Rating: Summary: Mega Thriller Review: This is only an adventure movie. It is not supposed to be anything like Ben Hur or one of Hollywood's greatest accomplishments. If you enjoy battle axes and grunts of agony and the like, you'll love this flick. It was made to entertain in THAT way. I get a kick out of these 'critics' knocking it down because it lacked this and that. Forget it. This is a fantacy film aimed at anyone who likes the idea of fighting off head hunting monsters with little more than iron bars and strength and courage. Antonio Bandera played a part that allowed you, the viewer, to get caught up personally into his nightmare. You saw the experience through his eyes and felt his doubts and dispair and incredulity. I laughed at his attempt to pick up one of the viking's swords. It was too heavy. I felt his sense of disbelief because if I were he, that's how I would feel. The viewer gets caught up into the movie through Antonio's character and that forces you to get involved mentally. I think that makes watching the movie a fun experience. It had action and speed and I was always curious as to what was going to happen next. So, don't go looking for 'reality' or some kind of 'artsy form' in this movie. Just watch it as an action flick and don't forget to fasten your seat belt!
Rating: Summary: Surprisingly Good! Review: This movie truly surprised me. I was expecting an action-fest flick with bad dialogue and no character development, but that wasn't the case!Rarely in Hollywood do we see these Beowulf-type, medieval flicks, and to see good acting and character development on top of Braveheart-type action and beautiful landscapes is refreshing. It has a simple story, but the story is played out beautifully. I only wish the film would have about 20-30 minutes more to deal with a few subplots that it should have gone deeper into. I especially like the casting on this. Maybe they could've picked a better lead to portray the 13th warrior (Banderas), but the other lead warriors are great! No big name US actors, mostly Danish (I think), but they do a splendid job (especially their leader and second-in-command). Trust me, if epic warrior flicks are your thing... then you gotta see this film.
Rating: Summary: one star is indeed one too many Review: Let's face facts. This is a terrible, terrible movie. We have to guess that all involved in this project are hiding. Really, I'm generally quite easy on movies, but this endless stream of uninteresting battle scenes with pointless dialogue and no discernable plot is perhaps one of the worst movies ever made. Sorry if this seems harsh, but I just don't want anyone to buy it unknowingly.
Rating: Summary: Seven Samurai meets Night of the Living Dead Review: If you can accept the fact that Antonio Banderas is an Arab Muslim and that he learns to speak "viking-ese" after one night of watching his fellow warriors, than you will enjoy this flick based on Michael Chrichton's "Eaters of the Dead". Banderas is recruited into a band of warriors, despite his lack of true experience, who go off to fight a legion of cannibalistic creatures and protect the inhabitants of a small village. They're first tussle with the creatures is quick and brutal, and the creatures appear to be superhumanly powerful demons. The warriors catch on soon, though, and fortify their defenses Seven Samurai like. I enjoyed this movie, and thought it was quite exciting. The only flaw is the fact that everyone in the movie is supposed to be speaking in, what, swedish or something I guess, but instead of subtitling it, they go the easy way and let you appear to be understanding it in english. If it sounds weird, you'll see when you watch this flick. One of the things I liked, and I was a little surprised after having seen many epic medieval pieces where the main character is a lesser warrior than his companions, is that it's not up to Banderas to battle the vicious Head Warrior. Rather, this story is told more from Banderas' point of view as a novice soldier. One thing I don't understand, though, having never read the book...why is Banderas in his obvious lack of experience deemed a warrior? Maybe that witch just had a hunch...or maybe it's just a confection by the screenwriter. Beats me. Overall, a decent flick and worth seeing.
Rating: Summary: Disappointing Review: This is a movie that can wait till it comes on HBO or something. It first started out good,but got very slow and predictable.
Rating: Summary: An Epic Adventure into the world of the Northmen Review: The plot is interesting, the characters fresh and to the point. Cinematography was excellent, as well as the motion picture score. Complements the book very well. Makes 103 minutes seem like 3 minutes. This is what movies are all about.
Rating: Summary: Disgusting. Alas - I may not find milder word. Review: No understanding of midieval times at all. Lots of holes in the story. Dull charactres. Awful acting. I feel very disappointed by rate received by this movie. It seems, one rusty sword is equal to success in our times. Few good episodes (like ship approaching the beach in the fog) are not enough to justify wasted time and money.
Rating: Summary: Better than I expected Review: I probably would not buy this, but the film was much better than I expected & was led to believe. I expected just a hack & slash, yet there were some elements of a better story. The film seems to have been edited down from it's original intent since there are a couple of subplots that are never developed. True a lot of the action takes place at night but if you look carefully you can see a difference in weaponry between the Norsemen & the Wendol which ties in nicely with the premise of "Eaters of the Dead". If the film were edited down it would have been nice if they put the edited scenes on the DVD. If some of the subplots were developed this could have been almost an epic. As it is presendted it is a nice Action/Adventure type movie in the vein of a Conan story or something like that. Good rainy or snow day movie when you don't want to go out.
Rating: Summary: Why is it so bad? Review: This film had such potential. Based on a Michael Criton book and directed by a gifted director, John McTiernan. But for some reason it was truly one of the worst films I've ever seen, and I work in a Video Store! The movie's character's didn't grow or change, the plot was almost humorous and the acting was horrible. It seems as though this film started out as a 3 hour epic and was scaled down to 2 hours of nonsense. I don't recommend this film to my customers and I don't recommend it to you.
Rating: Summary: Surely Hollywood wouldn't understand this movie Review: Most critics treat this movie as a standard Hollywood fare which it's absolutely not. Sublots, character development, etc. - none of that matters, for it's a different kind of story. The greatest epic film I've seen, far superior to all the Conan originals and wannabes. To start off, the central character played by Banderas is not the main hero of the story. I was actually slightly disappointed by his role in the escape from the cave, someone else should've led the command. The hero is the chief Viking, just as it should be. A lot of details, often subtle enough to be skipped by the subplot researching Hollywood barons but to be found by a keen viewer, illustrate the culture of the age. The code of honor, the strength and bravery, the tradition and the superstitions - all of it needs to be taken as a whole. Whoever found a love interest in there? Mutual curiosity and search of comfort in the face of fear, nothing more. And the dishonorable prince disappeared from the scene like he must, to save his life, after integrity of the warriors beat his intrigue. All in the spirit of time, don't try to see more than there is. The simplicity of the story is its strongest point - everything makes sense, whether you expect it or not. There's nothing unreal or really improbable there, it's a great adventure of real people in the real world, an inspirational epic. END
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