Skif

This movie is great for one reason, the action. Camera movement is really good, minimum amounts of quick cuts, and amazing action. The choreography is some of the best I've seen, with really smooth fighting without having to use doubles or cgi. The story is ok, doesnt really pull you in, but it works for what the movie is trying to focus on it.

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.

Great locations, great landscapes. The story is captivating. absolutely not trivial. And the same goes with the characters, very interesting, all of them. I liked a lot also the fact that the setting is not the standard "knight" o "samurai" one, so many of the storylines were pretty new to me, and I would guess to most of the audience. The fight scenes are ok, so does the music. Do not expect too much from dialogue, at the end it's an action movie. I didn't like too much the leading actor, and some FXs (not sure it they can actually be called this way). These however were to me very small flaws. Overall it was a positive surprise, if you are looking for a cloak and dagger movie, and you are willing to explore not-mainstream channels, you won't be disappointed.

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.

The Scythian

The story is fit for epic proportions, for the bards to sing songs and elders to tell tales for generations to come. Though perhaps predictable at times, it's a classic, in the sense of such myths as Jason and the Argonauts or even Odysseus for example. It is perhaps shadowed a little by somewhat forced dialogue at times. I am not entirely convinced though as I'm not that adept at Russian and don't know how solid or accurate were the subtitles, so the fault may lie in that as well.

Acting seems to fit for the most part. Nothing that feels overly awkward. As they are the men of action, they let their fists and daggers and swords and bows and axes do the talking for the majority of the film. The lead seems out of place occasionally and I can't put my finger on it why exactly, but it's really not a that big of a concern because the decent pace will not allow to linger on any particular scene too long.

Visually it has good with the bad. Set design and costumes are on point for the most part and feel authentic, but some the locations seem off. Fighting scenes and camerawork are quite well done, though editing seems a bit flimsy at times and therefore some key moments might fall a bit short. Literally even. Unfortunately it also seemed to be yet another retelling of not just the times when the men were Men, but when ugly was Ugly and beautiful was Beautiful. Which is pretty much every film since the invention of camera. A minor issue of course and most likely goes with the mythic theme, but still.

Music fits well and helps to emphasize the scenes, sound mixing is enjoyable though, and it might be the language barrier again, I think I detected some syncing issues, but it might totally be my own imagination. Otherwise the scenes' and scenic atmosphere is well created.

The adventure is engaging and despite some missteps, you'll enjoy the ride. The action is satisfyingly brutal and better than in many Hollywood's high budget projects. Perhaps mostly because the executives aren't as greedy to force PG-13 ratings on just to cash in slightly more dough. Irrelevant, but I bet that The Dark Tower, for example, would've produced completely different results without these utterly stupid restrictions. But I digress.

It's not going to be the best film of the year, but you will enjoy it. Perhaps even enough to watch it again sometime, should you catch it from the telly. It is a solid effort. The pace will carry you through before you know it. Perhaps even leaving you longing for more.