Vikings set sail again!

Rating: 7/10 (3 November 2005)

Based on a novel by Michael Crichton, this is the story of a young Arab nobleman who spends too much time chasing someone else's wife and gets himself exiled as an "ambassador" to the savage northern barbarians known as Vikings. It then turns into a saga of nobility and heroic self-sacrifice as thirteen warriors are sent to battle something that is so vile, so horrible, so evil that people are afraid to even speak its' name. It's got some definite parallels to the classic story of Beowulf, one of the earliest sagas to come from Northern Europe. It's a rugged and manly story, showing both the waste and futility of war while also showing that armed conflict can bring out the bravest and noblest sentiments in a man. It's got a great performance by Banderas, a solid cameo from Omar Sharif, and the baddest Viking warriors the screen has ever seen. A solid adventure movie, very entertaining with a surprisingly moving ending.