1000 AD, for years, One Eye, a mute warrior of supernatural strength, has been held prisoner by the Norse chieftain Barde. Aided by Are, a boy slave, One Eye slays his captor and together he and Are escape, beginning a journey into the heart of darkness. On their flight, One Eye and Are board a Viking vessel, but the ship is soon engulfed by an endless fog that clears only as the crew sights an unknown land. As the new world reveals its secrets and the Vikings confront their terrible and bloody fate, One Eye discovers his true self.
Director Nicolas Winding Refn continues to change up the formula with each new film. Completely different then the gritty Pusher Trilogy and oddly creative Bronson, comes Valhalla Rising. The loose story follows a savage named One Eye, played by Mads Mikkelsen, on a journey through a mysterious land as he breaks free from capture. Winding Refn breaks up the story into six chapters with some epic titles (Hell, Sacrifice, etc.). It’s a shame the film doesn’t quite live up to that goal. This is the definition of all style, no substance. Winding Refn has a wonderful eye for visuals, and it shows here. This would be the perfect film to play in the background at some sort of gothic rave.
Winding Refn described the film as a piece of art, a painting one would look at for hours. There is breathtaking imagery on nearly every fram, so the film does succeed on some level. The story and pacing are left in the dust though. The first act is interesting, like seeing anything wildly new for the first time. That feeling wears out quite quickly, and for the middle hour of the film we wander randomly with this character, wondering how we got here and why does it matter? The end picks up a bit as we get to a final showdown. Mikkelsen said his character is more about “energy” rather that motivations or any type of development, and this is quite apparent. There is no connection to any actions he carries out or any type of familiarity. One of the few highlights of the film is the score. Winding Refn has crafted a dronal rock soundtrack, that gives a desperately needed punch to the face. The few moments of violence also delivers. Mikkelsen’s character literally beats the living shit out of many of his opponents and it is handled beautiful. The film isn’t terrible, but it certainly is a massive let-down in what would have been an addition to a perfect filmography for this young director.
Last edited by twobells on Tue, 18th May 2010 12:47; edited 2 times in total
usualy i dont pay much attention to imdb boards, but this film had such an overwhelming degree of 'meh'ness displayed in the board, that i cant say im planning on seeing it.
the movies trailer didnt help either... i really just dont know about this flick...
To me it seemed like a simple hack 'n slash kinda movie, which I can enjoy. But I really hate it when movies have gore just to have gore. I guess I'll have to take a look myself.
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