Northmen: A Viking Saga

source: Northmen: A Viking Saga

This is a movie that I liked way more then anyone else. One prime complaint is about rooting for the Vikings and in most cases (see 'Pathfinder') they are not. But just like any other group, there are good Vikings as well and Asbjorn (Tom Hopper), is a good Viking. Why is he good? If you watch the movie you will see he is not really comfortable with the way the Vikings act, and he is really saddened when his men die. Spoilers ahead: Watch the scene where he saves Princess Inghean (Charlie Murphy) from death near the falls. He refuses to abandon her (despite her being a captive), and the favor is returned when she saves him from quicksand. The real bad guys were the Scots especially her father King Dunchaid (Danny Keogh) who hires mercenaries Hjorr (Ed Skrein) and his henchman Bovarr (Anatole Taubman) to kill her, because the Vikings killed to of his best men and captured her, and he did not want to look weak. What also works is the presence of the fighting Christian monk Conall (Ryan Kwanten), and you see how the Vikings, Inghean and Cohall, not only band together, but not only learn from each other in order to survive, but have faith and trust (especially Asbjorn who admits trusting Inghean, and Inghean at the end of the movie has such faith in him, she follows him over a cliff into the water). \The scenery was spectacular, and Charlie Murphy (what a name for a woman) is a knockout. 9/10 stars.

Imagine, you're tired, you're bored, but you don't want to sleep yet. You put on this movie and you think 'Well, it probably sucks and if so, I'll eject the disk and go to sleep'. I thought that at least. But I was pleasantly surprised. Okay, the story isn't that great, sometimes you notice that the budget is a little low and the baddies look like they come out of an 80's movie, even wearing skulls to make it clear that they are truly the baddies. But besides that it also has great fight scenes, good acting (despite the quality of writing) and fantastic scenery. Which kinda surprised me for a non-Anglo-made film. Of course you notice that the cinematography isn't Lord of the Rings quality, but it's not bothersome, some parts are even really easy on the eye. And the fight scenes, OH, the fight scenes. They truly are fantastically coordinated, and the actors obviously tried to make it look as realistic as possible. The only thing that bothered me was that one of the bad guys seemingly wakes up from the dead to be killed one last time. But besides that it is a fun watch. If you are bored, or in for a classic action/adventure movie, I for one recommend watching this. 7/10

I had hoped for so much better! This was an appalling film...hammy sets, dreadful innaccuracies both in costume and setting. Meant to be in Scotland (I am Scottish) and I have never seen such inauthentic locations. Historical facts are dodgey, costumes not good, miss-chosen cast! After seeing such a magnificent interpretation of Viking life in TV series Vikings...this was laughable! SORRY GUYS, but in the UK we are a bit more clued up about it - it happened to us! This film was an insult to Scandinavian Vikings and Scots alike! I have travelled extensively between Denmark and Sweden to research viking history which is very much intermingled with Scottish culture - how can you get it so wrong? Where were the locations? Not Dcotlsnd and that is obvious!!! Wanted to like this - complete rubbish!