Keeps getting better with each viewing

Rating: 9/10 (29 December 2006)

This film makes one wonder what would have happened if, after the superb understated little gem that was "Nomads" Mctiernan had made something other than "Die Hard". Apparently assorted screenplays for an adaptation of Michael Crichton's pseudo-historical novel "Eaters of the Dead" had been knocking around Hollywood for years before Crichton's name become forever associated with "Jurassic Park". At that point the smell of money began to emanate from the project and so, away we went. This could very easily have been awful. That it is actually an emotionally and structurally complete and satisfying film is, in no small part, due to its respectful and level-headed treatment of two disparate and under-explored cultures, both foreign to western audiences namely Umayad Arab and Viking. Anonio Banderas is as good as he has ever been as Ibn Fahdlan, an unwilling ambassador to the Norsemen who finds himself part of a band of unusually believable heroes defending a crumbling Scandanavian kingdom against a possibly supernatural menace. The casting of (to Americans at least) unknown European actors as the viking warriors is key to making them seem to be so real and thus to committing the audience to their fate. Czech actor Vladimir Kulich as leader Buliwyf is a dominating presence and equal credit goes to the Norwegian Dennis Storhoi as the charmingly phlegmatic Herger the Joyous. Accepting that, at some level, this is "The Seven Samuraii" with longboats this is an original and entertaining experience. McTiernan, making intelligent use of night and a rain machine, films some of the better battle sequences in recent memory. He also presides over the most thoughtful (if not totally plausible) handling of different languages that I can recall seeing. It's sort of the next logical step from his transitioning from Russian to English on board the Red October. An interesting tale in a gorgeous and well thought-out historical context. Entertaining without being mindless. In other words, a rarity.