
A Viking Fantasy with roots in history?
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
I'm a traditional type, so when I see movies with a premise like this (Viking raiders plundering the new world centuries before it was actually 'discovered') I'm aware that it will take a flight of fancy in order to immerse myself in the story.
My biggest beef is with the movie's pacing; when you see the previews you get the sense that this is an action piece, but if so- its a little light on the action. I don't know, maybe I just expected too much.
There are some inconsistencies which probably should not matter as it is a movie, but it bothered me nonetheless. For instance, how does a young Viking lad, left behind by his steading and adopted by the indigenous tribes (Native Americans), manage to use a sword which he has not handled since he was a child, using techniques similar to what the returning invaders used? He fought well armed and armored warriors using only this sword (which looked SIMILAR to a Viking blade) - you could attribute it to dumb luck until you realize that he's decimated a number of them singlehandedly and you're sitting there like, what the hell?
There is a lot of mystique tied to the Native Peoples and I know the director was shooting for that but what he ended up with was a stoic lead man who was sort of pigeonholed into this character. If you're a fan of Karl Urban (Lord of the Rings, Doom, Bourne Supremacy) then you'll want to watch this movie- he does have screen presence, they just didn't develop his character- in a way that I would've found to be equitable.
I did like how the Natives spoke in English (you as the viewer are led to understand that what you're hearing is the translation of their language) and the raiders spoke...something else. I'm no linguist but it sounded like a cross between German and some other language for which I'm not familiar, but it was an interesting little bit nonetheless.
So, in wrapping up- this was a decent movie, with a fantasy element that is supposedly rooted in history somewhat (it is purported by this movie that the basis comes from a legend that Viking raiders had plundered and settled in Newfoundland circa 1000AD which would make it almost 500 years before Christopher Columbus stumbled upon it) - but it does nothing for the movie. Worth watching? You bet. In my library? Check. Watch it again? MAYBE.
Review ID: 10000000010376131

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