Review: The Adventurer – The Curse of the Midas Box / Director: Jonathan Newman / Screenplay: Christian Taylor, Matthew Huffman / Starring: Michael Sheen, Lena Headey, Sam Neill / Release Date: Out Now (US), TBC (UK)
Based loosely on the Mariah Mundi adventure series by G.P. Taylor, Midas Box is a mixed bag of tricks.
Part Jules Verne, part Indiana Jones with a touch of the Wild, Wild West series set in the Victorian era, the story sees Mariah Mundi’s (Aneurin Barnard’s) world turned upside down as his parents (Ioan Gruffudd and Keeley Hawes) disappear, and his younger brother is kidnapped and used with a group of other missing children as slave labour.
It turns out that Mariah’s parents have valuable information that will lead Otto Luger (Neill) and his partner in crime, Monica (Headey) to the ancient, magical Midas Box that will turn anything into gold. Adventurer Captain Will Charity (Sheen) keeps a distant eye on Mariah as he begins his quest, encountering along the way mystery, action and even romance, not to mention a sinister hotel with hidden secrets.
Director Jonathan Newman’s work is adequate, but the script is the problem. Mariah figures out clues within minutes that have baffled scientists for centuries. Loose threads are left dangling and some questions are never answered. The last twenty minutes seem a bit contrived, obviously borrowing from Raiders of the Lost Ark’s third act. Acting standouts are Neill and Sheen, but the rest of the cast fail to live up to their talents.
As for the visual effects, they’re good enough, if not a bit familiar and at points it felt like Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law were about to show up in the background somewhere. Midas Box has some entertaining moments, but it’s definitely not TV gold.
Extras: “Making of” documentary
