GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Holstra Boring, long, and too preachy.

Dotbankey A lot of fun.

Borgarkeri A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

Filipe Neto This movie is a bit contradictory to me. It's a movie worth seeing if we just want pure entertainment, but it does not have enough quality for us to think of it as a really good movie. The action centers on the participation of an Arab ambassador in a Nordic military expedition, sent to protect an isolated village that was being attacked by some sort of evil creature. And the weaknesses of the plot begin to appear before us: what would motivate an Arab sultan to want to maintain diplomatic ties with the tribal peoples of Northern Europe? They could never help in case of war because they are too far away, and commercial relations were impracticable at that time because of the enormous distance between them. It seems the idea did not come from the script, but from a novel in which the film is based, but it does not matter. It's still hard to swallow. Another point that drew my attention in the negative is the portrayal of the Norse as an illiterate people who needed an Arab to write their own story. The writer certainly forgot that the Norse are the inventors of a particularly well known writing system, the runic alphabet. Even for an age where teaching was rare, it is believable that Beowulf, as a prince, had at least some notions about this writing system, thus not needing a foreigner to "draw sounds" for him.The strong point of the film is the combat scenes. They were thought out in detail and deserved the attention of the technical team. The idea of ​​"bearsmen" is also good, but it is difficult for me to believe that the Norse, warlike as they prove to be, believed in that story of the creature of fire. There is a huge contradiction latent in that: if the Norse are bellicose and bragging, why would they flee from an army with torches thinking it is a hellish serpent? In the first attack it is quite evident that they are men, not frightening creatures out of our worst nightmares. There's no sense in really believing that.António Banderas is literally the man of the movie. He appears, he shines, he makes a good participation. Omar Shariff also deserves an honorable mention for his fleeting appearance. He's an old-timer, with excellent diction and he is perfectly at ease in the role. The sets and costumes are good, they make the audience feel truly Northern Europe and the Viking environment. It's a shame that the script has not been reviewed and improved, as this would have made this film substantially more positive.

Robert J. Maxwell A nice, high-echelon, young Arab (Banderas) is sent as an emissary to the Bulgars in 922 AD. At the time, the Middle East was the center of civilization. While Europeans were living on a flat earth, the people of Egypt were measuring its circumference. They invented soap. They also invented algebra, for which may God forgive them.Banderas is more or less shanghaied into joining a band of Norsemen returning to their home to protect it against the people of the mist, the Wendlos. I don't know if the Wendlos existed or not but they do in this movie.Banderas is revolted by the slovenliness of the Vikings. And who can blame him. They pass around a bowl to wash their faces in, but they also spit in it and one guy blows his nose into it using the one-nostril side slip method. But, like a good cultural anthropologist, he adapts to the ways of his hosts without trying to convert them to his religion or his customs.I was watching this on YouTube and at this point, Disney blocked the middle third of the film because of some copyright dispute. Therefore, it appears, I missed Diane Venora, which is a damned shame. Although, come to think of it, they could have used Mia Maestro because they look so much alike. I wonder if they are one and the same person. Has anyone ever seen Venora and Maestro together in the same room at the same time? No? I thought not.The ending is a sword-slinging bash in the rain and the mud. The Wendlos are all bundled up in bear costumes and whatnot so it's hard to tell whether they're supposed to be human or not. Someone has suggested they were Neanderthals but that's out of the question. It's out of date by some 50,000 years for one thing.Guess who wins the slogging match? RIGHT, the Norsemen and Banderas, fighting the enemy together, drenched in blood. The Vikings were pretty destructive when you get right down to it but they left us a few souvenirs -- "skiff", "shirt," "Thursday", "Friday," and so on.

Fluke_Skywalker After a troubled production that saw the budget balloon to nearly $160 million and writer Michael Crichton step in and take over directing duties from John McTiernan ('Predator', 'Die Hard') on a series of re-shoots, 'The 13th Warrior' (Based on Crichton's novel "Eaters Of The Dead", well worth reading on its own), opened to scathing reviews and weak box office. According to Wikipedia, it's the biggest box office bomb in history. Quite a pedigree, eh? But here's the thing. It's a really good movie.Featuring a classic stranger in a strange land formula and moving without any wasted motion--without sacrificing story or character, 'The 13th Warrior' is a rousing, old fashioned adventure tale. Antonio Banderas leads a cast of mostly unknowns, but everyone really makes the most out of their characters; particularly the 13 warriors themselves. Accompanied by a stirring score from the great Jerry Goldsmith, The 13th Warrior sits atop my list of the most underrated films of certainly the last few decades, if not all-time. Forget the naysayers, if you like the action/adventure genre, I think You'll like this one.

petra_ste A famous box office bomb, this Michael Crichton adaptation is better than its reputation - as far as non-supernatural versions of mythological sagas go (Beowulf in this case), it definitely beats Petersen's Troy and Fuqua's King Arthur.Directed with a deft hand by veteran John McTiernan (Die Hard, Predator), the movie boasts solid action scenes and a compelling premise: Arabian traveler Ahmed (Banderas) reluctantly joins a band of Vikings facing the mysterious Wendol, a savage horde of raiders with a beast-like appearance. Fine battles aside, there are a few neat moments: for example, a clever and effective "character slowly overcomes a language barrier" montage.The biggest flaw is how, Banderas aside, nearly all fellowship members remain underdeveloped - with the exceptions of leader Buliwyf and Ahmed's pal Herger, everyone else is a bearded, grim cypher. They should have reduced the group, developed every character and called it The Seventh Warrior instead.7/10