Occasionally gritty but boring throughout

Rating: 2/10 (22 January 2005)

This is one of over-compensating attempts which tries so very hard, and goes over the top. It so wanted to be a blockbuster ticket-seller, but in its attempt, it really just left the audience feeling deflated, as if all the life had been sucked out of you just for having watched this long, boring mess.
Now don't get me wrong, there is adequate grit and gore, but those moments are all too fleeting, as Banderas drones on ... and on in an almost hypnotizing way, which succeeds not where intended but in settling the audience into a nice, peaceful slumber.
You notice right away that something does not set right. Banderas' narrative commences, and while you realize he is speaking in a normal pace, you also realize there is something missing, as you're suddenly in the thick of things, and are not sure how you got there.
The story is therefore weak and forgettable. Let's face it, if a story has no rhythm, it grows boring. The second half of this work (the Norse half, we'll call it) was actually interesting. I wouldn't mind seeing a ~real~ movie surrounding this subject matter. But this just wasn't it. I must honestly say that this is John McTiernan's most useless attempt.
It doesn't really even rate a rating, but since I must, I'll give it a 2/10 from...
the Fiend :.