The Worst Jason Statham Movie Is More Terrible Than You Can Imagine
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale is a Jason Statham film just about everyone wishes they could forget.
This article is more than 2 years old
Jason Statham’s worst movie begs to be mentioned at a time that Statham is one of the world’s most bankable stars, as it is currently not available on streaming service platforms in the United States and there might be a good reason as to why. His worst movie is the 2007 fantasy adventure film In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale according to critics and audiences alike. Rotten Tomatoes currently ranks the film with a paltry 4% on its Tomatomater based on only 51 reviews from critics, in addition to an Audience Score ranking of 22% based on over 100,000 ratings from users to the site.
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale may be Jason Statham’s worst movie critically, but its box office gross was also something to be feared for directors looking to expand their reach beyond independent filmmaking. Upon its release overseas in 2007 and in the United States in January 2008, the movie went on to gross roughly $13 million at the box office against a budget of $60 million, making it one of the biggest failures for distribution company 20th Century Fox at the time. Directed by German auteur Uwe Boll, who was well-known in independent features like Alone in the Dark and House of the Dead, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale became Boll’s most expensive film production to date and something he has not replicated since.
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale starred Jason Statham, Claire Forlani of Meet Joe Black fame, now retired actor Leelee Sobieski, Indiana Jones 5 star John Rhys-Davies, Hellboy’s Ron Perlman, Burt Reynolds, and the late Ray Liotta. Jason Statham’s worst movie tells the tale of Farmer, played by Statham, who decides to avenge his son’s death and attempts a rescue mission of his kidnapped wife from the evil Krugs, a race of animal warriors who are under the control of Gallian, portrayed by Liotta. The screenplay of the film was conceived by screenwriter Doug Taylor based upon the well-known international classic action-role playing game, Dungeon Siege.
Unlike other adaptations of popular video games throughout the years like the Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg-led action film Uncharted and Dungeons & Dragons, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale became Jason Statham’s worst movie ever due in large part because the dialogue in the film was considered quite ridiculous, there wasn’t a lot of detail that seemed to go into the production design and look of the project, and Statham’s performance in particular was skewered sharply. The movie went on to earn five nominations from the Razzie Awards, including Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, Worst Supporting Actor for Burt Reynolds, Worst Supporting Actress for Leelee Sobieski, and Worst Director for Uwe Boll, who ended up “winning” his award.
Even though In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale went on to become actor Jason Statham’s worst movie, the action star has had a career rebound as of late. After costarring as part of the aforementioned The Expendables film series, Statham would go on to join the cast of the internationally renowned Fat and the Furious franchise, particularly with a starring role in its spin-off Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw alongside Dwayne Johnson and Idris Elba. Statham has returned to form with starring roles in several of Guy Ritchie’s projects, including the 2021 action revenge thriller film Wrath of Man with Holt McCallany, Josh Hartnett, Jeffrey Donovan, Scott Eastwood, and Andy Garcia.
Jason Statham also enjoyed a storied career working for talented directors before In the Name of the King, including joining the casts of profitable franchises such as The Expendables with Sylvester Stallone, the Fast and the Furious film saga, and the Transporter trilogy. Coming to global attention by co-starring back to back in director Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, Statham helped to solidify his strengths as an actor and action adventure star for a new generation of filmgoers.
