Remake of Seven Samurai--skip it and see the original

Rating: Null/10 (26 May 2004)

It's Seven Samurai with Vikings, you'll particularly notice it in all the scenes of mounted men in funny headgear riding up to attack the crudely fortified village, but you'll notice a lot of other borrowed material as well. Unfortunately, it doesn't borrow the skillful characterizations, masterful choreography of the fight sequences or sense of history and location of the original. Pretty scenery, nicely shot (filmed in British Columbia); stilted dialogue by Vikings, who overact like Star Trek Klingons; action bloody but not very interesting. Plot doesn't make much sense. Even fans of Antonio Banderas will think that he's seriously underused.