Valhalla

Right now Marvel and the MCU painted a picture for most moviegoers ... when you hear the names Thor and Loki, you expect different ... characters on screen. That does not mean that there are no other incarnations of them - other legends. And that is what you get here.

It is quite the weird movie with a weird story and some interesting character developments ... with some out of this world stuff. Whether you are able to dive into a fantasy world, where certain things can happen, will determine if you can enjoy this, as much as if you are able to detach this from other expectations you may have (see above). A more than decent low budget movie, with a stellar cast!

There's no mistaking it, the Norse Eddas are composed of some brilliant stories. If your only exposure to the vibrant world of Norse mythology has been the highly entertaining yet very inaccurate MCU films, the original stories should definitely be on your reading list. Neil Gaiman's retelling is highly recommended. I was hoping that this film would be a fairly faithful retelling of the myths...I was wrong. To be fair, it was OK but only up to a point. I'm not familiar with the Danish comic book retelling that was the main source for this adaptation, but I am not inspired to read it having watched this. Too much emphasis is placed on two kids who barely get a mention in the original myths and there has been the totally pointless inclusion of a cutesy giant character who doesn't even provide the comic relief he was probably intended to bring (think Viking era Jar Jar Binks). On the plus side, the film looks good. Some people are stressing about the appearance of the Aesir in the film. In Norse mythology the deities were shape shifters so I'm not too bothered about casting choices (no, not all the Norse gods were fair skinned blonds as one reviewer on here mentioned; Thor in the Eddas was a redhead and Loki even took on the form of a female horse in one tale). Whereas Norse mythology presents gods and goddesses who have wonderfully human traits that make them rounded personalities, there is very little character development of what are, in this version, clueless, bickering two-dimensional tyrants. I have studied Norse culture and myth for over 30 years. I didn't hate this film, but found myself picking it to pieces as I watched it. I'm hoping that one day there will be an accurate adaptation of the Eddas. They are all such great stories, they don't need embellishment for a modern audience. These are stories that have endured for hundreds of years. As I say, the production design was decent and reflected the Norse view of their mythology before the later Christian influences crept in, but if you want to learn more about Norse mythology, for the time being at least, turn off the TV and read a book or listen to the BBC radio dramatisation of Neil Gaiman's retelling.

-Compared to other interpretations of the nordic mythology - this was spot on. allthough I missed a lot of details, eg I missed the lowered ocean levels after thors drinking competition and the running contest with ones own shadow. What about Frey, I'am always looking forward to see the film-makers imagination of her.... very disappointing. Anyway, this ways a good experience, a film cut to the bone, trustful to the story. (one last thing - a wooden door should be built with a diagonal braces starting from the top of a door - away from the hinge and downwards. ending close to the lower hinge - otherwise it would collapse within few weeks.... ohh please dont make that mistake again, Ive seen it made false soo many times)

I LOVE mythology, so i was VERY disappointed. First of all There were exactly 4(!) mortal citizens in whole movie, so called "Valhalla" was empty place with just few guards, who looks as mortals despite fact, they werent (or shouldnt). Should also mentioned, that Gods (7?) are tired drunkies and perverts. Who wouldnt love this? And btw, Loki had dark hairs not dark skin, his skin was pale.

The local online movie database in our country is a bit of a pain in the crack to get accepted to. You are required to rate 200 movies and then you have to take a movie trivia quiz, which is timed and can be only repeated once if you want to write reviews. Seeing the reactions for this movie made me go trough that whole process just so I could write a review myself.

Currently, the rating on that database stands at around 31%, which I feel is really unfair. The rating here on IMDB is about right. If you go into this movie expecting a marvel movie, you'll be disappointed. This is a cheap movie about northern mythology, that doesn't hold your hand. The characters are not introduced, as the target audience is expected to already know the mythology. The child characters are annoying, but it is nice seeing some of the myths come to life. Given the budget, which was microscopic in today's context, the movie looks pretty good. A fine passtime for the mythology lover. I don't know how well it relates to the animated movie it remakes as I have never seen it.