Ian Based on true events or not, as a movie it doesn't quite hit the mark.There's the good guys and the bad guys and lots of fighting - it's a sort of action flick on skis - but there's far too much 'they nearly get them, they escape, they nearly get them, they escape' going on. Far, too much.I really like foreign movies, particularly Scandinavian, and it's well made and well acted with great scenery and costumes but the story drags on and out.Ok for a rainy - or snowy! afternoon - but, alas, not a great movie.

morrison-dylan-fan With the shops finally all back to normal,I went to look at the local DVD shop. Along with a sealed Dad's Army remake,(which I sold for a good amount!) I was intrigued to find a Historical Action title starring Game of Thrones Kristofer Hivju,which led to me getting set to meet the last king.The plot-12th century Norway:Wanting to take the kingdom,the church arranges for the king to be killed. Aware that the king has an illegitimate baby,the church decides the lie to the kingdom,and claim that the baby has died. Doubting these words, knights/Vikings Skjervald and Torstein find the baby,and sets their sights of bringing the true king back to the kingdom.View on the film:Hurling a baby along whilst protecting him from arrows, Kristofer Hivju gives a warm performance as Torstein,with the hulking physique Hivju shows in the rough & tumble action scenes being joined by a terrific protective side Hivju gives Torstein for the young king. Teaming up with Torstein to protect the boy, Jakob Oftebro gives a gripping performance as Skjervald,as the quick- witted mind of Oftebro balances the ram-bam action from Hivju's Torstein.Drawn from real events,the transfer of Ravn Lanesskog's screenplay into English keeps the geo-political workings rather vague,via the royal family betrayals lacking a clear route to the full motive behind them.Going to the most remote parts of Norway to protect the king, Lanesskog lets the dry historical edges fall,for a thrilling men on a mission adventure,which Lanesskog fine chops between hard-hitting battle scenes and light comedic tenderness in the care the duo show to the king. Striking steel against the beautiful Norwegian mountains,director Nils Gaup and cinematographer Peter Mokrosinski give the title an exciting atmosphere, pounded with shots of blood and Norse axes (for Odin!) flying in the air,and Gaup gliding the camera across snow-covered hills and tense ski chases,as Skjervald and Torstein keep their eyes on the last king.

kosmasp I just recently watched an adaptation of a Jussi Adler-Olsen novel and some of the actors involved in that are in this one too. Funny to see them in such different roles in short amount of time. But it works and goes to show you that there are good actors all over the world (something that cannot be stressed enough, which is why I personally do watch as many and different movies as possible).But I'm probably preaching to the choir here. It's obvious that you're at least showing some interest already. And if you like movies with Vikings and stories where good and bad collide and all that juicy stuff, with some nice fighting choreography as well, than look no further. You've found what you're looking for. It may seem a bit confused at times, but it does have a clear goal in the end ... and it's really well made

MeetJohnSmith This is a fun action movie (sword and romance) set in really beautiful winter scenery. If you like Game of Thrones, but want more snow with your ax wielding heroes, this is a great film for you.I saw it in a theater, and the audience was completely in to it; it's been awhile since I've been a theater where audience members shout out encouragement to characters on screen, and it's so fun to have a movie where the audience cheers at key points. I can't remember a film in which infants were used so effectively; you truly have a concern for the characters' safety. The casting of our four heroes (Thor, Skeivie, Inga and Haakon) is perfect. Skeivie looks like they decided to cast Clay Matthews of the Green Bay packers as a heroic viking warrior. I also found the particularly compelling the fight scenes. They obviously didn't have a budget that would enable them to have a cast of thousands for their battle scenes, and somehow that gives greater believe-ability to the fight scenes. Our main heroes don't (implausibly) kill hundreds of faceless stuntmen (as is so often the case in action movies and superhero movies these days). Instead, our heroes are faced with having to take on specific opponents who seem truly intent on our heroes' demise/destruction.Slightly implausible is the topography displayed in the movie -- truly beautiful, but who knew that 99% of the topography in Norway is downhill? (I know, downhill chase scenes on skis are more compelling than uphill chase scenes on skis). The only slight weak point I would identify is the sub-story line about the young princess. OK, we know that story line is useful to show our villain is a truly bad guy, but our princess looks like she was recruited from a local mall, and told "here, put on this dress and look scared"; they didn't give her much to work with, and it shows. But one could say the same about young female characters in some of the Star War movies. Some may find annoying too that there are little story lines that appear, and then are left unresolved, like what happens to the evil queen after she exits? Because of this, on occasion, one feels like the producer is setting up plot lines for future sequels. Hopefully that's true, and a sequel is coming! I'd buy tickets immediately!