Vikingdom - Schlacht um Midgard

ESG 2020's Movie Review Of Vikingdom - The Blood Eclipse

Good Story Telling Let Down By Bad Hair Pieces And...

This is KRU Studios' most ambitious project about a forgotten King, Eirick Bloodletter (Dominic Purcell) who is tasked with the quest to save the Middle Kingdom from the insecure and angry Thor, the God Of Thunder .

Together with a retinue of rag-tag volunteers, they embarked on a journey fraught with danger and derivatives the viewer will get used to. My advice for those intent on watching this movie is to suspend reality and fastidious standards and to just enjoy the movie. It is among the rare movies from Malaysia with good story telling with its plot's twists and turns.

Let's have a closer look at some of the characters in the movie.

Purcell's wooden acting as Eirick blends well with the wooden structures on the set which seem to be among the motif of the movie. His chemistry with Brynna (Natassia Malthe), the captain of the ship for their perilous journey seems passable enough as she is to ensure safe passage and motivation for Eirick and the volunteer warriors. Divinities in the form of Frey (Jesse Moss) and Freyja (Tegan Moss) have their respective agendas of assisting Eirick in his quest. Frey, the male divine manifestation, whose costume looks like it is designed as if for him to float instead of walking for fear of him tripping on the apparel. Freyja, the female manifestation, whose costume looks like it came from the bodice and legging of a fashion week design.

Jon Foo as Yang, a slave from China does not look exotic enough but he has among the best fight sequences in the movie. Craig Fairbrass as Sven, the sidekick for Eirick tolerated well the use of an egregiously done wig throughout the movie. Some of the other characters wearing hair pieces had their hairline covered with headbands to cover the 'malady'. Alcuin (Patrick Murray) the wizard is a disheveled, emaciated and somewhat disoriented looking version of the luminary white wizard of a great movie viewers are familiar with, often holding the staff with a lit mast and nothing can be more derivative than this. Conan Stevens as Thor looks more like a one dimensional villain in WWE.

As regards production design, other than the wigs 'debacle', this is among the departments in the movie that could do with observance of minute details and finesse in creativity. The brightly lit greenish in color giant quartz crystals submerged in the water in the hell scene seem out of place in a macabre and sombre environment. CGI and the rendering have been bold and innovative efforts but the aspect involving the gatekeeper of hell in particular which stumped me for being passed as the final product by the creative panel. The creature has a head like a dragon with an uncharacteristically short body. In the wide shot, it looks like the son of Sylvester the cat which the former has a big head with a small body chasing the mouse.

There is a scene in the cave when Brynna and Yang are on their way to save Eirick when they are about to encounter their enemies who are still quite a distance away. The enemies have not seen them yet and Brynna and Yang hid among the rocks. They could have just let their enemies pass by without ambushing them and avoid a near fatal encounter. This is reminiscent of the James Bond movie, Dr No, when Bond and two others with him in a river could have remained hidden from an enemy soldier instead of taking on him by surprise.

Among the relics to be acquired as the condition for Thor to proceed with his scheme is the necklace of Mary Magdalene. This condition is a bit corny and contrived to be one of the relics of an owner whom as at that period of time has not been known yet to be of any religious significance and the necklace being identified as a relic.

As I mentioned earlier, the movie has good story telling but certain departments are found wanting. Major international distributors and movie aficionados do not compromise on details oversight before accepting a movie as being of high quality and be a box office hit. Let's hope KRU Studios endeavor to enhance the workings of the relevant departments to achieve the international success it aspires to.

The film was cast in several places, including Bangkok, Thailand. Along with dozens of erstwhile actors, I auditioned for a part. Knowing many of the final cast members, and others who were not successful, I got some inside information. The entire production process was incoherent. Casting was done in the worst of weather, during the Bangkok rainy season. Casting was done on rooftops while it was raining. More casting was done with thunder and lightning in the background. A portent of things to come. Accommodations for actors varied wildly. Some had to pay their way in Malaysia, and others had to pay for their own hotel. At least one actor was hired and, for his character, had his entire body shaved, and covered with henna tattoos. When he walked onto the set, he was dismissed, without explanation, and had to pay for his return to Bangkok. Worse, many of the actors and contractors were either not paid at all, or only paid a fraction of what was due. After the filming was completed, and the facts of KRU's lack of professionalism becomes apparent, I was happy that my audition was unsuccessful.

I know it is labeled fantasy, but nevertheless, I would expect a certain degree of authenticity.

On the positive side - The county I live in (Trøndelag) and my city of birth (Trondheim) is mentioned. I noticed some of the archers were carrying their arrows in hand, that would be the way it was done, at least while fighting. The plot and dialogue is not terrible.

On the negative side - Just about everything else. Costumes, weaponry, props, SFX. As an example: The hero use a sword type that would come into play 3-4 century's after the era of the viking. Other weapons are just fantasy props.

To be honest, is this one of those movies you don't know whether it is supposed to be a parody or taken "seriously"

One reviewer told kids to grow up...I am 42 years old, and I enjoy a GOOD film in any genre. This was not one of them.

Props for creating Norway in a tropical climate. Is this equal to The Last Kingdom? Definitely not but if you love fantasy and Viking lore, there are worse ways to spend a few hours. It was nice to see Dominic Purcell in a role in which he has hair.

Any Viking movies will always picture the Viking as giant of a human being and they live bare-chested in a country that is covered by snow. There is not much CGI in this movie except maybe the "colossal type army gathering" which cause the earth to tremble.

If you want to see a huge muscular male, then this is the right movie. These Vikings do not seem to feel the cold. To make it more ridiculous, you have a Chinese kungfu master to from time to time talking in Mandarin and able to beat a person who is twice his size with his kungfu movement. And of course you have a girl who is so skinny but yet so powerful and of course she has to wear something like a bikini in the land where the snow is falling. Now, how great is that.

Again, even when you make a fantasy movie, try to make something which is reasonable. A tiny girl beating a giant Viking does not make sense. The story is simple, so to extend the movie time, the scenes were extended to the point of boring. The war takes too long, the sailing takes too many minutes to make it relevant to the plot.

I said earlier that there is very little CGI. In fact it is too little that a little bit more would be welcome. A gory fight without blood is not very interesting. But then again, what would you expect from a B grade movie with some body builders acting ? A vote of 2 is too much already, but I like the girl...