly this represents it. Of course, seeing as there is almost no time spent in dungeons, I'm guessing it completely misses that aspect of the game. There is a comment made that a magus gets his power by serving a king. Merrick (John Rhys-Davies) is astonished by Gallian's (Ray Liotta) power since he serves no king. Makes one wonder how magic works in this world. Could a magus become more powerful by switching to a king of a greater nation?
This is a strange world with strange creatures. The Krug are the most notable and are pretty indistinguishable from orcs. They seem to be incapable of speech and totally unconcerned with their own well-being. The ones that submitted to being ignited before being flung from a catapult into the enemy ranks were pretty dedicated. We also meet the all-female forest folk who seem rather like druids whose only spell is entangle. We are never told if they are tree sprites, elves, or what. Elora (Kristanna Loken) is the leader of this band.
The movie has lots of subplots and a slew of characters, some handled well and some handled horrendously. I have a friend who would likely hate this movie because there are so many characters and names to remember. There's Farmer, his wife, his son, his neighbor, his wife's parents, his wife's brother, the king, the king's nephew, the king's magus, the king's magus's daughter, the king's primary general and the two lesser generals, Elora the Druid, and Gallian the Evil Wizard. Got that?
It often feels D&Dish. When Farmer initially sets out on his adventure, he is accompanied by his neighbor (Ron Perlman) and his wife's brother. When he is separated from them, he joins the king's troops and fights beside the king's primary general and the king (Burt Reynolds) himself. Later still, he sets out to assault Gallian's lair with the aid of Elora the Druid, Merrick the Magus, and Muriella the magus's daughter. Most of these adventure companions have mini adventures of their own, providing some depth to everyone.
The casting is weird, which is often the case for Uwe Boll. He gets big names to take on roles that aren't suited for them. Burt Reynolds as the ruler of a medieval kingdom didn't work for me. Matthew Lillard, who is spot on as Shaggy in the Scooby Doo movies, is catastrophic as the obsequious backstabbing nephew of the king. Though Ray Liotta is generally good as a nut job and a villain, he likewise is too typecast to be convincing as the evil wizard. On the other hand, John Rhys-Davies, a veteran of Lord of the Rings, is a good choice for the king's magus. Leelee Sobieski, who I really liked as Joan of Arc, fits nicely into a medieval setting as Muriella the Magus Apprentice. Ron Perlman (Hellboy) can do anything well and always adds to the movies he's in.
Jason Statham is the movie and he can make even the worst material entertaining. In fact, he made this movie watchable. His mysterious past is slowly revealed but fails to explain why he is such a great fighter. His name should have been Ultimate Warrior, not Farmer. He is this unmatched fighter but doesn't seem to have had any training. He has a boomerang that reminds me a lot of Xena's chakra, hitting several people before returning unerringly to his hand. He appears to be the only person capable of vanquishing one of Gallian's avatars on the battlefields, something he does many times. Once, he killed Gallian's avatar while hanging by his neck from a tree with his hands tied behind him. Yeah, this guy kicks ass.
Gallian (Ray Liotta) appears to have the ability to concentrate on multiple things at once. While fighting Farmer and reflecting Muriella's magic, he is still in control of his multiple avatar sergeants who command his Krug army. That has to be SO MANY standard actions that he's clearly a DM cheat monster. His demise is thus a bit of a surprise in that he was unable to extend this amazing level of multi-tasking to include a relatively small threat.
I found it entertaining but it is clear why it is poorly rated. Matthew Lillard's character is so grating and annoying that he might compete with Jar Jar Binks as most detestable character ever. The Krug look too phony, a real problem on account of the great monster armies of recent years, be they Mordor orcs, White Witch minions, or Resident Evil zombies. The arrival of the king's elite ninja squad was over the top corny (does the game have ninjas?). Also, Uwe likes to use the same shot again and again. Look, a krug has been hit by an arrow. (Replay clip) Look, a krug has been hit by an arrow. Another problem was the music, which was often wrong for the scene. Most jarring was when this epic on-the-march-to-adventure music played while Farmer buried his son and in-laws. Much of the dialogue is high camp but delivered with deadly seriousness.
This is a story with much potential, little of it realized in this film. It reminds me of some of the weaker episodes of Xena or Hercules: dorky but fun.
I've never played Dungeon Siege so I have no idea how well or how badly this represents it. Of course, seeing as there is almost no time spent in dungeons, I'm guessing it completely misses that aspect of the game. There is a comment made that a magus gets his power by serving a king. Merrick (John Rhys-Davies) is astonished by Gallian's (Ray Liotta) power since he serves no king. Makes one wonder how magic works in this world. Could a magus become more powerful by switching to a king of a greater nation?
This is a strange world with strange creatures. The Krug are the most notable and are pretty indistinguishable from orcs. They seem to be incapable of speech and totally unconcerned with their own well-being. The ones that submitted to being ignited before being flung from a catapult into the enemy ranks were pretty dedicated. We also meet the all-female forest folk who seem rather like druids whose only spell is entangle. We are never told if they are tree sprites, elves, or what. Elora (Kristanna Loken) is the leader of this band.
The movie has lots of subplots and a slew of characters, some handled well and some handled horrendously. I have a friend who would likely hate this movie because there are so many characters and names to remember. There's Farmer, his wife, his son, his neighbor, his wife's parents, his wife's brother, the king, the king's nephew, the king's magus, the king's magus's daughter, the king's primary general and the two lesser generals, Elora the Druid, and Gallian the Evil Wizard. Got that?
It often feels D&Dish. When Farmer initially sets out on his adventure, he is accompanied by his neighbor (Ron Perlman) and his wife's brother. When he is separated from them, he joins the king's troops and fights beside the king's primary general and the king (Burt Reynolds) himself. Later still, he sets out to assault Gallian's lair with the aid of Elora the Druid, Merrick the Magus, and Muriella the magus's daughter. Most of these adventure companions have mini adventures of their own, providing some depth to everyone.
The casting is weird, which is often the case for Uwe Boll. He gets big names to take on roles that aren't suited for them. Burt Reynolds as the ruler of a medieval kingdom didn't work for me. Matthew Lillard, who is spot on as Shaggy in the Scooby Doo movies, is catastrophic as the obsequious backstabbing nephew of the king. Though Ray Liotta is generally good as a nut job and a villain, he likewise is too typecast to be convincing as the evil wizard. On the other hand, John Rhys-Davies, a veteran of Lord of the Rings, is a good choice for the king's magus. Leelee Sobieski, who I really liked as Joan of Arc, fits nicely into a medieval setting as Muriella the Magus Apprentice. Ron Perlman (Hellboy) can do anything well and always adds to the movies he's in.
Jason Statham is the movie and he can make even the worst material entertaining. In fact, he made this movie watchable. His mysterious past is slowly revealed but fails to explain why he is such a great fighter. His name should have been Ultimate Warrior, not Farmer. He is this unmatched fighter but doesn't seem to have had any training. He has a boomerang that reminds me a lot of Xena's chakra, hitting several people before returning unerringly to his hand. He appears to be the only person capable of vanquishing one of Gallian's avatars on the battlefields, something he does many times. Once, he killed Gallian's avatar while hanging by his neck from a tree with his hands tied behind him. Yeah, this guy kicks ass.
Gallian (Ray Liotta) appears to have the ability to concentrate on multiple things at once. While fighting Farmer and reflecting Muriella's magic, he is still in control of his multiple avatar sergeants who command his Krug army. That has to be SO MANY standard actions that he's clearly a DM cheat monster. His demise is thus a bit of a surprise in that he was unable to extend this amazing level of multi-tasking to include a relatively small threat.
I found it entertaining but it is clear why it is poorly rated. Matthew Lillard's character is so grating and annoying that he might compete with Jar Jar Binks as most detestable character ever. The Krug look too phony, a real problem on account of the great monster armies of recent years, be they Mordor orcs, White Witch minions, or Resident Evil zombies. The arrival of the king's elite ninja squad was over the top corny (does the game have ninjas?). Also, Uwe likes to use the same shot again and again. Look, a krug has been hit by an arrow. (Replay clip) Look, a krug has been hit by an arrow. Another problem was the music, which was often wrong for the scene. Most jarring was when this epic on-the-march-to-adventure music played while Farmer buried his son and in-laws. Much of the dialogue is high camp but delivered with deadly seriousness.
This is a story with much potential, little of it realized in this film. It reminds me of some of the weaker episodes of Xena or Hercules: dorky but fun.
