A good old-fashioned, red-blooded adventure story....

Rating: 8/10 (10 January 2006)

I love this movie and never get tired of watching it. It's not perfect, but who cares -- it's a lot of fun. Funny thing: friends of mine who would probably enjoy "The 13th Warrior" never bothered to see it because they were tired of Antonio Banderas, but frankly, I thought this was one of his best performances. He's not really the focus of the story, except from the "stranger in a strange land" angle, but he delivers a fine, understated performance. The stand-outs are the excellent, largely unknown actors portraying the intrepid band of North-men dispatched on a quest to vanquish the evil Wendol (who are tormenting a neighboring kingdom). The characterizations cover the whole personality spectrum, from the charismatic men-of-few-words such as the superb Vladimir Kulich as the leader, Buliwyf, and Daniel Southern as Egtho "the Silent," to the cheerful and enthusiastic, embodied by the fine Tony Curran as Weath and Dennis Storhoi in a marvelous, central performance as the aptly-named Herger "the Joyous."
The battle scenes are exciting, and the climactic confrontation with the Wendol is reminiscent of Branagh's "Henry V," right down to the rain and mud. The locations, shot in British Columbia, are gorgeous and evocative of a misty, ominous Scandinavian wilderness. The late Jerry Goldsmith accompanied the action with a stirring score, with an appropriately Wagnerian flavor in the last few scenes of the film.
No sex, no foul language, some gore (so be careful if there are kids in the room) -- and the rousing exploits of a group of warriors who, if ever there was a Valhalla, must be drinking mead and singing battle songs in it these days.... Give this one a chance; you'll be glad you did!