Twelve Vikings and an Arab provide a simple action flick

Rating: 7/10 (29 June 2004)

SPOILERS
In Hollywood there are always certain historical areas where attention is focused. In more recent times we have seen a lot of films about the American West, a huge number about the second world war, a few about medieval Europe and even one about the death of Jesus Christ, so in "The 13th Warrior" it feels like rather a nice change for a film to feature that unique race of people, the Vikings.
In "The 13th Warrior", Antonio Banderas plays exiled Muslim Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan Ibn Al Abbas Ibn Rashid Ibn Hamad. As a foreign emissary, Ahmed travels to the lands of Europe where he encounters a group of Vikings. This group of men, led by their leader Buliwyf are asked by another Viking King to aid him in a battle against an evil group who's name must not being mentioned. After a wise old woman informs the group that the thirteenth of their mini-army must not be of Norse origin, Ahmed finds himself travelling over land and sea as the gang of thirteen warriors attempt to defend a King and his lands from the forces of evil.
Often when Hollywood attempts to create a historical feature, there is constant criticism for the film's historical inaccuracy. With the case of "The 13th Warrior", this is harder to do. Whilst obviously everyone can find fault with a film based in the past, whether it be a problem with the language or something equally irrelevant to the enjoyment of the film, in films based around the Viking age, there is a considerable amount which we just don't know. We could argue all day about the Viking way of life, and whilst some parts we could look at historical objects and claim that this is true, the bigger question is whether we should care. In "The 13th Warrior", the notion of historical accuracy doesn't feel that relevant in regard to what this film is. This film, simply put, is a tense, action movie with a cast consisting of one or two well known actors and a majority of unknowns. The beauty of this film though is that aside from whether the actor is a big Hollywood movie star or not, they all give us a brilliant sense of who their characters are. With one or two exceptions, we watch as the Vikings fight and die, and we feel for a few who we feel a sense of character for. Tony Curran and Clive Russell in particular are Vikings who stand out that I've seen in different films, Curran being in a few Hollywood films and a couple of British television series whilst Russell is probably most famous for his role in the television series "Auf Wiedersehn Pet" (1983).
With the main thirteen characters stood firm in place, this film also benefits from the fact that it has a simple plot. This unoriginal idea of outcast bonds with a group as they all fight evil has appeared on many different occasions, and whilst it might not ever win awards, it does keep the audience happy in that we don't need to think particularly hard whilst watching the film. Ultimately that is the beauty of this feature. In a cinema market increasingly split between those films where you leave your brain at the door, and those films where you have to focus hard, for a film to be of decent quality whilst simultaneously that first type of no-brainer is quite a pleasant feeling.
Basically, the beauty of "The 13th Warrior" is it's simplicity. This film is a simple, straight forward, action film which delivers violence and yet maintains it's dignity by being fun. It might not be awards material, but ultimately who cares. A quality, action movie.