13 guerreros

The 13th Warrior is an excellent movie. The scenery is beautiful, and so was the cinematography. The music was great. The acting and directing was excellent. I have no clue why the critics gave this movie such bad reviews. I enjoyed this movie a lot. I recommend this movie to anyone who likes a good action movie w/ lots of gore.

I guess every region has its own legends and saga's, but I've always found the Scandinavian legends about trolls, monsters and ghosts even more intriguing and interesting as ours. It's no wonder that these people have created these legends once. If you've been there and if you've seen the impressive nature with its immense forests and lakes, the fact that the sun never rises in winter and stays 24 hours a day in summer... makes it easy to understand why this is the land of such creatures.

The movie tells the story of an Arab courtier / diplomat who was sent to the barbaric North as a punishment for falling in love with the wrong woman. In AD 922, this could be seen as an execution, because there was no way he would return (it's the same reason why the Catholic Church sent people who had committed awful sins, as pilgrims from our region to Santiago De Compostella in Spain). When they are about to get robbed and killed somewhere in the fields, they manage to escape and accidentally stumble upon a group of Vikings, which saves their lives, because the Barbarians are terrified of these vicious warriors from the North. They soon get befriended and are able to stay with the Vikings, when a young boy, a messenger from the North, comes to the Vikings to ask for help. In their home country many people die because of "an evil whose name should not be pronounced". They consult an oracle who tells them that they should send 13 warriors, but that one of them shouldn't be a Viking. The Arab, however not believing that these mythical creatures from the forests really exist, joins them in their battle against the Wendol...

Normally I'm not too much of a fan of Antonio Banderas' work, but this time I really liked him as the Arab with the impressive name of Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan Ibn Al Abbas Ibn Rashid Ibn Hamad (I guess you better don't try to say that 10 times in a row). The other actors all did a very good job as well, even though I have to admit that I've never heard of most of them before.

The story is nice and well written, the way it was all shot is done properly and overall I must say that I really enjoyed watching this movie. I'm sure that many will not agree, but personally I liked it more than the "The Lord of the Rings" movies. I like legends and mystery in movies and this movie gave me both. I give it a 7.5/10.

In the Dark Ages , AD 922 Ahmad Ibn (Antonio Banderas) an Arab nobleman is banished by a wrong love to the Barbaric north . On his way he encounters Turks in Central Asia and Russian and Varangians (Volga Vikings) . As a diplomatic person he meets an experienced Arab (Omar Sharif) and befriends a group of Vikings Norsemen (Vladimir Kulich,Dennis Storhoi..) returning their homeland . Shortly after , he is enlisted to battle a mysterious evil force, creatures of the mist (though never explains who the ravenous-hunger "mist monsters" actually are and in the novel, they were the descendants of the Neanderthals) attacking by night as supernatural head-cutters (Wendol) and devouring human flesh that threaten the village existence .

This epic movie initially titled ¨Eaters of the dead¨and subsequently ¨The 13th Warrior¨ begins with a real sense of wonder and surprise and winding up with continuous struggles against the body eaters . The picture packs great loads of action , special effects abundant , horror , breathtaking combats and a little bit of gore and blood . Based on the historic character : Ahmed Ibn Fadlan who traveled as an emissary to the land of the Volga Bulgars to convert them to Islam , he returned in 923, and no record after this date refers to him. Stunning battles scenes illuminate the full-blown adventure with a plethora of engaging action set pieces on the combats in which the heads and limbs are slice off here and there and everywhere while other parts of body are slit open . The movie was slated to be released as "Eaters of the Dead" in 1998, after the film was considered unwatchable during test screenings , then Michael Crichton took over the project , and he made some important changes .

The film gets an impressive control of the crowd scenarios with a climatic and overwhelming finale battle . Exceptional and colorful cinematography shot in Canadian outdoors by Peter Menzies . Musical score by the veteran composer Jerry Goldsmith is extraordinary and spectacular . However , Graeme Revell had composed a complete original score , but Revell's original soundtrack was scorned , and brought in Jerry Goldsmith to rescore the movie . The film is based on Michael Chricton's (also producer) novel :¨Eaters of the dead¨ inspired by medieval poem ¨Beowulf ¨ and the authentic travel realized by a scout Arab towards Northland . The film was shelved during years for disagreement among director (McTiernan) and producer (Chricton) . The motion picture was beautifully executed with phenomenal production design (Wolf Kroeger) and well directed by John McTiernan . The flick will appeal to adventures cinema buffs and Antonio Banderas fans . Rating : 7.5/10 . Above average . Well worth seeing for numerous action battle scenes which have you on the edge of your seat.

Oh, well, this movie seems to have fallen into obscurity now. I will start this short review with the latest references to this:

• Vladimir Kulich, the 2nd leading actor besides Banderas, voiced Ulfrick Stormcloack, the leader of the Stormcloack faction in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

I could tell this from the first damn second, because the actors and the music from this movie was so amazing, I still remember the soundtrack and all of the punchline.

• Vladimir Kulick was also featured in the TV series, the Vikins for a few brief episodes, for a minor role.

What is very interesting is the fact that Kulick was first introduced to the show the same way Bandera's character was introduced to the Vikings: by bathing and spewing in the same pot (an obvious reference to the 13th Warrior.

What will impress you most? The atmosphere. Then the music. Then the landscape. Then the fights and the humor. This movie has something for everyone.

What I liked most? The soundtrack is absolutely monumental. I listen to it from time to time and tonight I really felt the need to write a review about it.

This is an extremely well crafted film, but a poorly edited one. Much like The Ghost and the Darkness it has such a winning historical concept that it is easy to forgive a little narrative incoherency from time to time. This film is a bit muddled when it comes to plot and characterization but hits all the right notes in terms of creating an adventurous spirit and thrilling action sequences. Jerry Goldsmith's score is a real high point, as is the cinematography. This is an absolutely wonderful film to get all caught up in on a lonely night because it makes you feel as if you are on the journey with Banderas' character. It is an action thriller that is actually...thrilling. In particular the scene with the "fire dragon" is one of the more memorable battle sequences I have seen in any movie, and I really mean that. The only negative aspects of the film are the feeling that a lot of scenes were left on the editing room floor, which is true, and if there was ever a film that really deserved a director's cut this is certainly one of them so long as Jerry Goldsmith's music (the soul of the picture) remains in. (Greame Revell composed a score for the unreleased longer version, which I have heard and in no way compares to Goldsmith's thunderous adventure music). The lavish costumes, set designs, memorable characters, and brilliant camera work somehow allow this film to overcome its editorial handicaps. All being said, this is a film well worth watching.