Bravo!

Rating: Null/10 (3 February 2000)

It's troubling to see that some people misunderstood this movie. Why must we have everything explained to enjoy a film? I enjoy a little mystery, and a movie that speaks to more than my hormones.
Far from just an action movie, this is a might-have-been for Beowulf. Having spent a lot of time studying and translating Beowulf, McTiernan's vision of Crichton's book advances an interesting hypothesis for the Beowulf poet, who had a strong God-sensibility, and for the "real" events which might have inspired him.
No plot? Did you watch the movie? Thirteen warriors must face a devastating enemy. One viewer suggested that the Vendel (?) had never suffered casualties, but an early scene makes clear that they carry away their dead to prevent anyone finding out their secret!
And, yes, McTiernan might have made his learning of the Norse language more "convincing," but I never assumed it happened in one night. After all, that's exactly the way you learn a language in the culture: words and phrases begin to make sense until you are able to link them and understand sentences, then paragraphs, etc. Come on, people, use your brains!
And why were the deaths of the "mother" and the chieftain so significant? Well, the mother was the heart of their culture (which, incidentally, was where all the skulls went, remember?). She was the "root," the sage said. And only slightly less important was the chieftain, who held them together. So-called primitive cultures would have placed great faith in the "horns of power." If the man bearing them were defeated, why continue fighting? The gods were obviously against you, or the enemy's gods were greater.
Anyway, I loved this movie. I think it captured the spirit of Beowulf in a way that Braveheart never could.