THE NORTHMAN - Movie Review
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- čas přidán 21. 04. 2022
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#thenorthman #moviereview #deepfocuslens - Krátké a kreslené filmy
btw, the story of prince amleth is an old scandinavian legend that shakespeare based hamlet off of. he literally just moved the h to name his character haha. so this was actually the first depiction of what started the “brother kills brother, son takes revenge” trope, not hamlet.
Thank you
Fantastic flick
good eye, I missed that anagram.
@@jakemize9619 i did too at first! i only realized while saying it one day lol; seems so obvious but it actually is in fact, very well hidden.
so.
I don't really know why people were expecting something super deep. It was sold as a viking revenge saga and I got a viking revenge saga. I was satisfied 🤷♂️
You don't know why people were expecting something with depth, from a director known for making movies with depth? It's very simple to understand.
When an auteur says they are doing a story based on a trope, people aren't expecting a generic version of that trope. They're justifiably expecting a worthwhile spin on it.
Yes. The flip flop didn't have the Hamlet kind. But the Hollywood one, love and family vs. Masculine duty
Completely agreed
Its not about lack of depth, its just not a well told story
@@BlueZirnitra maybe from a marketing standpoint Eggers wanted to build on his audience instead of being the "selfish indie guy" that makes movies only for himself.
This movie was amazing, seems like we saw two different movies! To each their own though 🤙🏻
Agree.
Don’t agree, thought it was great. After that scene with nicole kidman i became fully invested in the main character and i loved the execution of the action scenes. Only the first part of the film needed some extra layer imo
Just saw it now I actually got hooked once the Berserkers came on.
I think my main issue was the fact that we're on the farm for 70-80% of the movie. I wanted to be anywhere but there. Would've felt more like a journey if he didn't just quick travel via boat, but instead worked his way there, encountering characters along the way. I don't know. I liked certain moments, like the berserker section, which could've been so much longer). I think it's ultimately a problem with the script.
I love your succinct review, even a year later haha. Couldn't agree more.
saw this last night and i thought it was brilliant in many ways. eager to hear what you think!
edit: yikes 💀
I agree with you. The movie was amazing.
It is brilliant!!
Watched the movie 5 times in theaters. Idk why people don’t like it lmao it’s the best movie ever IMO
I think she got 800 up votes premature
@@OrderFromPain I’ll tell you why, the story was very simple that we don’t get much connection with the characters especially the protagonists dad. So we don’t even know if his death was worth avenging for or just for the sake of the story. The action sequences are so poorly done. The performances are not all that great especially from our protagonist.
Agree to the extent that it's quite a surface level film. In terms of grit and mood though, completely disagree. He hit the nail on the head there. How could this film be any grittier?! The violence was already too much in certain moments. Same goes for the cinematography. It's nothing short of masterfully done!
"How could this film be any grittier? The violence was too much in some moments...." uuuuuuuuu i liked how this sounded, a lot. DFL says its too Hollywood, she doesnt feel the grit.....i tend to agree with her reviews but i wanted to check this film out this weekend since i liked the witch and the lighthouse. Maybe that Hollywood gore you guys are referring to its like Fury, which half my friends hated it (WW 2 Geeks) and half liked it. I was in the latter camp, since i saw it like a WWII Fast&Furious fun violent movie.....hmm idk if u like to rate films but what score u give it from 0 to 10???
I thought the violence was the perfect level of brutal without having to show much fucked up gore
@@pinkmidi6553 agreed. Doesn't go full indie horror in being possibly alienatingly brutal, but it's intense and visceral enough to really criticize our enjoyment of period violence. In my opinion, at least
The violence is stylized though. You can watch it with a certain level of detachment.
The violence was not too much at any point, not for a film about barbaric vikings lmao. Though it isn't a criticism of mine, I can see why someone would want more
The first time in my life I felt this primal hunger for revenge. I watch a lot of movies and now I realise I hardly ever care about what will happen to characters. I'm just interested in what film wants to tell me. Here I want this ( beautiful and super ripped) man to fulfill his destiny and protect the honor of his family
he's not that ripped in this; he acc looked kind of bloated esp. around the midsection (not that warriors of the past would have looked like modern fitness models or 'ripped'). He is bloody massive tho
I wish this had been produced under A24. It’s clear that there was studio interference here. Robert Eggers admitted that he knew the studio wouldn’t give him the final cut when submitting the script. The Northman feels so subdued and restrained compared to his previous works. It could’ve been so much more than it turned out to be :(
That's on him for letting them dunk their nuts in his coffee and drinking it with a smile on his face afterwards.
You’re being disingenuous. Eggers was satisfied with the final cut. Even admitted it was the most entertaining cut. Because of the sizable budget, it needed to make money.
@@deazl666 How am I being “disingenuous” for stating the information I received at the time? There were tons of articles talking about how Eggers didn’t have the final cut of the film, and interviews that made it seem like he was less than satisfied with it. This comment was from a month ago, and although more information has come out about it, my opinion about the film feeling restrained compared to his previous works still stands. No need to make assumptions and attack people’s character smh.
I loved it! As someone who really didn't like The Lighthouse, I thought felt like The Northman brought the weirdness from The Lighthouse but gave it purpose and anchored it with a compelling mythic narrative.
To me, the epic myths are not about the narrative complexity or thematic cohesion. They are quite literally the superhero stories of that era. I think Eggers captures that glossy nature of it, modernizes certain aspects in a way that's very compelling, and ups the viscera of it in a way that forces us to acknowledge the sheer devastation of the events depicted.
I also totally disagree about the visceral nature of the violence. Eggers doesn't go full Ari Aster or anything, but this is the most brutal Hollywood film I've seen in years, and the long take fight scenes gives everything an unflinching quality, forcing us to confront the devastation without basking in it or exploiting the suffering of its characters.
I loved The Witch too, and I think Eggers is at his best when he revels in the periodicity of his settings while 'flirting' with magical realism, and that's exactly what he does here. I was afraid his style would be lost in the transition from indies to a big budget spectacle, but if anything I think it has allowed him to continue to explore his style on a much grander scale, but with (in my opinion, necessary) restraint to keep things cohesive, as The Witch was. Probably my favorite Eggers film and to people who are able to, I highly recommend seeing it in theatres. It is filled with gorgeous visuals and the score and sound design is so transporting and evocative.
I think your experience might have been spoiled by your expectations. The Witch and The Lighthouse were obviously very strange, 'A24 indies,' which is kind of a genre unto itself, and this is a big budget, Focus Features, Hollywood blockbuster first and foremost. It was always going to be glossier and more accessible, way less of an auteur piece. In this case I think that may be for the better.
To me The Lighthouse is the greatest horror film ever made, its a lot more layered than you think, and the most layered horror film in the last 10 years. Think of it as purgatory for the main characters soul and youll enter a new rabbit hole
I understand if it isn’t quite for you tho
@@XDarkBrotherhoodHD The LH is the greatest horror film ever made?? Now this i gotta heard.
@@XDarkBrotherhoodHD Idk so I love the weirdness of it. I dig the performances, the style, the cinematography, the score and sound design. But The Lighthouse always felt weird for the sake of weirdness? Like if you're going to go for that level of absurdity, it needs to be anchored by something, or there needs to be some sort of logic to it, even if it's an absurdist logic like in a Lanthimos film. I never got a sense of cohesive logic in The Lighthouse and ultimately it just felt like "hey that's cool!" for about 2 hours and nothing beyond that.
I should also probably rewatch it because, in fairness, I watched it in theatres, which for that film I don't think is ideal. I definitely needed subtitles and the aspect ratio made the whole thing feel like the images were stretched out. And I also happened to watch it right after seeing Parasite which to me was the best film of that year so i was already setting up for disappointment
@@looney1023 like I said think of it as purgatory for ones soul and it’s entirely different, the cohesion is there its just brilliantly hidden throughout
@@fungus_am0nguz644 in my opinion yes
Love your reviews but i really disagree on this one, the acting is on next level and for me the balance between the visual style of Eggers mix with the sense of epicness its right on the point. I love the movie so much, the contrast between the brutality and violence of the battles with the beauty ot the iceland landscapes did it for me. I think you really have to give credit to Eggers that feels like a real and passionate film-maker in a time when cinema is mostly dry and lack of passion
The details/excecution ARE the film, and the familiar story is merely the skeleton on which the awesomeness is built. Its aim is probably not to go deep into the grit/violence, but instead to entertain moment-to-moment through exquisitely composed shots, hypnotizing camera movement, stellar use of audio and music, mysticism/lore, primal ferocity, rock'n'viking'roll and a musical and poetic underlying heartbeat that makes this masterwork feel like one big artistic thrill ride signed Eggers, story be damned. There's a time and place for feeling for characters, but this is the time to just observe their fates and instead feel the craft (and world) itself. And for me, the battles were way too short to strike me as monotonous, but I guess it comes down to how one uses the word.
Hopefully you'll warm to it in time and see it for its strengths.
One of the best films i`ve ever seen on the big screen.Truer to vikings than the crap fake tv shows
Excellent review, as always. Just got out of the film. Still digesting, but had a very simmilar feeling of not being pulled into the viscerality in a way that I hoped.
This movie is a Masterpiece 🔥. Hamlet meets Lion King meets Vikings. Highly recommend.
Absolute stunning movie. My jaw was dropping constantly😱😱😱
Dont belive this comment, its really bad
@@danielpersson7483 it's your opinion.
Lion King is already a version of Hamlet
go and watch barbie girl lady@@danielpersson7483
I think you are going too harsh on this movie but alas, it is your review after all.
I personally loved it from the sets and casting, the narrative and some of the plot. The Lighthouse is still my favourite of Eggers but this movie feels more ambitious in every level.
Definitely more ambitious, but the Lighthouse is wayyyyy more layered, tighter paced and its got everything that made horror classics of the past “classics”
@@XDarkBrotherhoodHD Completely different genres and stories to tell, though. A psychological horror will obviously be a different experience than a warrior hero's epic tale of revenge. Don't disagree with you, but many people seem to have tainted their Northman viewings with expectations based on his previous films, rather than allowing themselves to enjoy Eggers' versatility.
I’m a huge Eggers fan, love both of his other films, especially the lighthouse. Maybe only because I’ve rewatched it more times than the witch.
I would say you have a more artistically critical eye than I do with film, but holy cow do I agree with you on this take. Struggled with this film on a lot of levels that I couldn’t quite articulate- throughout most of it, I felt myself trying to enjoy it (because I wanted to love it) but fundamentally not connecting to any of the story or characters (other than Kidman’s). I would absolutely prefer this movie to the general pablum, but I absolutely agree with most of your criticisms here.
I don't know what is not fuck up about our main character chopping on someone's throat. I thought the film did a great job of explaining and showing the Viking brutality without also making it a gorefest. There is a lot of gore still there.
This is Eggers’ best film yet in my opinion, it really feels like a true Viking epic put to screen. The Northman definitely plunges viewers into the deep end of Norse history, mythology, culture, and tradition, for the better in my opinion. The Lighthouse and The Witch are phenomenal as well but this felt like Eggers was transcending his craft to the next level. I’d love to see his take on The Iliad/The Odyssey.
It's terrible.
@@petergambaccini7396 no you
My expectations were set when I read The New Yorker article on how much studio interference there was on the edit of the film and how much focus group testing it had to go through. I still love his work in this film, but the extra hour he had to cut out to make it more mainstream makes me love it less than I would otherwise. I hope one day we can get the long cut.
A director's cut would be perfect!
@@kevlow9494 he’s not doing one sadly, just deleted scenes on the blu ray
He has said that the theatrical cut is the director's cut. Everything that was cut was cut for a reason.
Ari Aster had a 4 hour cut of Midsommar and even then his director's cut was only 3 hours. There's always a paring down process
Wow, good to know. Even while watching it really seemed obvious to me that the movie was ruined in the editing
Damn, i feel like we saw completely diferent movies. I think is the first time i do not agree with any of your negative takes towards a film, but hey, it was bound to happen right?
Others have pointed out that this is based on the story that actually preceeds Hamlet. For me, the straightfordwarness of the storytelling gives it a mythical feel rather than a "basic" one. Can't wait to see it again.
I heard someone call this arthouse Conan the Barbarian and that seems pretty apt aha
I enjoyed it.
Awww man. I’m still excited to see it. I know someone on Letterboxd that wasn’t crazy about Eggers’s first two films and referred to him as “a preservationist more than an artist” but really fell head over heels for this film. I love Eggers so I’ll be curious to see how I feel about this.
wow I hate that criticism so much
Wtf was preservationist about the lighthouse? The fact that two guys that historically would have been in a lighthouse.. were in a lighthouse?
@@etagged HIs exact words were this: "he’s always been interested in the images and regions of the past but to me, Eggers has come across like a collector of historical specificities, a preservationist more than an artist. The VVitch has a very interesting sense of place, but I don’t think it has much on its mind beyond being very skilled at evoking it and creating an historically accurate template to build its horror upon. there is darkness in the forest and a creaking dread in the floorboards of the house, but it doesn’t linger permanently in the mind. I feel similarly towards The Lighthouse only more critical towards its fetishistic assemblage of old film technology and downright simplistic interpretations of Greek mythology. both films work very well as singular theatrical experiences, and I have remembered key details from them in the years since, but they never stimulated my mind or filled me with an overwhelming rush of satisfaction to be watching them. The Northman is not beholden to its influences, either narratively or visually, and uses them as launching off points to create its own world. not just through excellent production design, but by mastering his pacing and sense of space. "
The problem is that he's 'preserving' a kind of KKK white supremacists vision of these time periods rather than something that has actual value in its preservation
Well I don’t have a film degree but it seems like this critic is hyper focussed on placing the elements of a movie into closed categories. I’ll just speak for the lighthouse because I liked it better than the witch. The point wasn’t that Eggers was trying to have a museum-like artefact of a lighthouse and put some Greek myth in there. It was an exploration of insanity at sea that included myth, sexuality, history, and psychology/neuroscience (I say neuroscience because of the interesting connections it made between sensation and sanity). Sounds like this critic didn’t enjoy the movie simply because they weren’t open to experiences that are uniquely creative and use the elements inside of categories rather than merely the broad categories themselves. I’d give their review a 6/10.
Just remembering that Robert Eggers complained about the way the studio edited the film. It's not pure Eggers. I haven't seen it and it will take a while.
This film definitely left me wanting more. Especially the fight scenes. Yeah there was heads being chopped off, stabbings, a guy gets a sword driven through his face but you know what it just didnt do anything for me. I think about the film "the last duel" and how the fight scenes in that film made me feel a gut feeling i didnt get the same here. I just didnt leave the theatre saying holy shit as i did when i watched the lighthouse. Robert is one of my favorite directors but i dont know i feel like this film wasnt fully realized or like he was restricted from taking further.
I agree. This film feels like it’s trying to be as artistic as it can be while telling a very conventional narrative. Odd scenes like the ritual in the beginning of the film clash with the dull and serious tone of the rest of it. It looks incredible, but everything else about it isn’t. The ending of the movie, I swear to god, looked just like the dueling scene between Anakin and Obi-Wan in Revenge of the Sith 🤣🤣🤣. Movie could’ve been way better. Also, what do you think about the romance between Amleth and Olga because I feel as if it was shoehorned into the plot?
Eggers had a lot of Hollywood pressure offstage by the producers. He did NOT have final cut. I am hoping we get to see his cut. Thanks Maggie. I'm still going to see it. But my expectations are going to kept low.
He said this cut is his directors cut, there will be deleted scenes but that’s all
I enjoyed this movie. It certainly wasn’t following the same formula as his other 2 films but enjoyed it for what it was. I’m not sure what other motivations you would have expected him to have in the film, pretty straight forward and it worked for me in my opinion
I completely agree! I was expecting so much more, it really didn't feel as epic as I wanted it to be. Amleth's journey wasn't as dyninac or interesting to me. The acting was phenomenal and the cinematography was top notch but overall it left me cold.
I agree with you. I was really excited going into the film and seeing the awesome cast. Personally, I thought this movie lacked substance in the story and script, also the storytelling felt very patchy at times. I never thought I'd dislike a Robert Eggers movie.
Couldnt disagree more , this was an intense movie going experience in my opinion . I was literally full of adrenaline the whole time. I adored every aspect .
BvS profile picture...I wouldn't trust your opinion much.
@@JohnDoe-tm9wz Aw no , very upset some random NPC doesnt value my opinion:/
@@ClarkeAsimov I respect your opinion , but the movie really resonated with me . Everything felt weighty and authentic . I watched the movie on opening night which was a full moon so perhaps it amplified the intensity of the film if you get me . I kived all the battles and psychadelic mythos . Had a spooky vibe . But hopefully Robert Eggers next film is more to your taste !
@@JohnDoe-tm9wz I completely disagree with you.
@@AlabasterSmudge That's fine.
Part of the detachment might come from Sjón's quasi-poetic asides, such as Amleth's "Worry not; when I meet your owner, I will thank him for the warmth you gave me" to the brand he uses on himself. I love the way they contribute to the feeling of an old saga, but a departure from Eggers' usual naturalistic use of period dialogue. Nobody spoke modern English in this period, but even in old Norse they didn't speak in alliterative verse.
So delighted that Alexander Skarsgård is going to star in Lars Von Trier's KINGDOM revival. =)
The Kingdom and Twin Peaks are the 2 greatest TV series EVER
@@kentrobertshaw4289 True and true!
Great film, i have no problem with a story being básic, truth Is human motivation Is not as complex as we(human) think It is
Love your reviews even though our opinions differ greatly on this one. Your criticisms come to mind for a movie like 300 which is a movie I REALLY struggle with for everything you said here. I felt like this was a raw gritty riveting experience. I do agree I needed some added complexity in terms of character and fleshing out themes like in Egger’s previous films. The intensity and violence and grit was all there for me though
this is by far my favorite movie of all time now. I have Viking ancestry, and practice the religion of Norse Paganism. I absolutely loved it
In summation:
"I wish this big budget studio film was more like an indie art house film because that's what I prefer."
Can we just be glad that an indie filmmaker got a chance to make a big studio film and it didn't turn out to be a piece of garbage?
I have to agree with you here. The Northman was a terrible disappointment. I had a feeling that it was going to be pretty much everything you said when I first saw the trailer but I told myself that it just HAD to be more because it was Eggers. Both The Witch and The Lighthouse are incredible, surreal works of art and I appreciate the fact that they both embrace the supernatural without apology (well arguably The Lighthouse). The Northman unfortunately plays that game where you're like "oh wow: these are some supernatural events brought about by the Gods, only to say 'just kidding' it's all in his head". I don't go to see an Eggers movie to see a basic Viking revenge story. This just could have been so much more. More of Bjork, more of Willem Dafoe, more mysticism, more character development, more magic. Sure, it's historically accurate for the most part, the costumes are impeccable and it will please Viking enthusiasts but it just misses the mark. I can't say that it's a "bad movie" but it's really nothing special. Alexander Skarsgard being a one dimensional muscle head just didn't cut it for me and the love story fell flat on its face. There could have been so much more done with Anya Taylor-Joy's character as well. I really hope Egger's goes back to what he's good at and ditches the big Hollywood movie plan because he, himself is capable of so much more.....
What were you expecting? It’s a high budget Hollywood movie. It was never ever marketed as anything but a revenge story. Comparing the witch or the lighthouse to the Northman is like comparing braindead/dead alive to lord of the rings.
Personally, I like low budget Eggers more. His stuff doesn’t mix too well with studio execs ideas. If it wasn’t for them though we would’ve never gotten this epic flic.
Anytime there’s a fight in a volcano in a movie, it’s my type of movie 😂. Definitely don’t agree with the “Disney-like” tone. The ball game scene was so brutal, but it’s definitely not Egger’s best and was a passion project for Skarsguard, Lars Knudsen and Sjón (who was brought in by Bjork oddly enough).
Is Eggers still doing a Nosferatu movie? I’m so down for a return to the horror genre for him
I just watched it and I wish I could disagree with You... but unfortunately I can't. It was all too theatrical and too distant for me. It made brutality and gore more bearable, but not for a moment I felt the real tension. Except for the scene of confrontation of Amleth with his mother I've never really felt surprised.The end of the movie was obvious from pretty much the beginning. And when Amleth felt to the ground with the sword in his body I was half expecting that this prop would fall from under his arm. Btw I love history and I'm a huge fan of the vikings. I also grew up reading Thorgal (I'm not sure if it's popular in US, but it certainly is in Europe). I love all the work that went into clothes, sets, portraying Norse mythology etc. This film was in theory made for someone like me. But because of how artificial and staged all the story felt I ended up looking at my watch couple of times during the screening. I'm quite dissapointed. I wish the director instead of showing us norse poem/shakespearian play would go for showing real people living through real events (by that I mean people I can believe in). A bit of mythology and prophecies is fine (especially given how supersticious those people were), but this... it was like watching pagan version of some bible story.
As a swedish person the fact that they spoke english just took me right out of the movie , i dont care how much detail that went into the clothes or wtv the magic was gone
To be fair it is an American, Hollywood production, so it was always going to be English-language even though it's a Scandinavian legend, but I can definitely understand that the selective period/setting accuracy can be a barrier to some in either direction (either too alienating or not evocative enough)
@@looney1023 so what, Apocalypto was American production but it was done properly
Why dont you make your own damn movies then? Its an AMERICAN movie. Also, vikings didnt speak modern Swedish buddy
@@scythianking7315 so what I say, authenticity is important, did you hear of Mel Gibson and his Apocalypto and The passion
@@scythianking7315 "Also, vikings didnt speak modern Swedish buddy" i know that buddy that wasnt what i was saying lol icelandic is close enough tho for an example they couldve used that, they even had Björk in there and Alexander Skarsgård could prob handle icelandic. ATLEAST if they spoke Icelandic i would personally buy into the movie magic more. It just sounds funny to hear English in this context for me, i dont mean to be rude it just takes me out of the movie thats all.
Thank you for taking one for the team and seeing this for me.
On the subject of totems, the obelisk in 2001 Space Odyssey comes to mind. Natural (dis)order meets straight lines. What could be more alien. I’d really enjoy a segment on some of your favorite examples
I must say Maggie I appreciate your channel. Your raw and honest perspectives on these films. Keep it up😊
I thought it was excellent. Maybe not a masterpiece like Gladiator or Revenant (thought the catching snow scene was kinda facepalmy) but it's a very solid film rich in mythology while not jumping the shark in terms of being unbelievable. If you expect a popcorn film you can't leave disappointed, if you're expecting a life changing experience you're going to leave disappointed.
This is the first review of this movie that I've seen where I agree with every word. You so eloquently describe exactly what caused this movie to fall flat. I also loved The VVitch & The Lighthouse, & I feel that this movie is missing a lot of Egger's special touch. I know there were a lot of production delays due to the pandemic & that due to the already large budget there was much more studio intervention than the last two films. I think that's what made this feel less cohesive versus the last two movies where Eggers was clearly in the driver's seat.
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Excellent review!! I do appreciate this film as a “blockbuster” that is just a great movie experience. It’s not that profound and the story is not that great but it offers others things that typical blockbusters don’t.
What kept me really engaged in the film (and what elevated it beyond just being an average revenge film) was the idea of Amleth as an unreliable narrator. There's a short scene where Amleth goes to retrieve the legendary sword he will use to take his revenge and he imagines this big battle with the sword's guardian, only for the film to cut to him unceremoniously taking the sword from an ancient corpse. It reframed the entire film for me as seeing through the eyes of a mentally unstable person with delusions that are enhanced by psychidelic drugs and indoctrinated by his father from a young age to a cruel and violent definition of honor. I don't really think that the big epic finale occurred in the volcano at all, as the prophecy foretold, and the final shot of Amleth riding to Valhalla is really just one last delusion before he goes to the true afterlife, whatever that is. I'm a big fan of Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, a video game that explores Norse mythology through a young woman suffering from psychosis, which probably affected my view of the film.
Thank you for being honest. With all of these super positive reviews I thought I was crazy for not liking it at all. Whew I’m not crazy
Yes, you are :)
I checked some of the 2-star and 1-star reviews on google from audience, and some of them were actually very close to how I feel. So fear not you are not the only one who disliked the movie :)
Agreed with your review. I wanted so much to like this movie, but mostly it just made me think how good Conan the Barbarian was.
I also have mixed feelings. I felt that the story was predictable, everything was going by the mechanics of a revenge story after the initial setup. Yes, it is a great theater experience, but it is a one-note film, there is not a lot of depth, the characters are one-dimensional. His previous films were driven by the characters motivations which led to unexpected resolutions, in this one the characters are trapped in the script of a typical revenge story.
There's only one small surprise related to Nicole Kidman's character but it doesn't have any impact to the overall story. I was a bit bored at the end, sorry.
Great review. This is a very safe film. I think Eggers may have had studio pressures due to the budget of the film, but it feels very disconnected and lacking vision to me.
I was really excited that Eggers was doing his first actual epic film. I was hoping that this would catapult him into the spotlight kind of like what The Dark Knight did for Christopher Nolan. Sorry to hear it didn't win you over. I still want to see it though.
Exactly how I felt. Wanted to like it, but it felt stilted and choreographed. The village scene at the beginning ruined my sympathy for the main character. The film could have still gone in an interesting direction if it were some hallucinogenic tale of blood and vengeance like Mandy or Valhalla Rising. But alas. Just... meh. 3/5
I pretty much agree with you. I think it’s a missed opportunity. He could have gone so much deeper but ultimately it’s just an action film. Which isn’t my cuppa tea.
I think maybe he just wanted to make a big action movie , and if so he achieved that. But we can get action movies elsewhere, we need RE to make deeper films
I absolutely loved this film. So beautifully shot, the mood was cold sorrow, which is the mood of Amleth's heart, journey and destiny. The choreographed action, the sets, attention to periodical detail, the language, wardrobe, the bringing back a game that was played back then (sort of a hockey alternative to the death) and the volcano battle and the murder and treachery and betrayal and hallucinogenic trips and lore and music and location...STUNNING film. Is it something I will watch at least once per year? Well, no, it is Hamlet after all, and Hamlet is not a "fun" watch, no matter how it is told.
My thoughts exactly pretty much. The costume and set design is, as all of Eggers' films, top notch, and I like it enough on that level alone. But like you say it just feels so unfocused and rushed, really not allowing space for the subtlety and atmosphere that made previous two so good. Still glad he made it though, I imagine he has more up his sleeve, though I heard he unfortunately might've abandoned his Nosferatu adaptation.
100% agree with is review. I thought this was poorly written and under developed.
Didn't think the guy who made The Witch and The Lighthouse would then go on to make a film where good guy and bad guy fight at the end on a volcano.
I was so dissapointed with this fim. I couldnt invest myself emotionlly at all and felt numbed to the violence after 20 mins. I was suprised at his kind of macho hollywood style fight scenes, yes they were viscious and gory but they just felt contrived and a bit silly - silly in a bad way because boy does this film take itself seriously , felt like i was watching that monty python scene where lancelot clears out a whole fortress, only monty pthon is hilarious. Cant help but feel a bit bad for eggers though. Hed made such a prounonced name for himself with the first two features and suddenly had 70 mill thrown at him to choregraph a blood bath. Still have hope for whatver he does next - hes clearly capable of masterpeices. The only scene that really got me was when he met his mother again. The way skararsgards face suddenly looked so boyish and innocent infrot of the mother i thought was fantastic - really thought that was going to be a turning point for the film and it would explore something more intersting. Instead it got worse. A poorly paced slog to complete the narrative in the way we were all told (barked at) would play out. Beatiful shots tho :) wish there was more going on at the sceneic locations.
At last someone with some common sense! Thank you! It totally sucked. All of it seemed fake. And not fake in production stuff, but as you said, it never pulled you in, you were always watching a movie. Imagine if it were more in the spirit and aesthetic of 1981s Excalibur, for example. A film so fantastical yet so real you can't look away for a second. That might've been something but this is Hollywood crap. The fighting sequences were so bad, the terrible casting of Kidman and Hawke, the extremely crappy drab digital video look. I totally fell asleep. It was boring and formulaic. Vikings TV series seasons 1-4 was a lot better for crying out loud.
This movie felt like a cross between Hamlet and Conan the Barbarian, but not as satisfying as either.
I have a group of friends who saw Nicholas Winding Refn's Valhalla Rising years ago and ended up deeply disappointed. I think that they expected something like Thor and the Avengers vs. John and The Book of Revelations. When I saw it, a few months later, of course I loved it.
I think that The Northman is the movie that my friends expected, while with Valhalla Rising Refn out-Eggarded Eggers. Interestingly enough, NWR is Danish.
I don’t think the Come and See comparison is really fair. That’s a full-on war movie. The point of it is to convey the horrors of war, where as this is a revenge tale, as you say. So I understand what you mean, this film doesn’t convey the brutality of the Vikings to that extent, but I don’t think that’s the point. I don’t think the violence in this film is supposed to come off as gut wrenching because that’s not how it feels to our protagonist. For him, it’s everyday life. It’s his way of getting what he ultimately wants.
This is really interesting, because other reviews praised it. Thank you for balancing things out. I think this will make me enjoy the film more, because I won't be as influenced by the hype.
I hope Bergman directed a version of The Rite of Spring, but I think you meant The Virgin Spring, which is great. I'm still looking forward to this movie, because I loved The Witch and The Lighthouse, so we'll see. Maybe revenge is just overdone. Thanks for your reviews!
I prefer "the 7th Seal" to "the Virgin Spring", but I appreciate how both immerse the viewer into Medieval Sweden on a modest budget. Blockbusters kind of bore me. Sound and Fury, etc.
@@johnpjones182 Bergman considered the Virgin Spring a mistake and said all he had done there was an imitatino of Kurosawa
Bergman DID direct a version of the Magic Flute
EPIC DAMN MOVIE!!!! I love the brutal honestly of Viking culture and religion.
I was surprised at how hardcore the studio allowed the final cut to be, im sure if it was in eggers full image it would’ve been a lot less “Hollywood” with the depiction of violence i did absolutely love it though but see what you’re saying it straddles the line of art house and big budget scopic stuff (imo a little better than you imply) to a not completely successful degree and that may not be the liking of people who enjoy almost strictly arthouse stuff and it’s DEFINITELY NOT the lighthouse or the vvitch whatsoever which is something people should definitely be prepared for going in
This will probably be a new addition to her movies everyone else loves that she hates lol. Regardless I would appreciate more films like this in theatres. Box office is probably gonna disagree though.
I just got home from seeing this and straight away came to watch your review and I'm so glad we seem to have similar opinions. I was really disappointed in it considering how much I've enjoyed Eggers other works. It was a very long, boring 2.5hrs.
Maybe because he's speaking to a different audience perhaps?
@@darnellmajor9016 I don't really care who he is trying to directly speak to, I didn't find it anywhere near as engaging or epic as a lot of people seem to. Which isn't to say I'm right and they're wrong, movies are subjective and it doesn't make my opinion any less valid. If you enjoyed it, great. But you can still be critical of a piece of work regardless of who it is "intended for".
Like you, I so wanted to love this movie but was left with a "meh" feeling, when walking out of the cinema. There is this cool twist that you also mention but it goes nowhere and in the end I just didnt care for the characters. The movie is also extremly dark and at times it was hard to see what was actually happening. I hate when movies do that. The Northman for sure has quality in it but unfortunatly I felt like it was style over substance for the most part.
Could you review A Hidden Life (2019) next?
I'll do it for you, it was meh
@@reflexfine8267 I completely disagree with you.
@@AlabasterSmudge what can I do. The thin red line is one of my favorite movies and only Malick's masterpiece
I completely agree with your insights, watching this in the theater felt super underwhelming and like you said - monotonous. Too bad, was expecting more
ok this is definitely a new critique and a welcome one "i didn't like the film because it was to soft and weak, he didn't go hard enough."
I really appreciate your opinion on this movie! This is definitely a hot take as I’ve only heard good things. Will definitely watch it with a good eye
Thank you for the review
I kind of agree with this review. This was my most anticipated film of the year, but with the release of the trailer and the interviews that came after i knew it wans't going to be great. I still enjoyed it, but not on the same level as The Witch or The Lighthouse. I believe that filming for Warner really damaged his vision, specially in the dialogues which most of time were bland (they had to add new dialogues in post-production because audiences on the first screen tests were a little confused). The production design, the camera work and the performances were great, but i only saw Eggers "magic" in a few scenes.
Eggers and Jarin Blaschkes most Hollywood looking/feeling movie. Alexander Skårsgard’s screen presence was brutal for about 20% of the movie and then soft the other 80%. It didn’t quite work for me either.
I just stop when you compare this to a Disney movie…
It had a cheesy Hollywood love story. Complete with Masculine risk taking being thwarted by female 'think of our love and family'... thank god men like Christopher Columbus et al take risks
I think the problem is that I expected a certain filmmaking from Robert after the Witch and Lighthouse and while this still has some flavors of his style in here, altogether it’s a very by the books revenge tale. Style over substance. BUT I had to remind myself that apparently this is based on an old tale and not fully original so I don’t know if that had anything to do with the way the story played out. I think this def is the most “safe” out of his movies and as a Viking movie it’s perfect. But as a movie and story from Robert, I def expected more. This was def an experience tho and as for easy to digest bits of Viking violence this is def one of the best
You’re one of my favorite Movie buffs on CZcams ☺️
seems like a lot of comments disagree with you here, but i was nodding along with everything you said, like you pulled the thoughts out of my brain.
i cant believe The Lighthouse had creepier language than a film about norse mythology.
I agree with most of your points, especially that the motivations could've been stronger. I didn't feel anything for the main character at all and the love story kinda just happened with no real chemistry (and as an Anya stan I was really hoping for a good romance there). I did love the aesthetics and how it felt like an immersive retelling of an old legend, which usually don't have super structured plots but are very primal and supernatural. I disagree about the violence though---I appreciated the filmmakers for recognizing that the audience knows what Vikings were, and that we don't have to see all the disgusting details of the r*pes and pillaging. I know other directors would've handled it horribly and tried to be way too edgy and hardcore about it so I appreciate the filmmakers for trusting the audience to understand implications.
I - and my daughter - loved this movie. Visual treat for the eyes. The cinematography was beautiful, the grittiness essential. Again, different people, different opinions. By the way, I loved The VVitch, an outstanding first movie! Wasn't completely sold on The Lighthouse, to me was more of a fever dream sequence than a full movie.
I would be interested on your take of The 13th Warrior? And Excalibur? Two movies that crossed my mind when I saw The Northman, and two movies I loved. I will definitely do a triple feature with them all!
Still, keep up the good work!
I definitely think a lot of the issues with the film happened in the editing room as Eggers has come out and said this was the most difficult film he’s had to edit with the studio interface unfortunately
I totally agree with you! I was expecting a gem of a movie like his last two but... it's a big dissapointment.
I will say I didn't care for 'The Lighthouse.' It was dazzling to behold, and had marvelous moments in it - in fact no one moment of 'The Lighthouse' was anything less than intriguing - but the elements didn't cohere into a good story.
I felt the same! The first 10 min maybe I was like ok this is cool, I dig it. But like a third of the way in i was getting worried like man I am not liking this! I was waiting for something to turn me around on it but I got to the ending still feeling the same. I saw the story coming all the way through and there was nothing new there for me. The production was great and i appreciated the attention to detail but the story felt so flat. I watched several reviews saying it’s a masterpiece and I’m like Uhhhh… oh well. The lighthouse is still my favorite.
Great review. Love the honesty. Saves us the trouble of having to see this movie.
Go watch the film & form your own views lol, the reviews are mostly positive it could potentially resonate with you more
You’re missing a great film.
I really wanted to like this but I thought it sucked. I was totally unimpressed by the fight scenes. It was utterly boring overall. I want to see more films of this type being made but this was a snoozefest for me personally.
Very disappointed with the plot. LOVE wins out over revenge ....much more subtle in The Nightingale where forgiveness wins out over revenge.
Even wishy washy Hamlet had more Masculine resolve, spurning Ophilia
He would have been drawn to a woman like Queen Gorgo from the movie 300
Really late to this review, but I agree. I liked the Witch and the lighthouse but found this really disappointing. You talk about the main character in a revenge saga having to face his identity and motivations. We see Amleth's identity: He's the star quarterback for a band of pillagers. He's a super inflated manly badass. Which would've been fine but I have no sympathy for his quest for revenge and the way it plays out is just absolutely ridiculous. It would've totally been in character for him and the film if he had just gone to his friends and said "let's go raid this asshole in Iceland that killed my dad." They would've said yeah, sounds like a fun weekend. Instead we get this ridiculous plot to pose (badly) as a slave.
I felt captivated by the film. Its far from perfect but thought Eggers mixed the mythology with the story really well. Whilst showing restraint and not going too over the top I feel this helps the film become more "subjective" rather than say "hey i'm a movie, look what I can do"
When i first saw the trailer i was like "a viking movie?? From a big studio?? Aint this a bit played out? Like for the past 5 years its been viking overloaded (vikings, the last kingdom, Valhalla, etc).. then i saw the director (the witch, the lighhouse) and i was interested since i liked both of those films. "What can he do with a big budget, a viking and vengeance theme?" Apparently not much according great YT reviewers....i might give it a chance this weekend though.
Do it; it seems like a pretty divisive film so far. I don’t think it’s a masterpiece but found the visuals/sound design intoxicatingly atmospheric and transportive.
Plus it has mushrooms.
@@loganlowe3731 but the trip in the beginning is henbane
Yeah, definitely a disappointing effort from Eggers, whose first two films are great. Certainly seems that with this bigger-budget production, he had to cave more to producers and to test screening audiences, which is lame of course.
For a visceral, atmospheric Viking saga, I’d still go for the much less plot-driven Valhalla Rising from Nicolas Winding Refn. After seeing The Northman, and its various flaws, it makes me appreciate Valhalla Rising that much more.
I wouldn't say disappointing effort. Do you know how much effort it takes to make this kind of movie. Honestly, probably more than his two other films.
I just saw it again and yea...it feels soooooo pedestrian. It reminds me of those WW2 movies where all the german soldiers are played by Brits doing German accents, speaking fluent English but also saying things like "danke". compare the actual language of The Witch or The Lighthouse compared to northman...they're in different leagues.
Haven't seen Northman but feel the same way about The Witch, The Lighthouse period authenticity, details over everything else with the actors playing to the balcony except Anya Taylor Joy in The Witch. Ineffectual Grand Guignol.
I agree with your review, you expressed a lot of what I felt about it in a way I couldn't. Disappointingly shallow film. Seems like most people enjoyed it tho
It seems that pretty much everyone who doesn't like this movie or has issues with it is simply not understanding the mindset/worldview that comes out of the old sagas. This movie is trying to depict medieval people as they were described in those stories and it's trying to suggest the presence of the gods, the supernatural, of fate, and how these elements were associated with very concrete day to day experiences including shamanistic like practices. These are people with a very specific notion of virtue, of attitudes towards death, towards nature, towards what makes up a good life well lived in a world in which you were lucky to reach the age of 40 and are constantly struggling to survive against nature, animals, and humans who want to kill and enslave your entire family on a day to day basis. However, unlike The Lighthouse, in which bizzare psychosexual shiz happens for no particular reason just to make the movie weird, here the bizzare stuff only appears bizzare if you are a modern person expecting modern, non pagan, non superstitious people to be running around being all introspective and concerned with free will and other stuff like that as they do in Shakespeare. This is not that. The thing that is alienating audiences even further is that even the storyteller/filmmakers is taking on the attitudes and perspectives of something like a skald, a norse poet.
I think Eggers with his period pieces, especially the northman show incredibly well just how frequent violence occurred, and yeah the nordic and viking people were more violent in raids and such but there truly was not a huge amount of internal conflict between groups, it was a lot of individuals from what ive read, and idk, when their in Iceland, having been there, it just looked exactly like I remember, not at all like a movie set, but that Starwars episode three battle ending did look like some movie set, same with some of the volcanoes and certain interiors, but for the most part the interiors of those grass roof cabins are damn accurate. I think the film seems super "Hollywood" because its ultimately asking us to question our endorsement of the violence on screen, in simplistic terms we side with the main character and he's the producer of most of the violence after a certain point early on. I did think the shirtless dudes looked like they were on some kinda PED, and definitely wouldn't be that defined back in the day idk, but I think the film does a great job of tapping into the wave of mainstream movies right now and in a way asking if all the violence and over the top shit is necessary, like I think were supposed to question the main character by the end like a few times. the language was oddly modern tho, and it does feel totally like a Shakespeare play and as if everyone is in sort of mythic legend, and I would agree with you on them stripping the good parts out of hamlet and made him entirely hateful and vengeful. it definitely could've been shorter but I still had a great time and found it more personally and intellectually interesting than the pervious two works, but still it did drag by the end, I just think the Witch and The Lighthouse dragged as well