''The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box'' is a 2014 fantasy adventure film directed by Jonathan Newman and starring Aneurin Barnard as the protagonist, Mariah Mundi. It also stars

Michael Sheen Michael Christopher Sheen OBE (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh actor, television producer and political activist. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage rol ...

Sam Neill Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. Neill's near-50 year career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one o ...

Lena Headey Lena Kathren Headey ( ; born 3 October 1973) is a British actress. She gained international recognition and acclaim for her portrayal of Cersei Lannister on the HBO epic fantasy drama series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which she rec ...

Ioan Gruffudd Ioan Gruffudd (; (born 6 October 1973) is a Welsh actor. He first came to public attention as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in ''Titanic'' (1997), and then for his portrayal of Horatio Hornblower in the ''Hornblower (TV series), Hornblower'' seri ...

Keeley Hawes Claire Julia Hawes (born 10 February 1976), known professionally as Keeley Hawes, is an English actress. After beginning her career in a number of literary adaptations, including ''Our Mutual Friend'' (1998) and '' Tipping the Velvet'' (2002), Ha ...

, and

Tristan Gemmill Tristan John Gemmill (born 6 June 1967) is an English actor, most notable for his roles as Dr Adam Trueman on '' Casualty'', and Robert Preston in ''Coronation Street''. He was educated at Holmewood House School, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, up ...

. It was written by Christian Taylor and Matthew Huffman, and is based on the novel ''Mariah Mundi'' by G. P. Taylor.

Plot

Mariah Mundi has no choice but to unite with the enigmatic Will Charity when his family is kidnapped by an unknown enemy. Their adventure leads them to the mysterious and majestic Prince Regent, a huge steam-powered hotel on a small island at the furthest reach of the Empire. Mariah, with the help of Sacha, must unravel the secrets of the island to find the truth behind the disappearance of his family, and prevent Otto Luger from getting his hands on the mystical and powerful Midas Box. At the end, Will leaves to search for the boys’ parents, who are still missing. He promises to return for Mariah. A mid-credits scene reveals that their mother has been taken to Egypt by the villain Gormenberg—her husband, the boys’ father.

Cast

as Captain Will Charity - The character Captain Jack Charity (as it appears in the original G. P. Taylor novel) is reported to be partly inspired by the restaurant-owning adventurer and founder of Heroes Welcome UK, Major (Ret) John Senior MBE TD *

as Otto Luger *

as Monica * Mella Carron as Sacha *

as Charles Mundi *

as Catherine Mundi * Aneurin Barnard as Mariah Mundi *

as Isambard Black * Daniel Wilde as Cleavy * Xavier Atkins as Felix Mundi *

Vincenzo Pellegrino Vincenzo David Pellegrino (born 1967 in Liverpool, Merseyside) is an English actor who was in hospital drama ''Casualty'' from 1997–1999. He played Derek (Sunny) Sunderland, a porter. After leaving Casualty, he worked in '' Where the Heart ...

as Grendel *

Oliver Stark Oliver Leon Jones (born June 27th 1991), known professionally as Oliver Stark, is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Evan "Buck" Buckley in ''9-1-1'' on Fox, and as Ryder in AMC's martial arts-based drama ''Into the Badlands''. ...

as Glocky *

Ian Reddington Ian Reddington (born 25 September 1957) is an English actor with many stage and television credits since the early 1980s. He became widely known for television roles such as the Chief Clown in the '' Doctor Who'' serial '' The Greatest Show in ...

as Ratchit *

Ross O'Hennessy Ross O'Hennessy (born 1974) is a Welsh actor. He is best known for his role of Lord of Bones in ''Game of Thrones''. He played roles in ''Hollyoaks Later'', '' Da Vinci's Demons'', The Musketeers, and playing the blood thirsty role of Sir Lo ...

as Team Member *

Paul Lavers Paul Lavers (born 1950) is a British film, television and stage actor. He has been a presenter for Anglia television and for several shopping channels. Early life and career Paul Lavers was born in Bristol in 1950, the son of Josephine (née Ri ...

as Mr Dunne * Brian Nickels as Grimm

Production

The first in what was intended to be a film franchise, the film was produced by London- and Los Angeles-based production company Entertainment Motion Pictures. Filming took place in

sound stages A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a soundproof, large structure, building, or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or ...

and locations throughout the South West of England including St Michael's Mount,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, Bath, Charlestown Harbour,

Kidderminster Town railway station Kidderminster Town is a railway station situated in the town of Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. It is operated by the Severn Valley Railway, a heritage line which runs from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth. The station was opened on 30 J ...

, and

Lacock Abbey Lacock Abbey in the village of Lacock, Wiltshire, England, was founded in the early 13th century by Ela, Countess of Salisbury, as a nunnery of the Augustinian order. The abbey remained a nunnery until the suppression of Roman Catholic inst ...

Reception

The film received lukewarm reviews, praising its cast, but critical of its plot and directing. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, ''The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box'' has a 'rotten' score of 20%, an average rating of 5.0/10, based on 15 reviews from professional film critics. Dennis Harvey of ''Variety'' found the film, 'formulaic' and summed it up as, 'an OK time-filler for undiscriminating younger audiences, providing some hope that future developments might yield greater payoffs.' ''

Indiewire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

'' deemed the film 'dull', citing poor writing, but praising Headey. ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' praised the production values, but saw it as a 'stillborn attempt' to start a film franchise. However, '' Slant Magazine'' found it had charming storybook qualities.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adventurer: A Curse Of The Midas Box, The 2010s fantasy adventure films 2010s historical films 2014 films British fantasy adventure films Films set in the 1800s Films about treasure hunting 2010s English-language films 2010s British films