Enjoyable

Rating: 7/10 (20 December 2005)

The 13th Warrior was a very enjoyable film if not unforgettable. I would consider this film slightly above the standard action fare because of a great performance by Antonio Banderas (with the longest name I've ever heard - Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan Ibn Al Abbas Ibn Rashid Ibn Hamad!) I must also mention that I read the book first (called Eaters of the Dead) which is MUCH better than the movie, but in some ways that is to be expected since the books can go deeper into the thoughts of the characters than film ever can. Also the book makes me believe what happened in AD 922 was for sure based on fact (as the book states) rather than if I just watched the movie. I also didn't like the fact that the movie didn't mention that these Eaters could have been Neandrathals (which made the book an enjoyable read). All in all, a 7 out of 10.