DuskShadow
And not in an enjoyable way. As far as creative license goes, this tries to take the cake, eat some of it, but still have it too. Apart from hilarious scenes of skiing that were more pointless than the olympics in this day and age, the abysmal dubbing was hard to watch, as was the poor voice acting. Although there was a great budget for the look of this film, that is to say the way it was shot, vast mountain tops, landscapes etc, that must have been where most of the money went, because it shows little in the rest of the film.
Unwatchable unless one is already drunk, like the northern brigands these movies try to sensationalize.
morrison-dylan-fan
With the shops finally all back to normal,I went to look at the local DVD shop. Along with a sealed Dad's Army remake,(which I sold for a good amount!) I was intrigued to find a Historical Action title starring Game of Thrones Kristofer Hivju,which led to me getting set to meet the last king.The plot-12th century Norway:Wanting to take the kingdom,the church arranges for the king to be killed. Aware that the king has an illegitimate baby,the church decides the lie to the kingdom,and claim that the baby has died. Doubting these words, knights/Vikings Skjervald and Torstein find the baby,and sets their sights of bringing the true king back to the kingdom.View on the film:Hurling a baby along whilst protecting him from arrows, Kristofer Hivju gives a warm performance as Torstein,with the hulking physique Hivju shows in the rough & tumble action scenes being joined by a terrific protective side Hivju gives Torstein for the young king. Teaming up with Torstein to protect the boy, Jakob Oftebro gives a gripping performance as Skjervald,as the quick- witted mind of Oftebro balances the ram-bam action from Hivju's Torstein.Drawn from real events,the transfer of Ravn Lanesskog's screenplay into English keeps the geo-political workings rather vague,via the royal family betrayals lacking a clear route to the full motive behind them.Going to the most remote parts of Norway to protect the king, Lanesskog lets the dry historical edges fall,for a thrilling men on a mission adventure,which Lanesskog fine chops between hard-hitting battle scenes and light comedic tenderness in the care the duo show to the king. Striking steel against the beautiful Norwegian mountains,director Nils Gaup and cinematographer Peter Mokrosinski give the title an exciting atmosphere, pounded with shots of blood and Norse axes (for Odin!) flying in the air,and Gaup gliding the camera across snow-covered hills and tense ski chases,as Skjervald and Torstein keep their eyes on the last king.
jimspaid-86934
I always enjoy historical-type movies. This one is no exception. I did stream with English 5.1 instead of subtitles, but it really didn't take away from the movie. The film depicted this era of Norway as quite brutal. I'm sure it was. Kings & heirs, civil war, brutality. It was all here. I don't judge acting so I really didn't notice if it was not perfect. I liked the plot & the movie flowed smoothly enough to follow without questioning what was happening. The scenery, well, when it wasn't overcast or snowing, was great. Lots of ski action too. Some of the scenes caught me off guard but I won't say which ones. There may have been a few hiccups, but overall I found it to be a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
niutta-enrico
I watched it out of curiosity because I never heard the term 'Birkerbeiner' before (the beautiful tale of Håkon Håkonsson hasn't reached the bulk of ignorant Mediterranean men yet) and I am more than happy to have done it.It wasn't really a memorable film, however: many scenes lacked realism and the plot was oversimplified, on my humble opinion. Which was something I didn't expect given the huge talent of Scandinavian screenwriters (e.g. Anders Thomas Jensen or Kim Fupz Aakeson, just to quote two of my favorites...).In any case it was instructive and I'm sure that many people from all around the world will enjoy the story and recognize many actors such as Kristofer Hivju (from 'Game of Thrones'), Nikolaj Lie Kaas (from 'Child 44'), Thorbjørn Harr (from 'Vikings') or Pål Sverre Hagen, (from 'Kon Tiki') who I'm sure are by now familiar faces to international audiences.
AD
