The northman

Year of release : 2022

 

Run time : 2h17min

 

Genre : Action / Adventure

 

Cast : Alexander Skarsgard, Anya Taylor Joy, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke

 

 

The movie is adapted from Amleth,a hero of a Skandinavian legend,and the inspiration for Shakespeare's Hamlet.

 

Prince Amleth's father is killed by his father's brother,and the man gives order for Amleth to be killed too. Amleth manages to escape and goes back to the village only to see his mother taken away.

 

Years later, Amleth is raiding villages of the Rus Empire,as a pretty savage killer. Hearing men talking about his father's killer,and how he is now a farmer in Iceland,losing the throne,he brands himself a slave and gets on the slave ship,to avenge his father's killer and free his mother.

 

On the boat,he befriends Olga, a slavic witch, who helps him on his quest.

 

The actors were all great,especially Alexander Skarsgard.

 

The movie was beautifully directed,edited ,it has great visual effects and this haunting music which belongs more in a horror,and blends the savage ways of medieval Skandinavia with the spiritual and magic.

There are quite a few scenes in which men pretend to be animals and just scream or hawl,which I did not enjoy.

 

I personally didn't enjoy the movie,and I would not want to watch it again. Pretty much all the characters were unlikeable,starting with the lead,who was raiding villages, putting kids in houses,and then setting them on fire!

 

The movie is in theatres worldwide and on streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Vudu and Apple iTunes.

 

Rating : Coulda woulda shoulda !