The film is titled Vikingdom. It is directed by Yusry Abdul Halim who last helmed another expensive big budget Malaysian film Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa. The film stars Dominic Purcell (TV's Prison Break), Natassia Malthe (Bloodrayne III, This Means War, Elektra), Conan Stevens (TV's Game of Thrones), Craig Fairbrass, Jon Foo, and Patrick Murray. The film is written by James Coyne and distributed by KRU Studios and Epic Pictures.
Trailer:
Will Vikingdom live up to its hyped? Do read on...
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| Dominic Purcell as Eilrich Bloodletter, the forgotten warrior king. |
A forgotten warrior king Eilrich Bloodletter is sent out on a quest to defeat the evil Viking God Thor. Along the way, he recruits a bunch of other warriors to fight together with him. As he sets out on his adventure, he encounters several challenging twists and turns, including betrayal from the people he trusted.
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| Eilrich Bloodletter (Purcell) and his lieutenant Sven (Craig Fairbrass) |
SCRIPT:
Mediocre. It has good intention in structuring the story as an adventure but lacked the sense and feel of it. It is a dialogue driven film and you have to pay close attention to what is said or you might be lost. Once you pay close attention, it is easier to follow the plot. Characterization was okay but some were developed halfway and would have loved to seen more.
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| The extremely beautiful Natassia Malthe as Brynna. |
Not impressive. Some of the acting fell short of a B-grade film. I felt that Dominic Purcell did not do his homework properly. As the lead and someone who has quite impressive credentials, he was stagnant and frozen. Can't say much for the other actors too, they were just as lame.
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| Conan Stevens as the Viking God Thor. |
This is a plus point of the film. For a Malaysian made production, I am a bit proud to call it a Malaysian product. The fight scenes was executed well, nice sets, beautiful designs, and fantastic wardrobe. The cinematography was not too bad but the editing was a little off. The editing could have been a little tighter to make it snappy.
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| A shot of behind the scenes of Vikingdom at Kellie's Castle, Ipoh, Perak. |
PACING:
It started well but eventually became too draggy. Picked up towards the end. The film does feel a little too long. Could have done with some light jokes to break the mood.
TONE (MOOD):
Epic adventure across lands against the backdrop of myths and legends.
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| A fight scene in the film involving Jon Foo (left) as Yang |
Bad acting. Seriously. It could be the fault of the actors, we don't know.
UPSIDE:
If you can look past bad acting and look at it as a Malaysian produced film, you might just feel a little proud of it. Good action sequences.
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| I like this shot in the film. Bloodletter (Purcell) and ladies painted in gold. |
Many will compare it to international films and Malaysian productions are not too far off the mark. It is a good attempt at trying to raise the bar and I like the fact that the film tries to do so. If only more time were to be invested into story and acting, it would have been a good movie.
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| Dominic Purcell as Eilrich Bloodletter in war scene from the film. |
7 out of 10
Contrary to popular belief, acting fluidity is actually the responsiblity of the director. Robert De Niro may not look good on camera if directed by a so-so director therefore as a professional, I highly doubt that Dominic Purcell fell short of what was expected of him. Any actor can attest to this fact. Aside from this, the battle scenes could have looked more epic and less sparse IMHO. I agree with everything else you've reviewed ;)
ReplyDeletethis is only first installment of the movie trilogy there could be a sequel in there near future , the sequel could be better
ReplyDeletemediocre = 7 out of 10? PMR students would love this kind of marking system ...
ReplyDeletehave you seen dominic purcell in MI:2 ? or Prison Break? or Blade Trinity? if you're a movie reviewer and say that bad acting is the actor's fault then i think you should change your hobby to something else. If i was the director, i will never put up a show by taking in "bad actors" also i would never allow a scene to be done with an actor dishing out B-grade skills unless of course the director is either lazy or do not have the standard for such an ambitious production.
ReplyDeletei saw this without knowing it's a malaysian production and i was cursing my butt off until i couldn't take it anymore 30 minutes into it, i stopped and read a book instead. now it all make sense
You said this movie was mediocre, lacked the sense and feel, not impressive, some of the acting fell short of a B-grade film; bad acting, lame...BUT still you gave it a 7 out of 10. How does a bad movie get a 7? That's not mediocre. A 7 should be a good movie. How does your stupid rating system work anyway? Through a careful thought process, or through instinct between your armpits. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteSo its either you were on set of the said movie and wasn't paid proper hence this is your way of getting back at the studio (not a good work really) or you don't know jack shit about movies - so you should stop reviewing them.
ONE OF THE WORST, OR ARGUABLY THE WORST MOVIE REVIEW SITE I'VE COME ACROSS. Get your act right fella.
Such a sweet feedback. Thanks.
Delete