Skif

Its not a great scripts, its good and its ok. And its not hollywood acting and surpreme VFX art and CGI. But it is gritty, dirty and violent with a beautifull setting, with actors who really are doing their best to tell a good story. Its is like watching Conan again, and I loved it. If you are a film snob and only love movies for their what ever hidden agenda, its not a movie for you.

This is a dirty, small budgettet, B movie with half naked ladies, violent men in a setting that leaves nothing but a raw taste of blood in your mouth.

Short review today: This movie is generally about two guys traveling together from point A to point B, having a few fighting moments "en passant". The story is simple, honor-packed ending ... acceptable. As far, nothing convincing. Yet there's something interesting in this movie, lets start from the smallest things to the best:

Good fight scenes, especially sword fights of. Lyutobor.

Great choreography and camera.

Awesome sceneries and overall "mediaval" look including costumes (in my opinion just the music was little ... monochromatic). Plus for believable portrait of uneasy coexistence of multiple religions, yet with no deep thoughts or hidden aims, just as it should be.

What this movie shines with are two main characters, Lyutobor and Konitsa. Perfect choice of actors for these two, Aleksandr Kuznetsov really fits and shines. Together they make the movie very enjoyable..

Closing though: Should their journey be longer with less words told and honor and nobility intrigues suppressed, this movie could become a legend.

But it is still worth watching.

In the best moments of Skif, it reminds me of Vikings (with Ragnar!) - we get good and bloody action scenes, nice costumes and settings and here and there even some fine surreal moments (like in Mad Max - the woods tribe and the gladiator scene remind me a lot of the scene in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome). Without any modern Hollywood p.c.-regulations Skif is a really enjoyable and entertaining experience. Recommended if you like movies such as The 13th Warrior, the Conan and the Scorpion King movies etc. To sum it up: no masterpiece but good.

This is actually a pretty good movie. It does suffer a few clichés but most movies do. The story is ok, the characters are better than average.

The real winner is the presentation of the different tribes or cultures, a lot of effort has gone into developing different looks and behaviours etc that really stand out as some of the best examples I have seen.

The mistake: I watched an English dubbed version and it was horrible, it really detracted from the overall movie to the point where I nearly stopped watching it. I'm so glad I didn't. Definitely go for the Russian version.

I had no idea what to expect from this movie but the good reviews made me give it a shot. An enjoyable ride from start to finish with great action and a decently moving story. This movie has achieved things which huge Hollywood movies can't even do. It's not perfect but for what it was trying to do it did very well. One of the better action movies I've seen in a long time. Give it a watch! If you like epic bloody action, this movie is for you!