In The Name Of The King Is Jason Statham’s Lowest-Rated Movie On Rotten Tomatoes

It Holds A Critics Score Of 4%

With a critical score of just 4% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Jason Statham’s action fantasy flick In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale is the actor’s lowest-rated movie of all time. Although it’s comparatively close to second place on the ignominious list (2010’s 13 – sitting at 7% on Rotten Tomatoes), the 2007 movie stands out for its comparatively large budget (estimated at $60 million), stacked cast (including the likes of Ron Perlman, John Rhys-Davies, and Ray Liotta), and popular video game source material. While these factors could have come together to create something magical, In the Name of the King was a disaster.

The movie sees Jason Statham take on the role of the mysterious Farmer, a peasant who discovers that he is the long-lost son of the king. This thrusts him into a desperate struggle for the throne, where he is forced to reckon with his true destiny whilst trying to save his kidnapped family. It’s a story redolent of many of the most popular epic fantasy adventures. Unfortunately, in this instance, the film falls completely flat.

As the Rotten Tomatoes consensus explains, In the Name of the King suffered from “mostly wooden performances, laughable dialogue, and shoddy production values.” Unsurprisingly, this assessment did not endear the film to audiences. In the Name of the King made just $13.1 million at the global box office, while its audience score on Rotten Tomatoes sits at a disappointing 22%. All this unquestionably marks the movie out as the nadir of Statham’s impressive film career. And yet, for all the effect it had on Statham In the Name of the King was just part of another, much more alarming streak for the film’s director.

In The Name Of The King Is Part Of Uwe Boll’s Terrible Rotten Tomatoes Streak

It Lasted For 18 Years

Whilst In the Name of the King is a low watermark for many otherwise reputable actors, it represents just a small fraction of one of the worst critical streaks in film history, courtesy of its German director, Uwe Boll. One of the most notorious auteurs in the industry, Boll began his career in the early 90s with a string of off-beat horror and comedy movies, such as Amoklauf and German Fried Movie. He then focused on the horror genre, before establishing himself as the most prolific adapter of video games in the industry – in which In the Name of the King was a cornerstone.

Without context, Boll’s career seems fairly unremarkable – if slightly unorthodox. However, in one of the most surprising streaks in Rotten Tomatoes history, none of the films made in the first 18 years of the director’s career secured a positive “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. As a result, while a film like In the Name of the King was an aberration for many of the cast, its performance was almost par for the course as far as Boll was concerned.

…despite In the Name of the King ‘s poor reputation, it is – perhaps perversely – not as embarrassing an outlier as it might be for other filmmakers.

Amazingly, In the Name of the King is not the worst-rated film in Boll’s career. His infamous 2005 action-horror flick Alone in the Dark holds a rare 1% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critical consensus declaring it “Inept on almost every level“. Likewise, Boll’s 2003 video game movie debut, House of the Dead, holds just 3% on the site – a then low-point in the director’s filmography. As a result, despite In the Name of the King‘s poor reputation, it is – perhaps perversely – not as embarrassing an outlier as it might be for other filmmakers.

Despite Its Terrible Reviews, In The Name Of The King Was Still A (Partial) Success

It Left A Surprising Legacy

Beyond the fact that it is not the worst movie in Boll’s career, In the Name of the King has other surprising attributes. Despite bombing with both critics and cinema-goers, the movie managed to find enough of an audience to justify a sequel. In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds came out in 2010 and received an equally poor critical response – despite the star power of Dolph Lundgren. A second sequel followed in 2014, meaning that In the Name of the King spawned a modest fantasy action franchise – despite its poor reputation.

Admittedly, none of the two sequels that followed the original enjoyed any notable critical or financial success. Both were released directly on DVD and Blu-Ray, unlike the first movie – which had a limited theatrical run. Nevertheless, it’s clear that In the Name of the King proved popular enough to establish a small but significant legacy – a noteworthy achievement for Jason Statham’s lowest-rated movie.

Has Uwe Boll Ever Made A Good Movie?

His Career Has Been Hit And Miss

In no small part thanks to the reputation of his video game movies, Uwe Boll has been generally ridiculed by critics. In fact, such is the perceived animosity between Boll and professional review writers that the director has even threatened to fight those who slander his work in a series of licensed boxing matches. However, despite the popular perception that critics universally despite his films, the picture is actually much more complicated.

The reason Boll’s Rotten Tomatoes streak is technically only 18 years long is that his 2009 action movie Rampage is technically 100%-rated on the site – albeit from just two professional reviews. However, the fact that its audience score sits at a respectable 51% indicates that the movie is a vast improvement on efforts like In the Name of the King. Similarly, his political thriller Darfur even won Best International Film at New York International Independent Film and Video Festival, further underscoring his credentials. As a result, while his collaboration with Jason Statham remains a miscalculation from both parties, Boll is far from a total failure.