entertaining adventure

Rating: Null/10 (30 March 2003)

Suspenseful, big budget action/adventure epic which vividly recreates the ancient times of vikings and barbarians. Banderas stars as an exiled Arab ambassador who's reluctantly recruited to join a band of fierce, belligerent warriors. He then has the misfortune to learn that they're leading a definitive battle against ferocious creatures of the night that devour their enemies. Starts slowly but only gets better and better as it goes along with sumptuous production, thrilling action scenes and swordplay, genuine scares, and a rousing, old-fashioned sense of adventure. Banderas is fun to watch as the reluctant hero, and the film has a good sense of humor. ***