Great Adventure!

Rating: 7/10 (4 December 2003)

The 13th Warrior is great adventure of myth, magic and bravery. As has already been said, Antonio Banderas is a civilized Arab in the land of the Vikings in this well done adaptation by Michael Crichton's of his novel Eaters of the Dead. The Crichton book is in itself an adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf.
Crichton has crafted a clever tale that contrasts the educated, sophisticated and civilized Arab poet against the decidedly less than civilized Vikings. The journey from southern Russia (where the story begins) back to the Viking homeland becomes a period of adjustment and learning for both sides and also creates most of the humor. The funniest scene in the movie is caused by the Vikings' contempt for their Arab guest's "little" horse. To prove the quality of his Arabian, Banderas jumps it over the head of his loudest critic who is mounted on a large Viking horse. It is a gesture the Vikings, who live by their physical prowess, understand and find as funny as the audience. It is the beginning of respect for their strange guest and the real beginning of their comradeship. They travel north to save a Viking king from a savage tribe that raids his lands killing, not only his undefended farmers in their isolated homestead, but also his warriors as they sleep in his fortified hall. This savage "bear totem" tribe eat their fallen victims and are the "Eaters of the Dead" in the title of the novel. They use mist and magic to frighten and paralyze the superstitious Vikings. It is the sophisticated Arab with his educated belief in Aristotelian rationalism and his devout belief in one good God, Allah, that sees through the tricks of the enemy to the mortal men behind the magic.
Taken together, these elements blend into a tale of myth and magic and bravery and comradeship that transcends culture. It also creates a great adventure with some spectacular scenery, swordsmanship and spooky danger. If you like swords and magic and bravery, you will like The 13th Warrior.