Hammer of the Gods

I'm being generous with a 5 here. This is pretty much a movie for a fan of the genre, the actors aren't too bad and actually pop up in the superior Vikings TV show which is superior in not only looks, but acting, storyline and authenticity. If you liked that series then this is a mildly entertaining diversion. The actual movie kind of belies it's silly intro with characters names splashing across the screen like some kind of video game. It actually becomes a lot darker and issues such as religion and power crop up. This is why I ended up giving it a 5 because by the end of the movie I was quite surprised. the movie kind of grew in itself rather than falling flat.

The cover for the movie and previews make it seem as if it will be along the lines of the cinematic view like the 300 and Spartacus but it is far from it. The acting is poor quality, the combat appears cheap and poorly acted out. If you are expecting large epic battles, be prepared for disappointment. It has small skirmishes as if they had a very low budget. Do not waste your time with this movie unless you are looking to throw away time. Graphics have a low quality feel to them as well as the acting. It is a movie that, if done well, would be worth someones time but it wasn't. I had to pause the movie multiple times from boredom. I wish I could get my $1.07 back from Redbox and my time back. Sum this movie up in one word...DISAPPOINTING!!!!

I don't understand the rating this movie has on here right now! This movie is as good as sooo many movies in this genre with much better scores. (i.e. Kingdom of Heaven, King Arthur, Robin Hood, etc...)

Yes, okay, the casting choices weren't great (the main actors were great, although unknown, but the female roles were all poorly cast)and the story was, a little, thin, but this movie gains points from me for it's atheist message.

It was also shot very cool and the soundtrack was AWESOME. I hope the success of this film encourages more independent style period pieces in a market dominated by the big companies.

I tried to like "Hammer of the gods", tried really hard. But it reminded me of a bad version of the excellent series Vikings, having none of what is good about it.

No character is developed enough, the action feels cheap and forced. Focus is lost constantly throughout the movie , and the story lacks cohesion. Violence serves no purpose, it is uninspired and dull , even disturbing at times. It is very disappointing to see a classic story and a chance for something good , wasted as much.

Acting is not so bad, I kinda liked Eliot Cowan (Hakan) and Clive Standen (Hagen) whose role is the same as in Vikings, and hes rather good at it. The rest felt direction-less and anemic.

They should have copied Vikings more.

Considering my last trip down Viking movie terrain was the unbelievably bad A Viking Saga, I approached Hammer Of The Gods with more than slight trepidation. I had my finger hovering over the EJECT button just in case, and a back-up film prepared. To my immense relief, neither action was necessary, although this is still a LLOONNG way from being a good movie, it is at least (until the ridiculous ending sequence) durable, and precisely 1000 times better than the aforementioned pile of old donkey droppings. Go on... you figure it out.

Aside from not having an obnoxious narrator and scenes where people actually LOOK as if they're fighting (as opposed to doing a stupid dance) it also has satisfying gore as knives are twisted and decapitations are as commonplace as horned helmets. The story, such as it is, revolves around the search for a lost king in ancient Britain, but it soon fades from the memory as we witness one bloody slaughter after another. In fact, as sick as it may sound, I wanted MORE of it rather than the rather tiresome 'bonding' scenes between our sketchily drawn comrades. And as for nonsense in the caves towards the end involving incest, a weird cult and a complete overuse of body paint... Let's not mention it.

The wait for the perfect Nordic movie goes on. This is the best I've seen, only so far as to say: This is a freshly made turd, and not one with flies and mould on it... 4/10