Review: Beowulf (1999)

Christopher Lambert stars in this fantasy actioner which is based on the ancient Beowulf poem. A monster is killing off the citizens of an isolated fortress, and a hero is needed. It’s thumping, violent, different and cheesy enough to be B-movie art.

Great stories can not be told too often, but if you have seen or heard the Beowulf story a few times, you start to ask yourself if something can be done to spice it up. This 1999 adaption starring European action actor Christopher Lambert (Highlander, Greystoke) is the answer to your preyers. The basic story is the same – a monster is terrorizing the inhabitants of a small kingdom (in this case a fortress) and only a hero from the outside can kill it – but in this version details are pushed beyond what have been shown in other movies. For example, without spoiling too much of the movie, the story takes place in something that looks medieval but isn’t. And Lambert’s Beowulf is much more reluctant than other Beowulfs. He is also less hero-like. There is also a twist to the relationship between Hrothgar and Grendel. And a detail such as the score – powerful electronica from Juno Reactor – adds oomph to the movie in a way that an orchestral score could not have done, taking the movie’s size and scope into consideration. Vikings are nowhere to be seen, but since most adaptions are Viking related, it’s interesting to put this film into the expanding universe of Beowulf.

Lambert almost only stars in medium budget independent movies, and this is no exception, which shows clearly in the CGI, which was not great even for 1999 standards. Thankfully, there is not a lot of it and most of what you see (environments, props, costumes) is physical, which in this case creates a believable atmosphere. On the technical side, it can also be noted that Lambert uses stunt doubles in quite a few scenes, and this dilutes the action a bit but his trademark squinting acting makes up for that. Chris Lambert is not a cool actor in everyone’s eyes, but he fits this role well. He’s not a muscle actor, but he projects authority in almost anything he does, and adds weight to this particular movie.

Thumping, violent, different and cheesy enough throughout to be B-movie art, Beowulf is perhaps not the best adaption of the ancient Norse poem (it certainly has many flaws) but it is perhaps the most creative. That, coupled with decent amounts of violence, sex / nudity and Rhona Mitra (once the leading contender for the role of Tomb Raider) makes it a must-see B.

Rated 8 of 10.

Directed by Graham Baker.

USA / UK, 1999.

Review: The 13th Warrior

This was a movie I looked very much forward to when I first heard about it. It was supposed to be a Viking movie with a twist, and I was not disappointed. It’s a fresh and different and packed fantasy actioner, but with interesting layers.

Antonio Banderas plays an Arabic poet who accidentally joins a group of Vikings when they are called back from Southern Europe to their homeland. A cry for help had come from a small village who had been attacked by bear-like demons, and more manpower was needed to stand against the attacks.

The 13th Warrior was a flop in theatres, which I don’t understand. I think the movie has many aspects that should have made it more popular than it was. First of all it is a good action adventure, set in the Viking age which to me is always attractive. There is lots of action and gory scenes, but the twist is that elements of horror and dark fantasy has been added. Perhaps 15% of the film is basically a horror movie. And I think they exploited the horror element good, without making it supernatural. This movie has action, horror, suspense, a little romance, and good characters, wrapped in a visual look and an atmosphere that will appeal to fans of dark and realistic fantasy, not just the Viking crowd. Perhaps the movie was ahead of its time, as fantasy films still were looked upon as corny in the late 90s. The Lord of the Rings part one did not come out to change that until two years later.

For a Viking movie the characters are surprisingly good. The Vikings are not portrayed only as savage brutes, even if their rough edges are present too. In fact, most of the Vikings are portrayed as modest, tolerant, willing to learn, brave, sensitive, and / or intelligent. They are not just violent rapists or muscular fighting machines, which some movies seem to prefer. The same basically goes for Banderas too, as the poet-turned-fighter who learns to admire the Viking way and who feels he is taken seriously enough to agree to fight for the lives of his new comrades’ wives and children. I like Banderas, and he is good in this movie. He doesn’t act like a movie star, but as the Arab stranger he is. His part in the movie isn’t blown up either, compared to his position in the story.

Other things I appreciate about The 13th Warrior is that one of the underlying subtexts is about how we as humans in an international society can learn from and respect other cultures and foreign thinking. The Arab poet learns to speak Nordic and to go into fights like a Viking, and in return the Vikings (or at least one of them) learns to write Arabic and see that the Arabs know how to breed good horses. These things symbolize global tolerance and multilaterial understanding, which you may or may not find to be a good thing, but it does add value to the movie.  You might also want to dig into the whole Beowulf connection; another main character is Buliwyf and the story itself is a variation of the old English heroic poem.

For Scandinavians it is always interesting to see a Viking movie, because it is our past, like Westerns are to Americans. The 13th Warrior is an American production, but it has several Norwegian actors in key roles, including Dennis Storhøi in the second main role, after Banderas. I thought it was great that they cast several Norwegians for a major Hollywood production (and also the Swedish veteran Sven Wollter as an old king) but the guy who plays a young angry king is known from a series of funny commercials (among other things), soif you laugh when you see him, it can’t be helped! Nevertheless, in a few scenes the actors speak garbled Norwegian, and even the Norwegian actors don’t speak perfect Norwegian, so that was a little weird. The American actors had been coached in Norwegian by a woman from Latvia, who was a linguistic expert but only spoke Swedish of all the three Scandinavian languages!

The locations look convincingly Norwegian, as do the costumes and sets. I have never heard about a tribe of cannibalistic bear-worshippers before though, so that must be the product of Michael Crichton’s imagination. The cannibals and how they are introduced and portrayed work well for bringing the movie into fantasy land, away from the historical adventure it otherwise would have been.

I have seen The 13th Warrior three times and I enjoy it more every time. It’s fresh and different and actionpacked, but with interesting layers for those who bother to look.

Rated 8 of 10.

Directed by John McTiernan.

USA, 1999.