Loki, Smite This!

Rating: 7/10 (16 June 2001)

First I would like to point out the delicious irony of having Spaniard Antonio Banderas playing an Arab in the film. If you're not conversant with history, check out the Spanish expulsion and persecution of the Moors.
In brief, I think Loki (Norse deity of troublemaking and chaos) has already had at this movie--perhaps he was even the evil genius behind the script writer. It's not that this is a bad movie--it's watchable. Rather the problem is that things get smooshed together and made into a plot with little to no explanation. How did this Arab ex-poet fall in with Vikings? How was he able to learn their language by listening? Why didn't he ditch his customary gear for something that would help him fit in? For me, if the seed of a film makes no sense, neither will the film.