Northmen: Les Derniers Vikings

Sometimes the simple things seem to be the most difficult. Like finding your way back home. Then again, even with all the transportation possibilities today some have issues reaching their goal, let alone back when this movie is supposedly playing. It's a decent effort into the viking territory and it has the flair of movies from the 80s, when a group/handful of guys were trying to reach a destination or just try to stay alive.

The effects are good, the camera is nice (copying the middle land moves we've learned to love from Peter Jackson, relishing on sights and so forth), the acting is OK too, considering the genre this is playing at and all the clichés involved. It won't be hard to guess what will be coming up most of the time, mixing a lot of known and working formulas, this is a pleasant time waster ...

For a medieval fantasy flick, Northmen does look the part. It has fine cinematography and quite gory battle as the characters literally spend bulk of the movie running and fighting in nice vistas. They, however, lack the appeal or novelty to set up a grand tale it's meant to be, making the tour into foreign land a loud yet bland one.

Story revolves around a group of Vikings, or Northmen, as they journey through unfamiliar territory. The group has internal strife and ambition for riches, but none of their story is fully fleshed out. The motives or back stories, even for the antagonist role, are often glossed over. Furthermore, the movie introduces many typical characters such lost princess and the enigmatic priest, each with their own equally monotonous issue.

With stack of characters, it's unfortunate that none of them is actually interesting. The actors work with passable acting, but the script is basically told while they are in constant running. It buries the story as they roar and slash their way through. When the supposed dramatic scenes play out, chances are audience wouldn't be invested on these characters.

It does possess good visual, camera work and design. There are set pieces that offer decent skirmish, both in daylight or night time. Credit when credit is due, most movies with fantasy theme often become blurry as the fight continues after dawn, but Northmen gives good graphic and lighting even in these instances. Action is presentable as well, bit crude at times, but fits the theme nonetheless.

As an action movie, it benefits from above average presentation, however the story doesn't venture beyond the realm of mediocrity.

This is a must see for all those who like sword&sandal movies. The plot is too simple. The story could have been a little more with twists and subplots, not to mention a more detailed characterization. You have a bunch of northmen who are on hostile turf, but the problem is you just don't care when someone is mortally wounded and about to die. There isn't enough of a background story, the history of all the characters, why are they the way they are, their motivations. As a viewer you are left wondering...but not in a good way. The action scenes and also the location are pretty much the only things that save the film. It's always entertaining to watch a well done fighting scene at least for me. One more thing the actors are easy on the eyes, which is another plus. Go see it.

'NORTHMEN: A VIKING SAGA': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A Viking action flick, about vikings trapped in enemy territory, directed by Claudio Fah (who also helmed the direct to video sequels 'HOLLOW MAN 2' and 'SNIPER: RELOADED') and written by Mattias Bauer and Bastian Zach (who also wrote the Swiss B movie horror flick 'ONE WAY TRIP 3D'). The film stars Tom Hopper, Ed Skrein, Charlie Murphy, Ryan Kwanten, James Norton, Ken Duken, Anatole Tubman, Johan Hegg, Leo Gregory and others. I thought it was entertaining enough, to pass the time with, but nothing special or memorable.

The film tells the story of a group of vikings, who become stranded in unfamiliar territory; when their boat crashes, on the coast of Alba in a horrific storm. They're pursued by mercenaries, sent after them by the King of Alba, as they try to make their way to a Viking settlement. They also, unintentionally, kidnap the King's daughter (Murphy). Things become very violent, quickly.

The movie has some cool action scenes; especially considering the budget, and weak storyline. The performances aren't bad either; the directing is decent and the film looks great. If Fah had just had a better script to work with (I blame Bauer and Zach), this could have been a thrilling action flick. I really wanted to like the characters, thanks to the actors, but had no reason to. I also could not get into the story, or what was going on at all, despite cool fight scenes and decent thrills. There's definitely reasons to like things about this film; but it's mostly a miss and mediocre.

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"Northmen: A Viking Saga" does offer some good, solid entertainment. And it is a movie that appeals mostly to a male audience. And chances are that if you like the "Vikings" series, then you would also find enjoyment in "Northmen: A Viking Saga".

However, the story, albeit straight forward and very simplistic, offers very little in terms of layering a profound movie experience. Why? Well, because the storyline was just too simple, truth be told. The movie is about a group of marooned vikings washed ashore and having to get from point A to point B in order to reach a safe haven. And the path between points A and B is a perilous one, of course.

What works very well in the movie is the fighting and action sequences, as they are nicely choreographed and equally nicely executed on the screen. But also the costumes and outfits were working well in favor of the movie, because they had a very authentic feel to them. And the environment where the movie was filmed also added a great deal of enjoyment to the movie.

The characters in the movie were nicely detailed, although most of them were very generic in terms of what has previously been seen in the viking movie genre. That being said, don't get me wrong, because the people cast to portray the characters did good jobs with their characters, despite not having the most elaborate of scripts to work with. And while the soothsayer character was indeed interesting, it just seemed a bit out of place, with those supernatural powers, as it turned the movie into a fantasy movie, and not really adhering to the reality of the age in which the movie was taking place. A good or bad thing? Well, I did enjoy it, as it was nicely done. But had they opted for something else, then the movie would have had a whole other atmosphere to it. And also the monk character was somewhat of a sore thumb, especially since he was apparently so much more martially trained than everyone else. It just seemed a bit out of place.

"Northmen: A Viking Saga" is an enjoyable movie for sure. Just don't expect anything extraordinary. And while it is not fully up to the level of the "Vikings" series, then it is still a good addition to the viking movie genre.