Bad film, but neat to watch...

Really, this movie is not very good. Trust the negative reviews on this one. So why did I rate it three stars? Because this is the closest I've seen to a live action Frazetta painting.

If you have fond memories of those old sword-and-sorcery paperback covers of armored warriors riding out of the mist, you may like the look of this movie quite a bit.

Unfortunately, warriors in the mist, while it makes for an arresting visual, is awfully hard to make out in live action. The fights are gloriously violent and the claret flows like water. But even if you can get past the bad script and plot holes to enjoy the action, you will find it very hard to follow. All that mist and shadow makes for a movie that is muddled, muddy and dark.

For most people, I'd say skip this one. If you are a Frazetta fan, it might be worth a look, but even then, don't hold your breath.

[Tuesday, October 14, 2008]

VIKINGS! + INDIANS! - GOOD MOVIE = PATHFINDER

This is another movie in the lines of 10,000 B.C. where you have the ingredients for a fun filled dumbed out action fest, but instead you it cooks for too long, the flavor of fun is burned out, and all you have is the residual DUMB.
How could you mess this up? The story is simple enough. Unlike 10,000BC, it doesn't make the mistake of not really giving us enough action. The problem here is the directing of the action. Darkness is fine, but I still like seeing what I'm.. seeing. The armor the vikings was so convoluted and generic looking, they were like the old timey equivalent of the convoluted Transformers from the live action movie. Take a camera. Put it in a burlap sack filled with bones, pots, pans, dirt, and some blood. Now give the sack a good shake and splice the footage into this movie in place of the action scenes. Nobody would notice the difference. I didn't love 300, but at least it got the job done.

[Thursday, September 11, 2008]

Pretty and action-filled, but a little flat

Beautiful scenery? Check. Good fight sequences? Check. Compelling action? Check... sort of. Good characters and a solid plot? ...well, you can't have everything.

Sure, I know there was a plot. Left-behind Viking boy saves adopted family from complete annihilation by another wave of Viking warriors. But that's it. That's all there was to this story. There's no in-depth characterization. Nothing to make you root for the good guy other than the fact that, well, he's the good guy! No emotional connection to the characters, or between the characters. Yes, we know they respect (and maybe even love) each other, but it doesn't come through the script or the acting. It's simply two-dimensional. And while the action scenes were exciting enough, getting to them felt like wading through treacle. I spent a lot of the movie was spent with the 'all right, get on with it!' feeling.

I suppose it's fine as far as mindless action flicks go - as I said, it's very pretty to watch - but I'd rather spend my time watching *funny* mindless action movies. My guess is, if you loved 300 (which I'd rather have watched on fast-forward, just to get most of it up to regular speed) this would be a movie for you. But if Bad Boys is more your 'blow'em up action movie' style, give this one a miss.

[Wednesday, August 20, 2008]

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