The success rate of movies made from video games has not been good. Most are critically rubbished and only do modest business at the box office. They do not seem to have made the cross over from fan base to mainstream.
I thought that this film might actually do that. I may have got caught up in the hype of the film being the next 'Pirates Of The Caribbean'; Jake's muscles and the fact that it was directed by someone I respect. I was very disappointed. Jake did not take his shirt off often enough. The story was very routine but when you consider the source material I suppose it can't be too great. Mike Newell has used visual effects before and is able to use them very well to give the film a bit of visual flare, but it still comes off as very mundane. My biggest complaint though that the film's mcguffin is not used often enough. The dagger and it's power is only used a couple of times in the film and they come up with a few rules to make it less useful.
Jake Gyllenhaal has had an interesting career so far as he has chosen quite a few quality films. This is his chance as the lead in a big blockbuster. He handles the action well and is mostly there to look good which he does well. Gemma Arterton is going to be typecast as playing the female sidekick/love-interest, based on her recent performances. Until she does something with a bit more substance she is only just a pretty face. Ben Kingsley does another fine job as the villain and Alfred Molina gives another excellent job as the comic relief.
Another mediocre movie adapted from a video game. I think that we have to keep our expectations lowered for films in this genre.
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