Valhalla Rising [DVD]

As others have commented this has been mis-sold by the promoters. It has Viking hordes on the front cover, but not in the US version, as they are not allowed to get away with such blatant false hoods.

It is an unusual film a sort of Ingmar Bergman meets Derek Jarman only with a better camera. It is supposed to be a fantasy and as such it is hard to work out what the actual plot is. Starring Mads Mikkelsen as a one eyed sort of prize fighter, he is treated like an animal; only being let out of his cage for fights to the death. He apparently is owned by Barde(I got that from the cover), who is a wealthy Scotsman who obtained him for his fighting skills. If he is such a lethal fighting machine, how was he ever caught?

Any way he escapes; killing everyone except a young lad who comes along and appears to be able to understand the mute `One Eye'. I thought it was going to be a Christian versus Pagan type thing as Christianity is a thread throughout the film. The old sort of Christianity mind, crusading and killing; not the modern sort of caring and turning the other cheek etc. They meet up with some would be crusaders and then go off on a strange voyage to either the Holy Land or to establish a New Jerusalem.

This is a slow, often claustrophobic, stylish and atmospheric film. Writer and director Nicholas Winding Refn clearly knew what he wanted to create; the studio I think had different ideas. He uses music and imagery to drive the narrative forward and whilst it works, the swift and violent changes in pace -there are snippets of violent flash backs and/or premonitions- actually break your concentration. It is like being hooked and somehow getting off the line. It is only 86 minutes long, but does seem a whole lot longer and it leaves so much unanswered that I was left undecided as to whether this is an excellent art house film, that I was unable to get; or slightly disjointed and possibly overly self indulgent. A sort of triumph of style over substance. In the end I think it is somewhere between the two, hence the three stars. Please don't get me wrong I do not think this is a bad film and I shall want to see it again, but that I cannot say that I `loved it' and that is great because I am pretty sure that is not the emotion the makers were aiming for.

A viking chief's pet escapes his cage and goes travelling with a band of viking~christian warmongers, attempting to storm the promised land, only to realise they've actually drifted off course, into a nightmare world of existential self discovery, with the ultimate destination being their own heart of darkness...
Got this expecting a cheap, action filled gore~fest and ended up watching it on a sunday afternoon! Doh! Major mistake, I should've saved this one until about 1am before starting it, intoxicated...Surreal, violent and well shot, with hardly any talking and packed with sumptuous scenery, with only some fake looking cgi blood squirts slightly spoiling the impact.
A great film, and loads better than it should have any right to be going off the cover, for me, I just wish I'd be surprised by more films in this way, but, usually it's the reverse.
Yes it probably is pretentious and up its own back end. So what! I thought it was different and I liked where the director was coming from when I listened to his commentary (which he does along with Dale Winton as part of the extras!), whilst drinking absinthe from a monkey's skull!
If you are a prospective buyer of this movie and you have an open mind and like all genres of cinema, I say go for it! And I wouldn't blame you if you brought some drugs to the table when watching it (not that I promote that kind of thing)! If on the other hand you enjoy more conventional, consumerist, popular cinema, stay clear, because you will no doubt hate it!
4.5/5.

Don't judge a book by its cover and the same can be said for DVDs.
I have to agree with some reviews on here, that the cover is a bit of a missrepresentation but that doesn't make it a bad film. It's not a viking blood fest at all, it's a lot deeper than that. The writer/director's previous work include the film Bronson, and this offering is equaly as arty being well shot and asking you to engage, watch, think and use your mind. In fact I could completely understand and even agree with someone giving this either the 5 star and 1 star review. It will certainly split opinion and without doubt many people will hate it.

I, myself didn't mind it... that much. The story is slightly 2001 space oddysy-esque, revolving around the main character 1eye; a human monolyth who guides you to your fate. Set around a goup of christian missionary vikings, after breaking free from captivity he guides this small group of men to a what they think are the Holy Lands. I must say all this went over my head and I only learnt this when I watched it back with the director commentary - but it made sense instantly and the film is a pleasent watch even without this knowledge.

Only once or twice did I find my attention drifting in this film, which is quite an achievment when you consider the lack of both dialogue and action. Well shot, well directed with some beautiful scenery, and some excellent acting (again considering there are very few lines) the film offers something different. One to watch if you're really into film, at film school or fancy something different, but perhaps one to avoid if you don't want to work for your cinematic releif.

I feel the main problem with this film is not the film itself - but the name and the way it was presented to the people who bought it. I thought it was OK. I enjoyed it but think perhaps I should have enjoyed it more. I'll be taking it back tomorrow I think to be honest - I would have kept it had there been a little more action (its starts excellently blood and guts wise but then tapers off to very little in the way of action) and I have to agree with some other reviews: although the ending works very well for the film, especially when you consider the director's vision of a monolith who appears to guide man towards his end and then returns to the earth, it was very disappointing when you've watched a film about an ultimate warrior and there's no end battle.

So, overall, what would my advice to you be? I would say that unless you're an absolute film fiend who's seen all there is to see, or like me just simply likes watching films and can enjoy them - good or bad - I would give this film as miss. It has a lot to offer but if you only buy a few DVDs or Blu Rays to keep and watch over, I think you'll be disappointed and feel you've wasted your money here; spend it else where. There's much better films out there.

The director say this film should be approached as an acid trip - perhaps that will give you some insight into not what type of film this is, but the type of film it's not.

If you found this review helpful, please give it the thumbs up. If not, comment on why below so I can do a better job for you next time. Thanks :-).