User reviews

I hadn't realized this film was directed by Robert Eggers, else I would've been better prepared. It's not what I expected, and it was hard to really get into.

That said, I can appreciate the film for its art. I would say it's a gem for cinephiles. It's like viewing the imagination of a medieval Viking peasant as he listens to a bard tell the tale of Amleth.

Great for what it is, but does not evoke emotional connection to the characters, and therefore feels less satisfying.

Well, the movie's cover/poster definitely was interesting enough to catch my attention. And I figured that with the movie's 7.8 rating on IMDb, in this writing moment, then I would be in for something grand here.

And I will admit that I was excited to see what writers Sjón and Robert Eggers had in store for me here with the 2 hours and 17 minutes that the movie ran for.

However, I must say that while "The Northman" was watchable, it was ultimately just another run-of-the-mill Viking-inspired movie, for better or worse. Sure, it was a watchable movie and entertaining enough for what it was. But don't get your hopes up for this one. If you've seen other Viking movies, or TV series for that matter, then you already know what you are in for here. Yeah, director Robert Eggers didn't deviate much from the how-to-make-a-Viking-saga-movie blueprint.

Visually then "The Northman" was interesting, as it definitely felt like an era-appropriate movie. I did like the props, costumes, sets, scenery, etc., because it definitely looked and felt like what is usually associated with the Vikings era.

"The Northman" has a good cast ensemble, with the likes of Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Ethan Hawke and even Willem Dafoe. All great talents, sure, but some of them do raise a wondering sensation as to why they were cast for a Viking movie. But on the other hand, I will say that casting Icelandic singer Björk for the movie, despite being a minor role and appearance, was just phenomenal.

Something that didn't sit well with me in "The Northman", was the fact that it was English language based. Sure, I understand that from a wider appeal to the audience approach. But it just feels wrong having Vikings speak English, it just takes away from the atmosphere and the believability. And also the supernatural aspects were somewhat baffling to me. Sure, I understand that the Valkyries are a part of Norse lore, but having a pale woman with retainers on her teeth screaming and sitting on a flying horse just doesn't really work.

I was expecting more than just your average generic Viking movie from director Robert Eggers, and I was somewhat disappointed when the movie just turned out to be a run-of-the-mill Viking movie. It could and should have been so much more, especially for a production of this magnitude.

While "The Northman" is watchable and entertaining enough for what it turned out to be, then this is hardly a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time.

My rating of "The Northman" lands on a six out of ten stars. It is the atmosphere, the brutality in the movie, and some of the performances that managed to snag the rating up from five to a six star rating for me.

Young director Robert Eggers is back at it again with his most recent take on a movie based around vikings, now first of all I have to give full credit to the film when it comes to capturing the brutality of vikings because it is done spectacularly. The film itself is entertaining and the cast delivers great performances all around, this role shows that Alexander Skarsgård has what it takes to be a top tier dramatic actor as he arguably delivers a career-high performance.

Now for people contemplating whether or not they should see the film because Eggers' films so far have been "too artsy" and "not for the general audience" should put their worries aside and purchase their tickets because there isn't much to worry about even though there will be many classic Eggers shots he is typically known for.

As for the small negatives about the film; I felt disappointed in how little we got of Dafoe as he often shines with these types of directors. I do also have to say that the movie isn't exactly how it is shown in the trailers (less action in the final product), some people claim the trailers are superior and even though I enjoyed my time in the cinema I slightly agree with those claims.

This is without a doubt the most Heavy Metal movie since Mad Max: Fury Road. I'm gonna crank up some Amon Amarth later.

Robert Eggers is one of the most exciting and original directors out right now. The Northman is his third full-length film and it just might be my favorite. The Northman is a classic revenge tale (very reminiscent of both Conan The Barbarian and Gladiator) that becomes elevated due to its incredible visuals, uncompromising brutality, fantastic performances, stunning musical score, and authentic depictions of Norse Mythology and Viking history.

Although this is probably Eggers's most accessible film (at least in comparison to both The Witch and The Lighthouse) that hardly makes it accessible to most mainstream audiences, which is probably why this film tanked at the box office. But if you love amazing visuals with brutal action sequences and compelling performances, then odds are you're gonna dig The Northman. Its story and themes may not be the most original, but because this film is so technically flawless, the experience that you get in return is well worthwhile.

Also, it is absolutely criminal that this movie didn't get any Oscar nominations, ESPECIALLY for best cinematography. I guess this movie was just too metal for the academy voters.

Hmm there was a lot of hype behind this one. It was okay but on the balance of things I'm disappointed.

Directed by Robert Eggers and featuring a strong cast - Some dubbed The Northsman to be the Gladiator of the current generation with some of the aesthetics reminded me of Apocalypto. Two of my favourites...

Whilst some of the story beats will remind you of Gladiator, there is no real comparison here. I never really got the sense that this was an EPIC period revenge tail. It felt more like an individual on an undercover mission albeit with a strong revenge motive.

The story was simple and straight forward though Eggers threw in some magic/fantasy moments which at times took away from the story and at worst felt out of place.

Visually the film looked good, the scenery was beautiful, the fight scenes were well done and the violence was well placed within the Viking period.

This will divide audiences. Many with have a higher opinion of it than I do but I wish there was more to tie together the good elements of this film and make a more wholesome package.

Where do I start? No real drama. No character development. The most cornball dialogue. Sloppy plot. Poor use of a potentially spectacular landscape. Bland soundtrack. I think any episode of VIKINGS would surpass this film. I was blown away by how ordinary it was and almost walked out. It was cinema by numbers that added up to far less than its parts. This film should have been absolutely epic. Terribly disappointing. It was well over two hours of boredom. Anyone claiming it a masterpiece should be banned from entering Valhalla!

Hate, revenge, fury and spilled blood, a pretty accurate look back at history.

It's an era I am truly fascinated by, it's not one that's always accurately portrayed, in the case of The Northman, it felt as though efforts were made to make a fairly accurate set of events.

Two things stood out, the visuals, the music, it's a true feast for the senses, visually it is of epic proportions, with incredible use of the landscapes, costumes and special effects, the gore was appropriate, it felt realistic. The music was incredible, and added to the vibe of the film.

The acting, on the whole was terrific, Alexander Skarsgård and Claes Bang in particular, I loved the scenes with Bjork too. The only questionable casting decision for me was Nicole Kidman, I felt she was out of place here.

Thrilling, exciting, pretty accurate, for a long film it moved by very quickly, 9/10.

My impression of this film is that they shot a few cool viking scenes - and decided to make a story around it and just sew it together.

Starts of pretty awkward then moves on to some cool raiding then it's back to awkward drama and weird scenes. Then it's a lot of fight talking then it's drama again. Then it's hallucinations and finally the movie ends.

Alexander is a BEAST but the movie is so poorly edited and the story is.... Predictable.

Beautiful scenery but... I nearly fell asleep.

If you expect a Gladiator type movie with the depth it comes with, you will be have a disappointing experience, like my wife who rated it a 1/5.

If you expect a gory viking slaughterfest with mythical elements, you will be very happy like me and rate it higher. I honestly did not know what I was in for which made me glad I watched it.

I guess it helps if you like violent gory movies. I suspect my wife only wanted to see a trimmed Alexander without his shirt on and she got that, even though he was mostly covered in guts and blood =)

Some fight scenes are exceptionally nice shot without cuts which makes me wonder if they really did shoot it in one take or used movie trickery. I don't really care as it was impressive.

Did it leave a lasting impression? No, not really. Well worth the movie ticket for me in any case.

But yeah. Not much depth to it IMO.

Epic films over Vikings are I think less common than epics about the Roman empire , but they have been always there. An example is "The Vikings" (1958, Richard Fleischer). Although "The Lord of the rings" (2001 - 2003, Peter Jackson) is not strictly Viking, the Tolkien story is undeniably based on Nordic mythology and has given an impetus to the genre.

In the films over the Roman empire their civilisation and their military might are equally emphasized most of the time. In Viking films on the other hand the violence dominates. I hoped that a director like Robert Eggers would change that emphasis. In "The Northman" he did so less drastically than I hoped for. Yes there are some scenes with Nordic religious rituals, but the emphasis is still on the action scenes. I am afraid that to learn more about the Viking culture I have to read the book "Children of Ash and Elm" (2020, Neil Price), what I'm definitely planning.

After "The Witch" (2015) and "The Lighthouse" (2019), "The Northman" (2022) is the first Eggers film with a big budget. The film remains vintage Eggers, but on the other hand it is clear that, compared to his earlier films, Eggers feeled obliged to make the film commercially more attractive by adding some action scenes. The iconic ending scene makes however very clear that "The Northman" in no way glorifies violence.

With vintage Eggers I am not so much reffering to the rituals included but much more to the state of mind of the lead character Amleth (Alexander Skarsgard). In all of his previous films the lead characters had or got a twisted mind. In "The Witch" this is due to a gloomy, stern and depressing religious belief, in "The lighthouse" due to loneliness and in "The Northman" due to all-consuming vengeance. The character of Olga (Anya Taylor Joy) gives Amleth the opportunity to broaden his mind. The opportunity is however not taken.

As already mentioned, Alexander Skarsgard plays the lead character prince Amleth. One might think that this character is based in the Shakespearian Hamlet, but in reality it is the other way around. Amleth is a folkloric character from the writings of the 13th century historian Saxo Grammaticus.

In one of the most cruel scenes Amleth and his fellow warriors conquer and then burn down a Slavic village. This scene also draws attention to the extent of the area in which the influence of the Vikings was felt. In a recent podcast about Russian history I learned that Kiev (the city is once mentioned in the dialogue of "The Northman") is a city with strong Viking influences while Moscow is more influenced by the Mogul culture of Ghengis Kahn.

Go see it, it's an experience. The photography is overwhelming, the music will blow you away, the storyline is captivating and the acting suberb.

The way Eggers interweaved the 'reality' with the mythical is something I haven't seen done before.

Yes it's a revenge movie and so much more.

Yes it's violent and it has to be, no? Those where hard times!

Just go see it. You won't be disappointed.

I have to say that i´m a huge fan of Robbert Eggers and I really enjoyed Witch (2015) and Lighthouse (2019). If you didn´t like those movies I don´t think you will like this one.

The atmosphere of this film reminded me of the videogame skyrim at times which is nice. The acting is mostly good (although the fake scandinavian accent sometimes strange) but the first 15min seem a little "off" with clumsy performances that feel too theatrical/over the top at times.

The film is overall too long with many useless scenes of shamanic pagan rituals (typical of the director) that made me feel dizzy.

The cinematography is excellent, the visuals are exceptional and the music is great.

What is lacking in this film is a good story with a real Hero´s journey arc where the main character´s motives and choices have a real impact on the plot. This movie is simply a very predictable "revenge story" with a small twist at the end. The action scenes were good.

Over all i want to give this movie a 6.5/10 but its not possible. Its well made and enjoyable but i wouldn´t watch it twice.

Robert Eggers is an artist not to be taken lightly. The Northman is an action packed, Norse mythology drenched, gritty, trippy masterpiece. For a time the film will advance with incredible score and cinematography, brainwashing you into entering this world, then suddenly like the beat of a drum, the pacing will transition slow giving you a moment to breath, only to advance the story before leading you back into trippy rhythmic perfection. This movie is definitely not for the faint of heart. If you can allow yourself enjoy the ride, you'll leave revising your list of greatest films. The Northman did in 2 hours what GoT couldn't in 8 seasons.

"A circle jerk for people who like their Viking films figuratively and literally dark." is how my 18 year old son described it, and honestly, despite enjoying it, I can't really disagree with him.

If you're looking for a well directed and atmospheric blend of Viking culture and myth, blended into a dark, violent, and moody revenge thriller then this is for you.

I enjoyed it, I'm glad a saw it on the big screen, and I certainly don't regret the time it took to watch it, but it did seem a little shallow. The performances were fantastic all round, the raw brutal physicality of it is stunning, but it doesn't have much replay value and it's not a film I'm going to go out of my way to watch again.

Where do I start. For me the movie has to be either entertaining or engaging, or ideally both.

Unfortunately The Northman was neither, it was an ugly incoherent mess filled with scenes self absorbed with their on importance.

Every scene is filled with every cliche of grandeur, an epic tension or mystical importance that made the director forget about the people, actual characters that should lead us through the movie.

There is no care for any human development, its not important in the directors vision of grandeur.

It felt like an artist explaining his great vision behind his painting, while you are staring at a dot on a canvas and thinking wtf.

I sat through the first one and a half hour and gave up.

Not for me.

On its face, The Northman is stark and naked, which is perfect in relation to the film itself and the story it intends to tell. The deeper aspects are akin to various elements found in the works of Shakespeare; family, betrayal, the inherent natural duty of a man and that of a woman and so on. It is a brutal film, honest and straight forward, leaving any fan of antiquated literature feeling satisfied. Wonderfully shot with a plethora of fresh and unique photography as well as beautiful lighting and color palette elements.

Great sets, check. Scenic locations, check. Blood, murder, and vengeance, check. Meandering script made this seem like it was over 3 hours long. Not impressed at all and was expecting much more.

The Northman's combination of a large budget and epic scale with a slow burn character drama make it an incredibly unique and rare film. A disturbingly violent yet breathtakingly beautiful exploration of the cycle of violence and it's burden on those it consumes.

Alexander Skarsgård gives a phenomenal lead performance, full of a ridiculously intense physicality balanced with a visible pain and trauma. Anya Taylor-Joy is incredible with steely eyed determination and Claes Bang is terrific, bringing depth and nuance to a possibly one note character.

Robert Eggers' direction is excellent, full of satisfyingly long takes, visceral action and some truly surreal imagery. The music by Sebastian Gainsborough and Robin Carolan is perfect, skillfully switching between bombastic, haunting and beautiful.

When the TV series Vikings started the trendy flow of making one after another movies or TV drama series, the world seems never to think it's enough to produce such stuff again and again. But this one indeed is the worst outcome with Vikings historical or legendary fantasies.

The story itself sucks, the scenarios, the plots, the directing and the acting all turned out to be subpar to most of the movies or TV drama series before it. I just don't know what this reproduction is really good for. Some of the dialog such as "Shut your trap!" and the blonde woman with dark pubic hairs really need me to push the logic out of my brain. There are so many unnecessary scenes which we usually named "Fillers" in this tedious movie. It only shows how hollow the screenplay is. There's nothing worth spending your time and money to watch this bore-to-death repeat. Just Terrible!