20140426: Action Review--Vikingdom

Vikingdom

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. Malaysian/American live action feature length film, 2013, NR, 114 minutes, action, fantasy.
2. IMDB: 3.5/10.0 from 1,730 audience ratings. Estimated budget, 15.6 million USD.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 43% on the meter; 26% liked it from 442 audience ratings.
4. I watched this on the Syfy Channel.
5. Directed by: Yusry Abd Halim.
6. Starring: Dominic Purcell as Eirick, Conan Stevens as Thor, Natassia Malthe as Brynna, Craig Fairbrass as Sven, Jesse Moss as Frey, Tegan Moss as Freyja, Jon Foo as Yang, Patrick Murray as Alcuin.


2. Setup and Plot
1. The goddess Freyja raises former King Eirick from the dead.  The god Frey encourages Eirick to seek the Horn of Helheim, since only the undead can venture there and return.


2. Eirick gathers a ship and two close allies (Brynna and Sven) on the way to a nearby kingdom where the king remembers and likes him.  He gathers more allies and sets off to find the druid Alcuin, who shows him the way to Helheim.


3. Eirick obtains the Horn with the help of the shade of his father, who informs him that his real father was someone else.  Great stuff.  Eirick and company proceed to Eirick's former kingdom, where his younger brother now rules.  They are betrayed, but still manage to get to the meeting with Thor before the time of the 'Blood Eclipse' of the sun, which occurs once every 800 years.


4. Thor has the Hammer of the Gods (Mjolnir) from Valhalla, the Horn Eirick liberated from Helheim, and the 'Necklace of Mary Magdalene' from Midgard.  The stakes are supposedly rather high at this event.  In any case, secrets are revealed, and a climactic battle ensues.


5. The ending begs for a sequel.


3. Conclusions
1. One line summary: Action romp in mythological setting that is both silly and fun.
2. Three stars of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 6/10 Some of the camera work is fine, but a lot of it is sub-VHS quality.


2. Sound: 6/10 Mostly OK.


3. Acting: 6/10 Good enough to keep up with the screenplay.


4. Screenplay: 7/10 The story moves right along, which is exactly what one wants from an action film with so-so mythological underpinnings.