The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas BoxMovies you've seen latelyNot bad. But also a good example of what happens when you have a real budget ($25M est.) and a talented "name" cast - but not enough story to make it memorable. This is sort of an Indiana Jones in the Victorian Era attempt.
Although they toss the trigger word "steam" into the promotional copy, this is definitely
NOT a
Steampunk tale. Either the marketing people have no idea what
Steampunk actually is - or they hoped to piggyback on it in hopes it would generate some buzz with the Neo-Victorian sci-fi crowd.
Excellent but far too brief performances by Michael Sheen, Sam Neil, and the ever intriguing Ms. Leana Headley. And an entirely lackluster and stilted performance by Welsh heart-throb Aneurin Barnard as the chief protagonist
Mariah Mundi. Maybe it's just me, but something about the look and costuming of his character made me think of something out of a vampire movie:
Movies you've seen latelyI mean
seriously...doesn't he look like something out of a 19th century
Twilight episode?
Of course if Lena Headley (who is lurking in the background here) ever felt inclined to bite
me on the neck...I...
um...
Bottom line: an enjoyable (albeit predictable) and
very nicely produced adventure romp with all the elements that make for a great costume flick -
except a decent script.
From the way it was titled (The Adventurer {
colon}) I get the feeling the stage was being set for what the producers hoped would become a profitable and long running franchise. However, considering how badly the first instalment tanked at the box office, I'm fairly positive this will be the first and last movie in this "series." And no great loss if it is.
An ok movie if you've nothing better to do.