not a sit down and watch movie

Rating: 6/10 (6 September 2008)

This movie is an adventure tale involving an Arab who joins 12 Vikings on a sort of "mythic quest", to which they believe there will be a logical reason. The characters are not overly believable, but not overly trite, either. The Arab comes across the most believable. They belief in logic, and the modernism of morality doesn't really fit into the middle age world and mentality. You would think they had all read the philosophers and writers of the nineteenth and twentieth century. The movie tries to be a thought provoking piece, a mystery, and an adventure all rolled into one. Where it fails to completely enthrall us is in the super slow pace to which the mystery is even brought up. As a result, it just drones on, without any real interest. It has some nice scenes, and fits in well with modern cinema which is based on having a few "cinematic" moments, and a few tough lines. It could be the "Pulp Fiction" of the Middle Ages. But it just isn't a film a person can sit down, watch, and enjoy. It neither captivates the spirit of adventure, or the spirit of atmospheric Mystery. But it still has some bright spots.