Arab meets Viking
"The 13th Warrior"
Overall Rating: ***
When the novel Catch 22 was first written, it was titled Catch 18; unfortunately, around the same time, another book was coming out that also had the number 18 in the title. A last minute change to avoid a similar title altered Heller's book--and ultimately the language. In contrast, rather than avoiding using the same number in two separate films, Hollywood went out of its way to do it. A few months ago, the interesting movie "The Thirteenth Floor"--based on the novel Simulacron 3--was released; now, we have an adaptation of Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead--retitled "The 13th Warrior."
In "The 13th Warrior," Ahmed Ibn Fadlan (Antonio Banderas) lived in Baghdad in the Middle Ages--until the Caliph forced him to become an ambassador to the unknown lands to the north. In his travels, he encounters a Viking camp. He is introduced--an awkward affair because only one member of his party (a cameo role by Omar Sharif) and only one of the Vikings speak Greek, their only common language--and shortly afterward, a messenger arrives from another village seeking help. When a prophecy demands that one member of the band of warriors going to assist the village not be a Norseman, however, Ahmed soon finds himself drafted into a Viking army--sent to defend the village from a threat so terrible that the Vikings won't even speak its name.
If you've been waiting to see Vikings do battle on the big screen, wait no longer--for there hasn't been a finer movie all year on that count. Medieval battles blaze across the screen in a stunts and special effects feast. Action sequences abound. There is little doubt that this is the film's main marketing point--and it is very successful in this regard. There is a level of technical care that many recent special-effects movies lack. There are no obviously computer generated effects; if they used computer animation, they used it well. Nor did I catch any fake looking stunts. The technical level is generally very high.
The story also holds your interest. All right, it's Beowulf minus Grendel and his mother, but with an Arab added. It still works better than you'd think. Arabs aren't used to Viking funerals, Vikings aren't used to scimitars--so the culture clash produces some humor. Putting aside the unlikely traveler, if there are any anachronisms, I didn't catch them. One other nice touch was the way the film demonstrated Ahmed learning the Vikings' language: the dialog starts out being entirely in the Vikings' language, and gradually, more and more English words are interspersed until the conversation is in English.
Unfortunately, there are also many problems. The mysterious attackers, for instance, only come on foggy nights. This is so they can use darkness as a cover, and frighten their victims more. What it really means is that many of the battles have some sequences that are inadequately lit; as dependant as the film is on the battles, this is really detrimental. The film also leaves too many aspects of Viking culture as a mystery; I suspect that Crichton used Ahmed's point of view to explain the Norse culture to outsiders--but the movie doesn't always take this opportunity. Some mysteries might serve to make the Viking culture seem more alien--but there are fairly important points that are never explained--such as why Ahmed can't use a Viking broadsword at one point (going so far as to make his own scimitar)--but can use one later on. Another point that bothered me was how quickly Ahmed learns the Vikings' language; once we get past the camp scenes where he learns it (an apparent timespan of a few weeks), he seems to have as perfect a command of their language as the Vikings themselves. Another thing that is never explained is where the enemy forces come from--we learn what they are, but not why they're attacking or where they originally came from.
"The 13th Warrior" isn't really suitable for children. The only problem is violence, but the violence is pervasive and extremely graphic.
In the final analysis, "The 13th Warrior" is a decent special effects film. If you want to see fighting Vikings, you'll want to see "The 13th Warrior."
Title: "The 13th Warrior"
Release date: August 27, 1999
Overall Rating: ***
When the novel Catch 22 was first written, it was titled Catch 18; unfortunately, around the same time, another book was coming out that also had the number 18 in the title. A last minute change to avoid a similar title altered Heller's book--and ultimately the language. In contrast, rather than avoiding using the same number in two separate films, Hollywood went out of its way to do it. A few months ago, the interesting movie "The Thirteenth Floor"--based on the novel Simulacron 3--was released; now, we have an adaptation of Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead--retitled "The 13th Warrior."
In "The 13th Warrior," Ahmed Ibn Fadlan (Antonio Banderas) lived in Baghdad in the Middle Ages--until the Caliph forced him to become an ambassador to the unknown lands to the north. In his travels, he encounters a Viking camp. He is introduced--an awkward affair because only one member of his party (a cameo role by Omar Sharif) and only one of the Vikings speak Greek, their only common language--and shortly afterward, a messenger arrives from another village seeking help. When a prophecy demands that one member of the band of warriors going to assist the village not be a Norseman, however, Ahmed soon finds himself drafted into a Viking army--sent to defend the village from a threat so terrible that the Vikings won't even speak its name.
If you've been waiting to see Vikings do battle on the big screen, wait no longer--for there hasn't been a finer movie all year on that count. Medieval battles blaze across the screen in a stunts and special effects feast. Action sequences abound. There is little doubt that this is the film's main marketing point--and it is very successful in this regard. There is a level of technical care that many recent special-effects movies lack. There are no obviously computer generated effects; if they used computer animation, they used it well. Nor did I catch any fake looking stunts. The technical level is generally very high.
The story also holds your interest. All right, it's Beowulf minus Grendel and his mother, but with an Arab added. It still works better than you'd think. Arabs aren't used to Viking funerals, Vikings aren't used to scimitars--so the culture clash produces some humor. Putting aside the unlikely traveler, if there are any anachronisms, I didn't catch them. One other nice touch was the way the film demonstrated Ahmed learning the Vikings' language: the dialog starts out being entirely in the Vikings' language, and gradually, more and more English words are interspersed until the conversation is in English.
Unfortunately, there are also many problems. The mysterious attackers, for instance, only come on foggy nights. This is so they can use darkness as a cover, and frighten their victims more. What it really means is that many of the battles have some sequences that are inadequately lit; as dependant as the film is on the battles, this is really detrimental. The film also leaves too many aspects of Viking culture as a mystery; I suspect that Crichton used Ahmed's point of view to explain the Norse culture to outsiders--but the movie doesn't always take this opportunity. Some mysteries might serve to make the Viking culture seem more alien--but there are fairly important points that are never explained--such as why Ahmed can't use a Viking broadsword at one point (going so far as to make his own scimitar)--but can use one later on. Another point that bothered me was how quickly Ahmed learns the Vikings' language; once we get past the camp scenes where he learns it (an apparent timespan of a few weeks), he seems to have as perfect a command of their language as the Vikings themselves. Another thing that is never explained is where the enemy forces come from--we learn what they are, but not why they're attacking or where they originally came from.
"The 13th Warrior" isn't really suitable for children. The only problem is violence, but the violence is pervasive and extremely graphic.
In the final analysis, "The 13th Warrior" is a decent special effects film. If you want to see fighting Vikings, you'll want to see "The 13th Warrior."
Title: "The 13th Warrior"
Release date: August 27, 1999
MPAA rating: R
Overall rating: ***
Overall rating: ***
Aprox. run time: 103 min.
Director: John McTiernan
Writer: William Wisher, Warren Lewis, Michael Crichton (novel)
Stars: Antonio Banderas, Omar Sharif
Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/13War.htm
Added to blog site: 8/5/09
Director: John McTiernan
Writer: William Wisher, Warren Lewis, Michael Crichton (novel)
Stars: Antonio Banderas, Omar Sharif
Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/13War.htm
Added to blog site: 8/5/09
Labels: Movie review, ReviewsbyJohn
posted by John at 9/01/1999 03:29:00 AM
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