Only movie that stays true to Crichton book

Rating: 7/10 (23 December 2000)

As a HUGE Michael Crichton fan, avid reader of all his works, I have been disappointed time after time when his novels are made into movies. Ex: Jurassic Park, Sphere, Congo, Rising Sun, are all terrible movies, despite big-budgets and A-list actors, that deviate horribly from Crichton's original vision.
However, such as different with 13th Warrior, from veteran director John McTernin (Die-Hard,Thomas Crown Affair, Predator). This big-screen version of the short novel by Crichton originally titled "Eaters of the Dead", is the truest book to screen film I've encountered.
With grand battle scenes and great looking cast, 13th Warrior is a true hero-adventure film, with all the perks that go along with it. Banderas is great, as usual, and the unknown cast that makes up the Viking warriors is equally good.
Why audiences might be put out about is the jumpyness and uneven flow of the film. We get almost no perspective of the mysterious "riders in the night". This, along with all the jumpyness and weird-lack of movie closure-ending, is due to the way the book is written. Crichton simply elaborated on the already existing journal entries of the real Iban Flalad, who documented his journies and adventures in the 14th century.
YES, this is a movie loosely based on the (historian-skeptical) true story of Iban Falad. Crichton simply gives it a few sprinkles here and there to make it more interesting. However, in writing it, he keeps true to the holes and loops that an unreligiously kept journal may yield... this also translates onto the big-screen.
Bottom Line: You'll like this movie, not great, but good. But definitly read the book to appreciate the film.