[yasr_overall_rating]
A storm finds a band of Vikings stranded behind enemy lines on the coast of Alba. Their journey becomes a race for their lives, when the King of Alba sends his most feared mercenaries after them.
Vikings have had a vast and uneven representation in cinema, from Roy William Neill’s 1928 Technicolor phenomenon “The Viking” to John McTiernan’s flawed-but-underrated 1999 box-office disaster “The 13th Warrior.” The closest the medium has come to accurately capturing the Viking Age is perhaps History Channel’s “The Vikings,” now in its third season. The show’s length gives characters ample opportunity to develop, and its sets and accents have been meticulously researched.
Sadly, “Northmen: A Viking Saga” never approaches that level of veracity or complexity. It surely gets points for ambition. A Swiss/German/South African co-production, filmed in the beautiful mountainous and ocean-side terrains of South Africa, it’s clear the filmmakers aimed for an epic scope and a mythical, resonant story. The result is a derivative – but beautifully-shot – underdog adventure about a small group of Vikings, with its unfortunate dearth of originality outweighing its pretty pictures. Perhaps the fault lies with the Swiss director, a relative dilettante (Claudio Fäh’s resume is dubious at best, including the 2006 “masterpiece” “Hollow Man II,” and the more recent, edge-of-your-seat, cerebral Billy Zane thriller “Sniper: Reloaded”).
“Northmen” starts off on a high note, depicting a breathtaking, three-minute sequence of a shipwreck on the Scottish Isles, our Viking protagonists getting submerged underwater, their symbolic necklaces and swords hitting the tremulous ocean’s sandy floor. Apparently, that’s when the majority of the film’s budget ran out, for the characters spend the rest of the film’s running length, ahem, running away from evil Scottish mercenaries, led by the determined and violent Hjorn (Ed Skrein).
Our heroes do get help from the Scottish King’s daughter, Inghean (Charlie Murphy), who happens to posses mystical abilities, and “sees what the land reveals” when she touches the ground. They capture her as ransom for the King, but, afraid to seem cowardly in front of his potential enemies, he orders to kill her instead (yes, all perplexing plot points – how insensitive is this freakin’ king? – but just go with it). While there are some sequences that engage mildly, all this running and following and setting traps and then running again becomes repetitive. Imagine a medieval “The Fugitive,” written by a 13-year-old, and you’ll get a sense of what “Northmen” is like.
A few of the film’s improbabilities have to be pointed out: 1) How in the world do the mercenaries keep catching up with the clearly faster and more savvy Vikings? Do they have medieval tracking devices? 2) When a man falls off a vertical cliff, there is no way another man, who is also clinging to that cliff with the tips of his fingers, can catch his friend mid-air and hold on to him long enough to exchange meaningful glances, and subsequently save him. Even if this man possessed ten times the power of Hercules, this would not be feasible. 3) At one point, a monk leads our protagonists out of a seemingly impossible situation through a tunnel, at the last minute. Why he waited this long will forever remain a mystery. 4) Late in the film, the characters stumble upon a giant waterfall. Watch carefully how long it takes the characters to climb it, in relation to each other – it makes zero sense. 5) The worst thing to do when hiding out and setting traps is to scream into the forest, alerting the mercenaries to your presence. The Vikings in this film aren’t aware of this basic fact. 6) In the climactic showdown – spoiler alert! – the villain jumps out of a muddy quicksand sinkhole, something that had been established as clearly impossible, and therefore executed purely for shock effect. 7) Okay, last one: All the Vikings survive a 200-foot fall into the ocean, unscathed. Just sayin’.
The dialogue is so poorly written, one wonders if Bastian Zach and Matthias Bauer used Google Translate for some of the passages. When prompted to climb a cliff, one Viking states resolutely: “I am a warrior. Not a climber.” In another instance, a character proclaims ferociously: “There will be no bounty in hell.”
The acting is on-and-off, at best. Ed Skrein, star of the upcoming 398th Marvel film “Deadpool,” as well as the “reboot-that-no-one-asked-for” “The Transporter Reloaded,” scowls away as Hjorn, attributing his character with next-to-no-depth, except unsubstantiated savagery. Ryan Kwanten (of “True Blood” fame) plays the sullen monk, who, for no apparent reason, decides to endanger his life and help the gang of Vikings, and, oh, happens to boast some serious Neo-level skills with his stick. Tom Hopper gives an adequately heroic – and stoic – performance as the gang’s leader, Asbjorn, although those golden locks and blue eyes and bulging muscles and uber-serious one-liners make him resemble Thor’s younger, wimpier brother. Leo Gregory plays Jorund, the staple nasty rapist member of the gang, who unleashes his little phallic swords at every urge to fornicate and/or murder, but is ultimately presented as a character with whom we should sympathize. Everyone roars viciously during the modestly-scaled battles scenes, which are choppily edited and hard to follow.
This film could have been so much better. The dialogue scenes could have spawned deliberations over spirituality (something the film touches upon, briefly, and with utmost vulgarity); their journey could have functioned as a metaphor for the futility of running from imminent death, and/or evoked existential rumination (like Nicolas Winding Refn did so powerfully in “Valhalla Rising”). As it stands, the humorless “Northmen: A Viking Saga” doesn’t bring anything new to the “Viking cinematic canon,” but should at least appease (and/or infuriate, depending on their predilection for accuracy) Norsemen aficionados and those looking for a couple of hours to waste. It’s certainly better than “Vikingdom.”
Death Metal in Asgard
Amon Amarth’s Frontman Johan Hegg Talks Vikings, Film Acting and Staying Fit.
Swedish Death-Metal band Amon Amarth, whose songs primarily deal with the Viking era, have enjoyed a rapidly-growing international recognition since its inception in the early 1990s. Its lead singer, Johan Hegg, recently tried his hand at film acting, in Claudio Fäh’s epic international production, “Northmen: A Viking Saga.” At home in his native Sweden, Johan Hegg discusses the intricacies of the filmmaking process with Irish Film Critic’s Alex Saveliev.
- AS: You are the frontman of the uber-popular Swedish death-metal band, Amon Amarth, whose lyrics deal mostly with Norse mythology and the Viking Age. Why the fascination with Vikings, and is that why you were approached for the role of Valli?
- JH: Yes, that’s why I was approached for the role of Valli, it’s as simple as that. One of the writers is a fan, so when they were casting the film, he mentioned my name. My interest in Norse mythology started when I was about 9 or 10 years old, and it just grew gradually. It’s really a fascinating history, their sagas are simply amazing. I have a deep love of the subject.
- AS: Did you contribute extensive Viking knowledge? Did the filmmakers ask you for tips/advice?
- JH: Actually, the actors and the crew were very well-read on the characters from that time. They put in a lot of work to portray the characters the right way. So I didn’t really have to do that much; from time to time they would ask me, “Is that something a Viking would say?”, and I would go, “Yeah, sure!” (laughs). I wasn’t there the whole time, so they were pretty much on their own.
- AS: The film was shot primarily in South Africa over 8 weeks. How long were you on the set?
- JH: I think it was about 16 days. I came in for a 12-day principal shoot, and then returned for another 4 days.
- AS: Can you describe your impressions of the location; did it inspire you to get into your character more? Would you say it evoked a mythical atmosphere that was easier to delve into?
- JH: I think the South African locations were absolutely fantastic. I definitely felt that it was easier for me to get into character, it was beautiful.
- AS: Did you feel comfortable in front of the camera?
- JH: (Laughs) It felt good. I had a lot of help preparing from the other actors, especially from Darrell D’Silva and Charlie Murphy [who play the characters of Gunnar and Inghean in the film, respectively]. They were tremendously supportive. Otherwise, it wasn’t the first time I was in front of the camera. I’ve done several music videos, so I kind of knew the drill, but moviemaking is obviously on a much-bigger scale. On a video shoot, I don’t really have to do any dialogue (laughs).
- AS: Can you please talk a little about your experience working with the director, Claudio Fäh? Did you get along on set? Did he have a distinct vision and give clear, intuitive direction?
- JH: I love Claudio, he’s such a great guy. He knows what he wants, and he knows how to get it. He’s a friendly guy, but also very straightforward. He’s great to work with, I admire him a lot. From my perspective, he’s a director any actor would like to work with. I don’t have that much experience, but I would definitely work with him again.
- AS: What was the biggest challenge you faced during the shoot?
- JH: For me, it was the stunts. When I went down there, I was not prepared at how much physical work it would be… and I was not in great shape! I was also struggling with my asthma; this kind of stuff made it difficult.
- AS: Are you now considering an acting career, or are you going to stay focused on your band – or juggle both?
- JH: Well, the band is my priority, obviously. But if I get the chance to do more movies, I will gladly take it. It was a lot of fun and a great experience.
- AS: When is Amon Amarth touring next?
- JH: At the moment, we are writing a new album. We will record it this fall, hopefully the album will be out early next year. And after that we’ll be touring in late-spring, early-summer, I guess.
- AS: Any plans on coming to the States?
- JH: Yes, we will, definitely! We are planning on doing an extensive North American tour, hopefully very soon after the album’s release, but it all depends on how it all falls together, when the album comes out, that kind of stuff.
- AS: Any words of advice for other musicians-turned-actors out there?
- JH: You should definitely come prepared, read a few scripts, get an idea of what to expect. And, if you’re going to be in an action movie, make sure you’re in pretty good shape!
In select theaters July 31st and on Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand August 11th
