In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds and Laughing in Swords and Sandals: A Movie Review

*a DVD screener of this film was provided by Phase 4 Films.

Director: Uwe Boll.

Writer: Michael Nachoff.

In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds is a sequel to the 2007 film starring Jason Statham. Here, Dolph Lundgren plays the hero, Granger. Other changes include fewer actors overall in this second film, fewer sets and fewer named actors and actresses. From director Uwe Boll, this film is likely targeted to 12 to 15 year old boys, Larpers or Boll fans. Others might find this sword and sandal styled film only lightly entertaining.

The story follows your usual fantasy film with a hero setting things right in a darkened kingdom. A double-talking king, Raven (Lochlyn Munro) sets the "chosen one" (Lundgren) to track down the "old mother" for assassination. The "dark ones" hinder his progress and when he meets the old crone, his eyes are opened to Raven's double-dealing ways. Then, enter in a prerequisite of fantasy films, a dragon, and the film closes with a suitable violent finale.

Some of the characters of note in this film include Granger who is the hero played by Lundgren. Granger is from the present time (21st Century) and he is summoned to a medieval time through a time portal. Raven, as mentioned, is the villain of the film and his use of alchemy poisons the minds and the physicality of his many opponents. There is a femme fatale played by Natassia Malthe (Bloodrayne: The Third Reich) whose purpose is to lay with the hero and offer awkward dialogue choices. There are no pro-feminist roles here. Each of these characters propels the film forward on some level and the climax seems to put everything back to the way events started.

In regards to the film's target audience, young men might enjoy the heroic and imaginitive portions of the film as this reviewer remembers watching similar films at that age e.g. Beastmaster, Conan the Destroyer. Larpers might also enjoy this film, but likely their sets are better constructed than the ones seen in this film. Finally, Boll has a large following and this film shows some improvement over other films from him including Postal and others.

In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds is a smaller budgeted film than the original. The story is not that complex and this might be an okay film for some families with older children. For this reviewer, the budget hampered the pacing and the storyline was too simple. Bad guys versus good guys as a plot device only goes so far for an adult where the real world offers so many more shades of grey. This is not Boll's worst film, but it is not his best either. However, the commentary from the director is sometimes funny and Lundgren's performance is also humourous at times and both are fun to listen to.

Overall: 6.75 out of 10 (standard sword and sandal effort, characters are superficial, the costumes look good and the score is great).

*rated restricted.

**available on DVD and Blu-Ray December 27th.

***the release includes audio commentaries, a behind the scenes featurette, an interview with the writer, trailer. The commentary from Boll is hilarious as he rants about the Hollywood studio system, piracy and other topics. He hardly mentions the film, but it is a great commentary on that state of current cinema.

The film at Phase 4 Films (release details):

In the Name of the King 2 at Phase 4 Films

 |  |  | 

Advertise Here - Contact me Michael Allen at 28DLA

Subscribe to 28 Days Later: An Analysis Email Subscription

Posted in: 2011,2011 release,fantasy,fantasy movie review,movie review,uwe boll