Vikingdom: L'Eclipse de sang

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.

Went to see the movie on 14th September here in Malaysia and I really can't say much about this movie except that it could have been a better movie if the KRU brothers could have a couple of more millions to spend on this film. The storyline is interesting portraying the god ThoR as the main enemy...I wonder what's Chris hemsworth think about this bad version of Thor. From the main characters to the supporting cast I fell that they are lacking of charisma and energy in this Viking flick. Probably all the fake wig disturbing their acting skills. hehehe. i love Dominic Purcell in prison break and killer elite but it seems that I don't feel the energy or the charisma that he portrays in this movie. Jon foo is lousy in his fake mandarin and his fighting scenes are average compared to his Tekken movie which is cool in its own way. Some of the set design are better of stay inside a school Theather production. It's like one of those early P Ramlee movies. Overall i do have to tell you that this is a good start for A Malaysian film company to show what they can offer to the international movie community. Kudos to the Kru brothers.

You will like this movie if you are 5-8 years old.

Lousy cgi, cheap looking costumes, horrible dialogue, bad cinematography and a clichéd storyline. The overall casting was terrible as well.

If you were expecting an intelligent, enjoyable, epic movie set in olden times, you will be extremely disappointed. Vikingdom should be classified as comedy instead of action or adventure.

I'd rather be forced to watch Twilight all over again. That's how bad it is.

This film is absolutely unwatchable.

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.