The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box | |
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Directed by | Jonathan Newman |
Screenplay by |
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Based on | Mariah Mundi by G. P. Taylor |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Unax Mendía |
Edited by | David Gallart Bernat Vilaplana |
Music by | Fernando Velázquez |
Release date |
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Running time | 98 minutes |
Countries | United Kingdom Spain Belgium |
Language | English |
Box office | $128,471 [3] |
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, Sam Neill, Lena Headey, Ioan Gruffudd, Keeley Hawes, and Tristan Gemmill. [4] It was written by Christian Taylor and Matthew Huffman, and is based on the novel Mariah Mundi by G. P. Taylor.
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.
The first in what was intended to be a film franchise, [6] the film was produced by London- and Los Angeles-based production company Entertainment Motion Pictures. [7]
Filming took place in sound stages and locations throughout the South West of England including St Michael's Mount, [8] Bristol, Bath, Charlestown Harbour, Kidderminster Town railway station, and Lacock Abbey.
The film received lukewarm reviews, praising its cast, but critical of its plot and directing. On Rotten Tomatoes, 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. [9] 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.' [10] Indiewire deemed the film 'dull', citing poor writing, but praising Headey. [11] The Hollywood Reporter praised the production values, but saw it as a 'stillborn attempt' to start a film franchise. [12]
However, Slant Magazine found it had charming storybook qualities. [13]
Michael Christopher Sheen is a Welsh actor. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage roles in Romeo and Juliet (1992), Don't Fool with Love (1993), Peer Gynt (1994), The Seagull (1995), The Homecoming (1997), and Henry V (1997). He received Olivier Awards nominations for his performances in Amadeus (1998) at the Old Vic, Look Back in Anger (1999) at the National Theatre and Caligula (2003) at the Donmar Warehouse.
Ioan Gruffudd is a Welsh-American actor. He is known for his roles in film and television series in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia.
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Clare Julia "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), Hawes rose to fame for her portrayal of Zoe Reynolds in the BBC series Spooks (2002–2004), followed by her co-lead performance as DI Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes (2008–2010). She is also known for her roles in Jed Mercurio's Line of Duty as DI Lindsay Denton (2014–2016) and in BBC One drama Bodyguard (2018), in which she played Home Secretary Julia Montague.
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Lena Kathren Headey is an English actress. She gained international recognition and acclaim for her portrayal of Cersei Lannister on the HBO fantasy drama series Game of Thrones (2011–2019), for which she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe Award nomination. She was nominated for a Saturn Award for her portrayal of the Spartan queen in 300 (2006).
Graham Peter Taylor, pen-name G. P. Taylor, is the author of the best-selling novels Shadowmancer(which has been translated into 48 languages), Wormwood, and Tersias. Before taking up writing full-time, he was a police officer, motorcyclist and former rock band roadie turned Anglican vicar in the village of Cloughton, North Yorkshire. Taylor has three children and currently resides in Whitby, North Yorkshire.
Tristan John Gemmill is a British 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 to the age of 13. He then won an Academic Scholarship to Tonbridge School.
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Jonathan Newman is a British filmmaker and writer. Newman made his first feature film at the age of 25. Being Considered starred James Dreyfus and David Tennant. His recent movies include the action adventure film Mariah Mundi and the Midas Box, starring Sam Neill, Michael Sheen, Lena Headey and Keeley Hawes, with the lead of Mariah Mundi played by Welsh actor Aneurin Barnard. Retitled The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box, the film was released theatrically in USA on 10 January 2014. In 2012 Newman wrote and directed the critically acclaimed film Foster, starring Toni Collette, Ioan Gruffudd, Richard E. Grant, Anne Reid and Hayley Mills, as well as Swinging with the Finkels, which stars Martin Freeman, singer/actress Mandy Moore, Melissa George, Jonathan Silverman, Angus Deayton and Jerry Stiller. Foster, aka "Angel in the House' won Best Feature film at the Rhode Island Film Festival 2013 as voted for by the youth jury. In 2008 and 2013, Newman was longlisted for The Hospital Club 100 media hotlist. Newman is credited as an assistant author of The Guerilla Film Makers Movie Blueprint.
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Aneurin Barnard is a Welsh actor. He is known for playing Davey in Hunky Dory, Claude in The Truth About Emanuel, Bobby Willis in Cilla, Tim in Thirteen, King Richard III in The White Queen, William in Dead in a Week or Your Money Back, Gibson in Dunkirk, and Boris Pavlikovsky in The Goldfinch.
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Major (Ret) John Wilson Senior, MBE, TD, VR, mobilised on 27 December 2001, Senior was the first member of the British Territorial Army to be deployed on operational service to Afghanistan. He is also the founder of Heroes Welcome UK, a national scheme to encourage local communities to show their open support to British and other UK-based military personnel.
Peter Bevan is a British film producer based in Los Angeles, whose previous producing credits include The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box, Jackboots on Whitehall, Eichmann, Dread, Book of Blood, The Last Harbor, 14 Days with Victor, and The Expatriate. Peter is also co-Founder and co-CEO of the film production company Entertainment Motion Pictures.
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Lena Headey is an English actress and producer. Headey studied acting at Shelley College where she performed in a number of school productions at the Royal National Theatre. She made her film debut in the 1992 mystery drama Waterland. After appearing in a series of supporting parts throughout the 1990s, she went on to find fame for lead performances in big-budget films such as the fantasy film The Brothers Grimm (2005) and the action film 300 (2007), portraying Gorgo, Queen of Sparta, a role she yet again played in 300: Rise of an Empire (2014).